Sasha lounged in her cell, lying on her back as she had her hands behind her head, with left leg crossed over her right. She took her right hand out from under her head and held it out in front of her. Her eyes glowed magenta for a moment and the flames sparked to life around it. Ever since Anne's visit to her cell, she had been learning all she could about her new powers. And thanks to gaining the loyalty of the toads under Grime's nonexistent nose, she was able to practice them without being disturbed.
She heeded Anne's warning about transforming, she didn't want to snap the shackles off, and if it was too flashy, then there was no way even the turned guards would be able to hide it from some of the loyalists or Grime himself. So, she made do with creating fireballs, fire whips, and at one point she managed to create a fire sword, a literal sword made of flames. And that wasn't all, her flames were only one half of her power, the other was the boost to her physical strength. She had toads loyal to her bring items that were either heavy, or too hard to break without something to assist in doing so. Sasha found that her super strength was legitimate, as she easily crushed or lifted everything that the toads brought her.
Everything was falling into place, she could escape at any time, heck, she could take down Grime at any time if she wanted to. But that would go against her plan, she needed time. And thankfully, after Anne's meetup with Percy and Braddock, things were going a lot more smoothly than before. And after Anne discovered she could turn herself into a human cell tower, and got their cellphones working, at least for communication, was supremely helpful. Honestly, she was proud of Anne for that, and more enamored than before.
"I can't wait to turn this place into our little home away from home," Sasha mused as she let the flames dance on her hand. "Which will be any time now. I just need a certain someone to pay me a visit first."
Sasha heard footsteps approaching her room. The blonde teen snuffed out the flames and sat on the ground, cross legged, waiting patiently. The door to the room opened and in walked Grime. The captain of the South Toad Tower, donned in brown leather armor, with one eye blinded with a scar running down it, and the other glowing bright green. His presence commanded fear, and Sasha could see why many didn't want to cross him. It also didn't help that, from what she learned, Grime was once a strong and ruthless gladiator back before he became a leader. Which made a lot more sense as to why he wasn't well liked among his subordinates. The guy had no leadership skills because he was first and foremost, a warrior. Which was not a bad thing, but it seems he was never taught how to be a real leader.
Well, today, things are going to change around here, thought Sasha.
"Hey there, Grimesy, come for another interrogation?"
"I've been patient with you, creature. But that patience is wearing very thin. Now again–!"
"Who sent me? No one. How did I get here? Don't know. What do I want? Well…" Sasha stood up and dusted off her skirt as she smiled at the toad warrior. "…that's changed a bit since our last conversations."
Grime glared at Sasha and said, "Oh. Pray tell, creature. What has changed since then?"
"I've been thinking about my current situation. I told you I want to find my friends and go home, but I think I want something else now. I still want to find my friends, don't get me wrong there. But I really don't see much of a rush in trying to get back home. Because there is a chance we might not be able to. So, I thought, why not make this place more comfortable for me and my girls," said Sasha.
Grime approached the bars and gripped them tight. "Are you suggesting a take over of the valley?"
"I'm suggesting that you need to make a choice, Grime. Right here and now. I can protect you. I can make it so that you live to see how this all turns out, or you can fall here today. Again, it's your choice."
Grime figured that this creature before him was a juvenile, despite her stature, she was clearly a child. And yet this child had a devious mindset that unnerved him. She was a schemer, someone that if you take your eye off of for too long, you'll miss something crucial. There was no way he could allow this creature to exit this cell, let alone interact with Amphibia at large.
"You know, Sasha, I have to apologize to you," said Grime.
"Aw, for what exactly?"
"For treating you like a child."
Sasha raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms as she listened.
"I can see you're more dangerous than you first appear. Call it a warrior's instinct, but it was because of those instincts that I but you in this cell. Now, I'm going to treat you like I would any foreign invader. I'll escort you to the Pain Room, personally. I'll find out what you're really scheming, even if it means flaying your skin inch by inch," Grime threatened.
Sasha's expression didn't change any, in fact, she shot a glare at Grime as she said, "Good to know that we're on the same page then. Because you dropped the ball big time."
The blonde teen undid her arms and pointed her left hand towards the window. Her eyes shined bright magenta as flames ignited in her left hand. The flames coalesced into a fireball which she then shot out of the window. The fireball made it about ten feet before exploding in midair.
Grime quickly drew his sword and jumped back as he assumed a fighting stance. "What in the name of Frog was that?! What did you do?!"
"Oh, I just signaled the start of the rebellion."
Suddenly, Toad Tower erupted with the sounds of battle across the entire structure. Grime left the room for a moment and went into the hallway, and it was there he saw some of his soldiers fighting against each other.
"Captain! It's a mutiny!" one of the toads cried out.
"GRRRR! Fight back! Show no mercy to any traitor standing before you!" Grime ordered.
Sasha's smirk grew as the flames reappeared in the form of a circle around her waist, and within seconds the flame materialized her Driver. "Okay, Anne, time to see how this works. Ugh, this is cringe. Henshin." Sasha pressed down on both hip devices as a dome of fire wrapped around her body.
Grime saw a flash inside the room and went back in, and that's when he saw the flame dome. Within that dome, Sasha witnessed as her body rapidly age to that of young woman, and within seconds armor formed within the flames and attached to her body. With the dome dispersed, Sasha was fully donned in her Rider armor, complete with a flowing pink cape on her left side.
"Oh-ho-ho hells yeah! This feels incredible! It's like my blood is on fire and I can do anything!" Sasha exclaimed.
Grime took out a dagger from his belt and threw it straight for Sasha. The blade passed through the bars and struck against Sasha's armor, and then fell to the floor. There wasn't so much as a scratch on the armor, and Sasha herself didn't even feel the impact of the blade against her armor.
"Wow, that was desperate. But I need to meet up with my friend. See you in a minute Grimsey!"
Sasha turned her back to Grime, when she did, the crystal filament on her Driver began to glow. On instinct, Sasha pressed her right hand against it, and out from the crystal a sword hilt formed. Sasha pulled on the hilt until an entire sword formed in her hand. Now armed, Sasha raised her new sword, ignited the blade with flames, and slashed at the wall where the window was. The entire wall exploded, sending rock and mortar flying out. Sasha looked down the sheer hundred plus foot drop but was not scared in the slightest.
The new Rider jumped straight out of the hole in the wall and descended rapidly to the courtyard below. There were several toads down below fighting each other, and some of them Sasha recognized. But all of them paused when they saw her falling from the sky and crashed down onto the ground. Sasha rose slowly and glanced about her surroundings, taking in the sight for a moment before raising her sword into the air.
"Toads of Toad Tower! I am Sasha Waybright! Those of you who follow me now, know that your faith in me will be rewarded with victory! And for those of you who still fight for Grime, I give you this chance! Fight with us! And I will lead you in a new era of power and respect!"
Watching those fantasy movies with Marcy is actually coming in handy. I am so not admitting that to her, though.
The toads of Sasha's rebellion all cried out in unison, showing their loyalty to the war goddess Rider before them. The others who didn't seemed hesitant, not sure whether or not to join or keep fighting for Grime. The toads of Sasha's rebellion took this chance to gain the upper hand and began beating back the loyalists, reinvigorated by the sight of their new leader and her power. Sasha walked towards the main gates of the fortress, and two of the toad loyalists broke away from the melee and headed right for her.
Sasha didn't bother to raise her sword as they both came in swinging with their weapons, only for them to bounce off harmless on Sasha's armor. Another toad managed to come from behind her and thrust his spear at her back. The moment he made contact, the spear snapped in half like a dried twig. Sasha glanced over her shoulder at the toad who literally tried to backstab her and smirked under her helmet.
"You guys done? Then it's my turn."
Sasha spun around and kicked the toad with the broken spear, sending him flying all the way across the courtyard where he crashed into a wagon. She then reached out with her left hand grabbed the toad on her left who attacked her with a sword, and then tossed him like a ragdoll into the third. Now that that was taken care off, Sasha walked up to the gates and pushed the first two open. She walked a bit further and then finally opened the last set of metal doors. On the other side of the gate was Anne in her Rider form, which she found quite impressive.
"Sasha!" Anne exclaimed as she dashed through the gates and hugged her best friend. "You have no idea how worried I was when I saw you jumping out of that tower!"
"Aww, Anne, c'mon. When have I ever not stuck a landing during cheerleading practice? Plus, I feel goddamn invincible like this! I didn't even feel it when I landed! And look at you, rockin' that red scarf, very cool," Sasha praised.
Anne broke the hug and rubbed the back of her helmet bashfully. "Thanks, Sash."
Sasha placed her left hand on Anne's right shoulder, making Anne look at her. "Anne, think you can knock out these toad soldiers in the courtyard? I want them to see that we're going to win this."
Anne looked over Sasha's shoulder and grimaced a little. "I mean, I could, but I can't tell which are our guys and which are not."
"I can fix that." Sasha turned around and yelled, "TOADS OF THE REBELLION! TO ME!"
The rebellion toads didn't hesitate to fallback to Sasha's position. Now that Anne had a clear sight of who was on their side and who was not, she jumped over their allies and dashed straight for the loyalist toads. She was too fast for them to even register as Anne swiftly punched, kicked, kneed, and elbowed every toad she came across that was not already behind her. Within ten seconds all twenty toads were on the ground, unconscious.
Sasha could see that these toads had their morale boosted twice over after seeing how fast Anne was able to take down the loyalists. "Do you see that! That's the power of my ally! Anne Boonchuy! The Azure Speedster!"
"ANNE! ANNE! ANNE! ANNE! ANNE!" the toads chanted.
The Thai girl turned around; she felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through her after hearing the chants of the toad soldiers. Even more when she heard Sasha praise her like she did, even giving her a battle nickname. Anne thrust her right fist into the air, showing her comradery with the toads and making them cheer even louder.
Sasha smiled at this development and walked towards Anne with the toads following her. "Okay, this is how it will go. Anne, we're going to work our way up the tower. I'll clear out the right and you clear out the left. We'll push the enemy to the center and then keep pushing upwards until we've managed to corner all of Grime's soldiers and Grime himself. Got it?"
Anne nodded. "Y-Yeah, I got it. Sash, one question. What happens if they don't surrender?"
"Anne, you're free to knock them out. You're fast enough and strong enough to do that. But, if one of our guys is about to get killed, don't hesitate to take the enemy down." Sasha leaned closer so that only Anne could hear her voice. "They're just toads and frogs, Anne. We're all that matters in the end, but we need them in order to find Marcy. I need you to fight with everything you have, for me. Please?"
Anne felt her heart race when she heard Sasha's words, and her voice had changed like her own, it was older, and when she spoke, it was much…huskier than she thought it would sound. "I know. I will. Y-You can count on me Sash!"
Sasha backed away and said, "Great." She turned to her forces and ordered, "I want half of you to go with Anne! The other half with me!"
"YES SIR!"
Anne made swift work of the loyalist toads in the left wing of the lower building, so far, she hadn't killed a single toad, although, that was just her. There were some of the rebellion toads that managed to cut down the loyalist toads. And while Anne found the sight grim, she had to keep reminding herself that they were toads, soldiers. So long as she maintained that mindset, it was easier for her to fight. Before long Anne and her group cleared out their section and went to the middle of the fortress where Sasha's group had just arrived to join in the melee with the other rebellion toads.
As per the plan, they began pushing upwards. Forcing the loyalist toads to back higher and higher up the tower as Sasha and Anne cleared the tower floor by floor. The two Riders led the charge, fighting on the front lines as both girls shot lightning and fire, punched and slashed, carving a path straight to their main target. The whole time this was going on, Anne and Sasha were in perfect sync with each other, you were hard pressed to find a blind spot to attack them, and even if you did, their armor was so strong that no weapon the toads had could even penetrate it. Anne found herself looking at Sasha from time to time, and Sasha at Anne. It was no secret between the two that they were stealing glances at each other in the middle of the battle, feeling a bond that was once just friendship growing in the heat of battle.
Although, one could be hardly call this a battle, it was completely one sided thanks to Anne and Sasha's powers. And just like Percy and Braddock had informed Anne, some of the soldiers who were only loyal out of fear quickly changed sides and were now fighting their comrades, allowing the two girls to rush in and take down more and more of them while their own forces took the former loyalists into custody. After about thirty minutes of nonstop fighting, there was a pause as the rebellion forces stopped just before reaching the top of the tower, where Grime and the few holdouts still remained.
"Commander Sasha, what do you want us to do with the captives?" Braddock asked.
"Don't harm them. We'll decide what to do with them after this is over. For now, keep them tied up," Sasha ordered.
"Yes, Sir!"
Anne watched as Braddock went back to their forces. The two of them were sitting at the stairwell that led to the roof of the tower, but currently, Anne was looking at Sasha, she wasn't displeased by what Sasha said, she was glad to hear what she said. But it did make her wonder.
"You're really sparing them?" Anne asked.
"I can't be totally ruthless. If we want them to follow us, we have to show mercy where we're able. Grime only ruled by fear and power. Fear is good, but too much of it, and you lose loyalty. I mean, just look at what's happening right now. Half his forces are now gone, and we're one push away from finishing this," said Sasha.
"That makes sense, actually."
Sasha reached over and took Anne's hand into her own and gazed into the eyes of her friend.
"Anne, thanks for having my back. Once this is over, we can start the real work. But I need to know that you're with me to the end. Because once we break through that door, it's gut check time. We do what we have to do."
Anne slowly nodded her head. "I know. I'll follow your lead, Sash."
"That's my girl." Sasha released Anne's hand and turned to face the door up ahead. "ALRIGHT EVERYONE! PREPARE FOR THE LAST BATTLE!"
"HA-OOH! HA-OOH!" the toads chanted as they slammed their swords against their shields.
Anne held out her right hand as lightning gathered to it, at the same time, Sasha pointed her sword blade at the door and made flames ignite around it. Together they fired flames and a lightning bolt blasted, striking the door on the other side, making it explode and blowing a huge hole where the door once was. Anne and Sasha were the first to step out of the stairwell and onto the roof, where Grime and his last handful of remaining loyalist forces made their last stand.
"I'm pretty sure you can figure it out by now, Grimesy. It's over. You can't beat either of us, so do yourself a favor. Throw down your sword and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, well, it's a long way down," Sasha threatened.
"I stand by what I said before, I can't allow you to do whatever you want in Amphibia! For the good of the kingdom, I'll fight you with every last breath I have!" Grime declared.
Sasha shrugged as she twirled her sword around and got into a ready stance. "Okay, your funeral."
Sadness, formed from the deepest darkness~
Everyone tensed up when they heard, what sounded like, singing coming out of nowhere.
Go, sleep now, in into the endless domain
"Okay, what's going on?" Anne asked.
"What kind of games are you playing, Grime?" Sasha questioned.
"Don't play dumb! This is your witchcraft, isn't it?!" Grime accused.
Now come yee, to the throne of The Night
In His great keep, you shall repent
Suddenly, exactly thirteen black feathers began to descend from the sky. Everyone looked up as those feathers fell in a straight path down.
Angels lost, now banished from the heavens
Fallen, rise from shadows
Fly now, on raven's wings
So fearsome, with fury that touches the skies
For some reason, Grime couldn't keep his eyes off them. He was transfixed by them, so much so that he dropped his sword and began raising his arms towards the feathers.
Bring joy to the forgotten Night
Snuff out the light from their eyes~
The thirteen feathers fell on Grime, and upon doing so, his entire body was engulfed in a cocoon of dark energy. All the toad soldiers who had followed Grime immediately began to back away from the cocoon. Anne and Sasha got into ready stances, unsure of what was going to come out of that cocoon.
"Sasha."
"Yeah, Anne?"
"If it turns out he becomes a monster…"
"Anne don't go there. This isn't like one of those cheesy Japanese live action shows."
"And yet we're standing on top of a tower, in a world with talking frogs and toads, and both of us can control fire and lightning, and transform into Kamen Riders."
Sasha paused for a moment and replied, "Touché."
The cocoon broke apart, and out from it came Grime, but he was no longer what he was before. The toad Captain was now taller than both Anne and Sasha, the armor he was wearing had somehow fused to his body, transforming into exoskeletal armor plates that were dyed a dark crimson red. Both of his eyes seemed to be repaired, and were now glowing bright green, with flames practically lapping from the corners of his eyes. His swamp green skin was now a sicklier green color and had veins of violet energy running through it. Attached to the armor was a black cloak with a symbol comprised of thirteen eyes. His pants were now black exoskeletal armor, along with the boots he had worn, which now had sharpened claws at the ends of the boot armor. Grime looked upon his new form, flexing his clawed hands as he let the new power course through his body.
"C-Captain Grime, a-a-are you alright, sir?" one of the toads asked.
Grime looked down at the soldier who spoke, paused for a moment, and then reached out with his right hand and grabbed that same toad soldier by the head. The soldier flailed and shouted as Grime picked him up with no effort whatsoever. Grime had a sinister and sadistic look on his face as he began squeezing down on the soldier's head until he fully clenched his fist and crushed the toad's head. Blood splattered all over Grime's hand, and some of it splashed onto the toad soldiers that were still close.
"Marvelous! Such power! I've never had this kind of strength before! Before it took such effort to do that in the Colosseum, but now, ha, I can probably crush this entire tower!" Grime exclaimed.
The captain of Toad Tower glared at the two human Riders, making them harden their stances in preparation for a fight.
"And I think I'll do just that."
"You can't be serious! Your own soldiers are still in here! Some of them who are still fighting for you!" Anne argued.
"HA! What good are these wretches?! I've had my fill of their incompetence! There's not a real warrior among them! No, I'll just tear down this entire tower and rebuild it from scratch! With toads who are truly strong, competent, and above all RUTHLESS!" Grime stated.
"Tch, thanks Grime. Thanks for proving that you were never a true leader! These toads deserve a better leader than you! And we'll take you down right here and free these toads from your rule!" Sasha proclaimed.
The flame Rider noticed how the loyalists that were left looked to her with eyes full of hope, believing that she truly meant it. Little did they know, it was all a part of her plan. Well, Grime turning into a monster was definitely not a part of the plan, but it certainly did help in cementing the case that he was not fit to lead, and that Sasha could provide better leadership.
Now we just need to survive this fight and kill this guy, Sasha thought.
Grime smirked at the two Riders and held out both of his hands. To his left hand a large claymore sword formed, made of pitch-black metal, along with a battle ax in his left hand. Both weapons looked as if darkness itself had been forged into metal to craft these weapons.
"Give me a good fight creatures! Let my new reign be anointed with the blood of my fallen enemies!"
"Anne!"
"Let's go!"
Anne dashed forward, striking first as the fastest of the duo. Grime, despite his huge size, was not as slow as he seemed. The toad warrior slashed through the air with his sword, creating a crescent wave of light that came screeching towards Anne. The blue Rider quickly ducked under the attack, sliding like a baseball player into home base to avoid the attack. The wave just barely nicked the tip of her horn crest as she managed to get under it, but when she popped back up to attack, the battle ax was already about to strike. Before it could connect, Sasha, who had jumped into the air prior, landed just in time to block the battle ax with her sword. A mini shockwave erupted from the impact, causing the toads to get knocked back on their rears.
"TOADS OF TOAD TOWER! RETREAT! GET OUT OF HERE! NOW OR YOU'LL ALL DIE!" Sasha ordered.
The toads didn't waste time and heeded her orders, even the loyalists were running right alongside the rebellion toads as they escaped the rooftop. Now free of distractions, Sasha was able to use her full strength and pushed back on Grime, making him skid on his heels to the edge of the roof.
"I will admit, I underestimated you, creature. I never thought you capable of such schemes behind my back," said Grime.
"Don't flatter yourself, it was easy enough considering they more or less hate your guts," Sasha replied.
"Ah, then even more reason to kill them all if that's how they're going to be!"
Grime jumped into the air and tossed his battle ax straight towards them. The weapon began to glow with violet light as it spun in the air like a saw blade. Anne and Sasha dove to the right and left to avoid getting sliced by the weapon, but when it hit, instead of just embedding itself in the stone, the weapon exploded. Anne and Sasha were pushed to the edges of the roof but managed to stay on it. However, Grime created another weapon, this time a whip. He cracked the whip forward while still in the air, and had it wrap around Anne's right leg.
"GOING DOWN!"
"WhaAAAAAAH!"
Anne suddenly found herself getting whisked up into the air, higher than Grime was. With one swift pull, Grime whipped Anne straight towards the courtyard below. Anne, unable to control her descent, was hurled at breakneck speed where she crashed into the courtyard and kicked up a huge dust cloud upon impact.
"ANNE!" Sasha exclaimed in genuine fear for her.
Grime landed back on the roof of the tower and looked back down at the human he just threw off it. "You seem to care for that one, don't you?"
Sasha growled as her sword ignited with blazing flames. "I swear to God, if she's dead I'll make you suffer the most agonizing death you can ever imagine!"
"Creature…" Grime glared at Sasha as he smirked, showing off his rows of sharp teeth. "I am not afraid of death. Can you say the same?"
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGH!"
Sasha charged straight towards Grime as she swung her sword. Grime dismissed his whip and held his claymore with both hands as he and Sasha traded blows. The ringing of metal striking metal echoed in the air above the tower, reaching all the way down to the ground below. Flaming embers and sparks of violet light were released with each clash, but neither one was willing to give an inch. However, as their clashes continued, it was becoming increasingly clear that Sasha was not the trained warrior that Grime was. What Sasha knew of swordplay came from watching movies, TV shows, and playacting when she was little.
But compared to Grime, who has spent his whole life fighting in countless battles, wielding all sorts of weapons, a gladiator, she was barely even a novice. This was demonstrated when Grime parried Sasha's sword and managed to swat it out of her hands. Sasha was left wide open as Grime came in and slashed her across the chest, igniting several sparks from her armor as she took real damage for the first time. Grime slashed again, and again, and again, each time sending sparks flying into the air. The toad warrior grabbed Sasha by the throat hoisted her up, and then tossed her like a ragdoll straight towards the land bridge.
Sasha impacted hard against the bridge, sending up a cloud of dust before a breeze came and blew it away. The cheerleading captain coughed and gasped; the crash landing having temporarily knocked the wind from her lungs. Regardless, she managed to at least get herself into a kneeling position. However, not a moment later, Grime landed a few feet from where she was, and began slowly walking towards her.
"You have great tenacity, the makings of a great toad warrior. If you had proper training, this might go differently. But alas, you picked a fight with the wrong toad this day," Grime mocked.
"I'm not dying here…I have too much I want to do…" Sasha stated. "Too much I want…"
Grime paused as he looked down at the girl before him. When he last looked into Sasha's eyes, he could tell there was something there. More than tenacity, more than ambition. It was desire, a desire to want more, a desire to control, and even now, despite having her eyes covered by a helmet, he could sense those same emotions.
"I'll do this for you at least. For giving me a decent fight, I'll grant you a quick death," said Grime as he raised his sword.
"Do it then, you fucking monster!"
Grime brought down his sword, but before the blade could make contact, something stopped him. Another ringing clash echoed in the chasm, and made Grime stumble backwards, unprepared to have his attack blocked. When he finally regained his footing, he gasped at what he saw, and so did Sasha. Anne was alive, and not only alive, but her armor had completely changed to green, and now had spikes coming out of it. In her right hand was a dual sided lance weapon, with the spikes colored green to match the armor, and a gold-colored handle in the middle.
"ANNE! YOU'RE ALIVE!"
Anne chuckled as she said, "Barely. If I didn't change I probably would have just then."
"H-How?! And why is your armor a different color?!" Sasha asked as she stood back up.
Anne pointed to one of device on her left hip which was the same color as her armor. "I just pushed this thing. I don't know why, but right before I hit the ground, this thing glowed, and I just hit it. Next thing I know, I'm like this. I feel stronger in this state, but my speed has decreased a little."
Sasha looked upon the devices on her hips, realizing now that they were for more than just the initial transformation. Of course, Kamen Riders always get a ridiculous amount of armor changes. Just then, the device on her right hip glowed. Sasha didn't waist time thinking about it and just hit it. The moment she did, her entire right arm was garbed in yellow light. When the light faded, her arm had new armor, and a yellow-gold shield with a magenta gemstone at the center.
"Huh? Alright, I think I see where this is going," said Sasha.
"What do you mean?" Anne asked.
"Anne, you're on offense, and I'll be on defense."
"But you were doing better than me earlier," Anne argued.
"No, Grime is right, neither of us are trained warriors. We can't just fight him head on like we have been. This time, one of us will focus solely on attacking, and other on defending." Sasha raised her shield and added, "And since I have the big ass shield, and you got the pointy lance. I think this works out better."
Anne looked back at Grime, who was glaring at them as he summoned another claymore.
Sasha got into a ready stance and said, "You've always had my back, Anne. Let me have yours. You trust me, don't you?"
"…With my life, Sash."
Anne twirled her lance around and charged straight for Grime. The dark empowered toad warrior brought down both of his claymores to strike down Anne, but even with her speed decreased, she was still the faster fighter. Anne raised her lance weapon and caught the blades on both ends of her lance. The human girl dug her feet into the ground as she gritted her teeth and put her back into pushing against Grime's attack, and with one mighty cry, Anne swiped her weapon across, throwing Grime backwards and off balance. Anne took this opening and thrust with the lance, but Grime managed to deflect the thrust with his right sword and came down with his left sword. However, Sasha appeared on Anne's left and raised her shield.
The sword clashed against Sasha's broad shield, clanging loudly as it bounced off upon impact. Anne stepped forward, twirled her lance around, and slashed upwards with the back end, before spinning it around in both her hands as she gripped it and slashed again, forming an "X". Sparks flew off Grime's chest as he finally took damage from them. Grime skidded backwards, growled and then slashed the air, repeatedly sending out crescent energy waves at the two Riders. Sasha switched with Anne, getting out in front as she raised her shield and let the blades of energy strike against her shield again and again.
Anne ran towards Sasha, jumped, and then vaulted off Sasha's left shoulder to give herself more height as she rose higher into the air. Grime saw this and was about to switch his attack to Anne, but Sasha cocked back her right arm and flung the shield like a frisbee. The yellow shield flew straight as an arrow towards Grime, where it nailed the monster toad right in the middle of his big head. The shield managed to bounce off said big head and returned to Sasha's right arm.
Grime was disoriented from the initial strike as he began to see double for a moment, but a moment was all that was needed. Anne cocked back her lance and threw it straight for Grime. The lance hit him right in the center of his chest, causing more sparks to fill the air. The lance flipped around in the air before it landed a few feet ahead of Grime and lodged itself in the ground. Anne dropped out of the air and landed right in front of the monster toad, and that's when she decided to put her years of Muay Thai lessons to use. She threw an uppercut, hitting Grime in the jaw, and while still in midair, spun around and gave him a backhand fist to the face with the same right fist. When she landed, Anne thrust forward with a knee strike to his abdomen, causing a mini shockwave to erupt upon impact, which made Grime double over in pain.
Since he was lower, Anne began throwing one punch after the other, crosses, jabs, hooks, all while still in her green state which only added more power to each hit. Anne was coming in for another hook, but Grime caught her by the arm and threw her forward. Anne flailed through the air for a moment before she spotted her lance and grabbed it, using it as an anchor as the bladed end cut a groove into the rock bridge they were battling on. Anne finally stopped when she reached Sasha, but it seemed Grime was not done yet.
The veins on Grime's body began to glow brighter, into his hands he conjured two new swords, but these swords weren't made of dark metal. Instead, these two swords were made of pure energy. Grime raised both into the air and combined the two construct weapons into one intensely bright sword that raged with power.
"I'LL KILL YOU BOTH RIGHT HERE AND NOW! FALL BY MY BLADE CREATURES!"
Grime brought down his sword, and from the construct's blade a giant beam of violet light roared towards them. Sasha furrowed her brow as she got out in front. The wing frills on her helmet fanned out and became six wings, and the lines on her armor began to glow. A strange symbol appeared before her, and when it did, the symbol merged with her shield. Sasha released a loud battle cry as she threw her shield forward, which then began to expand until it was ten feet wide. The shield took on an energy form and was now hovering out about five feet in front of them as the blade beam crashed upon it.
"ANNE! FINISH THIS GUY! I'LL GET YOU THERE!" Sasha yelled.
Anne began running and Sasha willed the shield to move forward to protect her. Grime was unaware of what was happening behind the shield, but still kept pouring more and more of his power in an effort to break through that shield and kill his two opponents on the other side. However, the shield was cracking with each passing second. Sasha fell to one knee as she used all her willpower to make the shield keep advancing and continue protecting Anne.
Not yet! Just a little more! Just until it's too late for him to even try and fight back! Sasha thought.
Anne's head crest fanned out as energy began to build up in her lance. The shield was starting to break apart into pieces, but Anne was only a couple of feet away. It was now or never. A symbol similar to the one she saw before she initiated her Rider Kick appeared, just like a unique symbol appeared when Sasha used her shield. Anne released a loud battle cry as she thrust her lance with all her might and let the forward spike absorb the energy. The shield finally shattered into pieces, but when it did, Anne was able to pierce through Grime's chest, much to his utter shock. A green beam of light shot forth through his gut and out the other side, creating a hole that was at least three feet wide.
Anne drew back her lance as Grime stumbled backwards and then fell to his knees before Anne. "Heh…well met creature…This is the first time I've experienced the sting of defeat…no pun intended."
A dark halo began to form above Grime's head as cracks spider webbed from the wound in his gut.
"Before I pass…May I give you one warning…?"
"Can't really stop you, dude," said Anne.
"…Do not trust Sasha…"
"What?"
"Sever any ties with her…and do it soon…that girl has a desire to control…a desire that will swallow you and ALL of Amphibia…for your sake…and the sake of this land…be weary of her…"
Grime fell onto his back after speaking those words, and as soon as he did, the toad warrior's body began to glow. Anne hurriedly jumped backwards just in time to avoid the explosion that occurred after Grime took his last breath.
Anne's form reverted back to her original one just as she landed next to Sasha. The red Rider's right arm also changed back to its original state, as the two Riders panted from exhaustion.
"Of course…the monster…explodes after…we beat it," said Sasha between pants.
"Almost…forgot about that…and got caught in it," said Anne, also between pants.
After they caught their breath, both girls went to the charred spot where Grime exploded.
"What was all that back there? That song. Those feathers. And then Grime turning into a monster right after, I mean, what the hell?" Sasha questioned.
"Guess there's something else going on here, Sash. But, hey, we wouldn't be Kamen Riders if we didn't have some monsters to beat every week," Anne joked.
"Oh God, please don't joke like that. I am NOT about to do some monster of the week BS." Sasha smiled under her helmet and patted Anne on the shoulder. "But, damn, Anne. You were such a queen back there!"
Anne was glad she had a helmet on, because right now she was blushing up a storm. "Hey, we both were queens. You had my back with that shield action."
"Pfft! Yeah, I know. But still, those Muay Thai moves you pulled on him! Damn, that was hot girl!"
"OH LOOK, TOADS!" Anne exclaimed loudly to distract Sasha, and herself.
The front gates to Toad Tower opened, and once they had, several toad soldiers filed out and looked upon the two Riders in both awe and reverence. Percy and Braddock led the group, and once they were at least within earshot, they stood at attention and saluted.
"Three cheers for Sasha and Anne! The heroes of Toad Tower!" Percy and Braddock announced.
"AH-OOH! AH-OOH! AH-OOH!" the toads cried as they beat their fists against their chest plates with each cheer.
Anne and Sasha's transformations came to an end, returning them back to civilian form. Although Sasha stumbled a bit, which made Anne have to catch her.
"Whoa…head rush," said Sasha.
"Yeah, it takes some getting used to, but the more times you change, the easier it gets," Anne assured.
Sasha nodded and then said, "Toads of Toad Tower! As you can see, Grime was a monster all along! Not just in the metaphorical sense! But Anne and I have liberated you from him! And as of today, the two of us will lead Toad Tower in a new era of power, leadership, and respect!"
"AH-OOH! AH-OOH! AH-OOH!"
"What's your first order, Captain?!" Braddock asked.
Anne and Sasha glanced at each other and knew what the first order of business was.
"For now, we fix up the place, get the injured treated, and rest up. It's been a long day, and we all could use a breather."
Hours passed with every toad in the tower cleaning up the remnants of the battle. Some of the toad soldiers who were slain by Sasha's blade were taken and buried honorably, and thankfully the ones that Anne fought survived, mostly due to her using her Muay Thai and holding back some. The tower was on its way to getting repaired, and the loyalists had completely switched their allegiance to Sasha. Currently, Sasha and Anne were in a large room that the toads rushed to get ready for her, it wasn't much right now, but it would be something later.
Anne was lying on the bed, as Sasha stood at the window and looked down at the courtyard, watching the toads continue their work, all the while smiling victoriously at how the events of today went down. She hadn't planned on Grime turning into a monster, at the very least she expected him to either become frustrated that so many of his troops turned on him, or he would just put up a final fight to the end.
But turning into a monster? That was so lucky for me. What do they call it? Divine providence? Eh, anyway. Thanks to that, all these toads see me and Anne as fucking goddesses. We'll take this valley, and soon after, we'll spread out and find Marcy, thought Sasha.
Her gaze drifted over to the resting Anne, and her smile sharpened.
But first…
Sasha walked over to Anne and sat down on her right side. Anne was aware of Sasha's presence but didn't feel the need to do anything. The blonde teen reached out with her left hand and lightly brushed the exposed skin where her shirt was torn, which made Anne wiggle a little and her face heat up.
"How bad was this?" Sasha asked.
Anne looked down to where Sasha was touching and realized she had forgot about that scar. "Oh…yeah, it was bad. That mantis I fought, before I transformed, he got me pretty good. Blood and all, any deeper and I think some of my guts would've been spilling out."
"But your powers healed you, right?"
"Yeah, still, wish it could've done something about the scar…"
Anne had always been self-conscious about her appearance, it was no secret that Sasha was the prettiest and most desired girl in Saint James Middle School. All the boys wanted to date her, and all the girls wanted to be her best friend. While Sasha had friends, the only ones she counted as her true best friends were Anne and Marcy. So when matched against the captain of the cheerleaders, Anne always felt a little jealous that she wasn't sought after like her best friend was, not that she was looking to date at the time, but it still would've been nice to know that there were some boys, or hell, in this case, girls, who saw her as attractive and contemplated asking her out.
"Don't do that, Anne," said Sasha.
"What?"
"Put yourself down about your looks." Sasha's hand drifted from Anne's right side and up to Anne's face where she cupped her cheek. "I've always seen you as cute, and you've always been attractive to me. Because, honestly, I've only had eyes for you and Marcy."
"Is that why you asked me to break up with those boys who asked you out?" Anne asked.
Sasha smirked as she answered, "I won't deny I got some sadistic pleasure out of watching the Break Up Queen stomp on the hearts of those boys I dated. Since, well, the one who I really wanted to date was the one doing the stomping."
"You are so bad," Anne commented as she smirked back.
"Oh, sweetie, you have no idea how bad." Sasha leaned down and whispered into Anne's ear, "But you will~"
Anne quickly sat straight up. "Well! Okay! Now that we have our own fortress and army…what's next?"
Sasha chuckled and stood up as she marched up to a map of Frog Valley. On it were at least four towns that were drawn on it, Lilly Paddington, Swamp Shire, Bog Bottom, and lastly, Wartwood. And Toad Tower stood at the center of the valley, within close proximity to all four of them.
"For right now, the only ones who know that Grime is not in charge anymore, are the people in this tower. But that won't last long. We still need to make sure things keep going on as usual, but we also need to establish that this place is under new management," said Sasha.
"Cool…so…how?" Anne asked.
"Oh, I have an idea. But first, the both of us need a wardrobe change."
(4 days later…)
The frogs of Wartwood were gathered in town square, many of them were murmuring amongst themselves, wondering why the whole town was summoned like this. The stage had been erected, which meant that whatever was going to be announced was serious business, that or the mayor was about to announce some stupid get-rich-quick scheme. Either one was possible as far as they were concerned. As the townsfolk continued their speculation as to what the reason for the meeting was, the mayor himself walked up on stage. He was a robust toad, with a mauve and gold coat, different rings on his fingers, and a purple ascot. Following close behind him was a short frog wearing a sweater vest and a red bowtie. The toad stood at the center of the stage where a podium had been set up, and from there be addressed the town.
"Simmer down now. Simmer down. Now look, Ah'm callin' this town meetin' on account of, well, Ah received a letter from Toad Tower," said the mayor.
The crowd's murmurs intensified, taking on a worried tone.
The mayor took out the letter, put on some reading glasses, and read it aloud for the people. "Ahem. 'Dear Wartwood, I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that Captain Grime is no longer in command of Toad Tower.'"
"Say what?!" an elderly frog exclaimed.
"Grime isn't in charge anymore?" the pink frog boy next to him questioned.
"Hold on now, there's more. 'As of now, Toad Tower is under new management. Today, the new Captain and Vice-Captain of Toad Tower will be comin' down to Wartwood to personally introduce ourselves to you, and other towns in Frog Valley. Please have your residents assemble so that we may address all of you at once'. And it's signed Captain Sasha Waybright and Vice-Captain Anne…uh…Bah-un-chi-y?"
The frogs all looked at each other in confusion, they had never heard of those names before, and it was unusual for there to be a captain and vice-captain of a Toad Tower. It usually was only a captain and a lieutenant, at least from what they knew about toad military ranking.
"How long 'til they arrive?!" a one-eyed frog asked.
"It should be soon. Now, let's all be on our best behavior. We don't know what kind of 'new management' we're dealin' with here. So, best we put on a smile and–!"
"Someone's coming!" the pink frog announced from his perch.
"Oh, Frog dang it! Everyone! Best behavior!" the mayor stressed.
Everyone turned around and looked towards the main entryway to the town. That's when they arrived, five wagons pulled by large spiders, and each one carrying at least ten toads each. The toads immediately got out of their wagons and fell in line as a carriage pulled up behind them. The toads' armor was bright red now instead of the dingy brown they normally wore, and on their capes and shoulder pauldrons they had a symbol of fire and lightning, with a fist grasped around an upturned sword. The carriage itself was grass green, with golden ornaments giving it a classy look. The residents of Wartwood gulped as they waited to see who would emerge from the carriage. Grime was an accomplished gladiator, and a ruthless warrior. So, they could only imagine the kind of toads they got to replace that.
"Soldiers! Atten hut!" the female toad announced.
All the toad soldiers lined up and saluted as they awaited the exit of their captains. The carriage doors opened, and from it walked out…not toads, but something else entirely.
Both creatures were gangly and tall in appearance, with one having fair colored skin and the other brown colored. The first one had red armor and a black cape that had the same symbol on it as the rest of the toads, and at her left side was a pink sword with the hilt and guard resembling a heron. The second gangly creature was donned in dark blue armor, and sported a similar cape to the other, but instead of a sword, this creature had an ornate scythe strapped to her back. The scythe made many of them gulp in fear, as that was typically not a weapon chosen by a toad warrior.
The two gangly creatures walked with two toad soldiers flanking them, the crowd parted as they headed towards the stage and up the stairs. Once on stage, the mayor gulped and chuckled nervously as they stood before him.
"Eh-heh-heh, w-welcome to Wartwood! I'm Mayor Frodrick Toadstool, and this is my assistant, Toadie – say hello Toadie!"
"H-Hello!" he greeted.
The gangly creature with big brown hair chuckled a little.
"Good to meet you. Now, could you scooch over a bit so I can speak?" the blonde asked.
"Y-Yes of course!" Toadstool stepped away from the podium. "All yours, madam!"
"Thanks." The blonde warrior stood at the podium with the blue armored one at her right. "Citizens of Wartwood. My name is Sasha Waybright, the new Captain of Toad Tower. Standing next to me is Vice-Captain Anne Boonchuy. Remember our names because from here on out, you'll be seeing a lot of us. Now, as I'm sure your mayor has told you, we're in charge of Toad Tower. And that is because, well, we 'retired' former captain Grime. On account that he turned into a literal monster and tried to kill his subordinates."
"A MONSTER?!" a frog exclaimed.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!" shouted another.
The crowd began barraging them with questions, which made Toadstool worried as he saw the expression on Sasha shift to one of annoyance.
"Simmer down now, everyone! Ah said, SIMMER DO–!"
Suddenly, Sasha nodded to Anne, and both girls raised their right hands into the air. Upon doing so, a jet flames and a bolt of lightning shot into the air. The release of these two elements made the crowd go deathly silent as they watched the two girls continuously released the flames and lightning into the air. Once both girls noticed that they had gotten the attention of the crowd back, they stopped using their powers and shut down their flames and lightning.
"Okay, now that we have your attention, allow me to finish. Yes, Grime turned into a monster, but thanks to me and Anne, we destroyed him before he could kill everyone at Toad Tower, and no doubt turn his wrath on you and the rest of the valley," said Sasha.
The blonde teen walked from behind the podium and stood at the edge of the stage.
"I want you all to know that we're currently in charge of this valley. But business will continue on as usual, we have no intention on upsetting the status quo." At least not yet. "In the meantime, the toads will continue to do their jobs, but more efficiently than before. And my friend and I will protect Frog Valley with our powers. But in return, we do have something to ask of you."
"Oh boy, here it comes," said an elderly female frog.
Sasha nodded to her toad soldiers and some of them began to hand out flyers to the people. The flyer had a hand drawn picture of Marcy on it.
Anne stepped up and said, "There's another one like us, we don't know if she has powers or not, or if she's even in this valley. We want to ask if you all can keep an eye out for her as you go about your days. If you see something, spot something strange, please quickly inform Toad Tower as soon as possible. We're very eager to reunite with our friend, she means a lot to us."
"Just so you know, we'll be making this trip to the other towns in Frog Valley. We want as many eyes as possible to look for her, but as I said, Toad Tower and Frog Valley itself is under new management. Welcome to a new era, everyone."