Trigger Warning: Abuse, Physical, Domestic Violence stuff
Things were okay, not that great, but okay. Sasha had kept Anne busy with other things around the tower, and in different towns across Frog Valley. Anne didn't want to think about Wartwood, so she did the little missions that Sasha gave her, and in her downtime, she would search the forests and different marshes around the valley, hoping that perhaps she would stumble upon Marcy. But it's already been a month and a half now, and there was still no sign of her. Anne brought this up to Sasha, and she concluded that Marcy either must not have come with them, or was outside the valley, which meant she was in the greater part of Amphibia.
"God, I hope she's alright," said Anne as she sat on the couch.
"Don't worry, babe. Marcy's a grade 'A' klutz, but she's also a genius. She probably figured out ways to protect herself here, and, who knows, maybe she found a nice little family to take her in," Sasha suggested.
"Or enslave her or some crap like that…"
Sasha noticed that Anne's thoughts had become a bit darker since the incident, it was a bit of a sad trade off for having Anne near her, but at least she was sure that Anne would do as she said and was completely loyal to her.
"Or is she?"
God fucking dammit why are you still in my head?!
A month and a half, and Sasha still couldn't get the condescending voice of Tritonio out her head. She had no idea why the voice of her doubts sounded just like him, but it wasn't anything she couldn't tune out. At least she didn't hear him when she and Anne slept together, that would be all kinds of awkward and a major mood killer.
"Hey, don't worry about Wartwood, the other towns are totally on our side. Parading those heron heads a while back boosted our PR. And now they see us as heroes," said Sasha.
Anne smiled a little as she replied, "Yeah, I do like that. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"I've been such a downer lately. I shouldn't have gotten so close to those people. I should've stayed focused on what we needed to do," said Anne.
Sasha walked over and sat down next to Anne, her right arm draping over Anne's shoulders. "Anne, it's okay. You were just being you. And the you that I love is kind and loving and has a way of making connections with people."
"I sucked at it with them," Anne retorted.
"Okay, one…eh…setback, but don't let one bad setback screw up your mojo. I need that charisma and friendly attitude to help convince these frogs to help with the next phase of my plan," Sasha explained.
Anne raised an eyebrow at that. "What next phase?"
"Anne, I want you to listen to me closely, okay?"
Anne nodded.
Sasha got off the couch and approached the large map of Frog Valley on her wall. "We both know this little valley is only a small part of a much larger land. Amphibia as a whole is big, to say the least. If we're going to find Marcy, we'll need more eyes than we have here."
The blonde then turned her attention to another map next to the first, and this one displayed the whole of Amphibia.
"The mountain pass will unfreeze in another month and a half from now. Which means we only have that much time to get everyone in this valley ready."
"Ready for what, Sash?" Anne asked.
"Look, the information I've gathered on how this place operates shows that it's all tier based. Newts at the top, toads in the middle, and the frogs got the short end of the stick."
Anne couldn't deny that, she did get a taste of that when she spoke to Tritonio. He truly believed that his people were above the toads and frogs, and from her time spent in the tower, Anne knew that the toads thought themselves above the frogs. It was a messed-up system, with the newts mostly oppressing the toads and the frogs. For the toads, they were basically told to be hired thugs and nothing more, and the toads feeling lesser than, felt some twisted since of superiority over the frogs because they were getting paid by the kingdom to keep them in line, which made them feel superior to them.
"All of this is under the watchful gaze of their king, who lives in the heart of this land, in the great city of Newtopia," Sasha pulled out a dagger and stabbed it right into the illustration of Newtopia on the map. "It's the most advanced city in this world, and I've heard from both frog and toad that they have things that no one else outside the city has. If that's true, then they might have a way to get us back home."
Anne shot to her feet in excitement when she heard this. "Sasha that's great! You mean there might be a way for us to get back?!"
"If there is, it's most likely going to be in Newtopia. No guarantee's though. I haven't heard anything about them having tech or magic like that. But then again, if they did, I doubt they'd tell the frogs and toads that," Sasha stated.
Anne walked up to the same map as her eyes practically sparkled at the possibility that they were one step closer to going back home. "If that's true, then we have to find out if Marcy's here or not! We should head to Newtopia when the path clears and ask the king for his help!"
"Whoa, slow your roll, Anne. I don't think it'll be that simple."
Anne's excitement faded a little as she asked, "Why not?"
"Anne, did you forget we just took out the captain of this tower, and caused a mutiny amongst his soldiers? Outside this valley, everyone thinks that Grime is still in charge of the South Toad Tower. Once the mountain pass clears, how long do you think it will be before word gets to the king that we took him out?"
The Thai teen faltered when Sasha brought that up. It was true, they did usurp Grime, and he didn't turn into a monster until after they cornered him at the top of the tower itself. If anything, they'd be viewed as invaders.
"Oh shit…"
"Yeah, you get it now, huh? If the king finds out what we've done, they'll see as the enemy right off the bat. To make matters worse, if Marcy really is out there, or God forbid she's IN Newtopia. Once he finds out that it was a couple of humans who took over a part of his kingdom, he could have Marcy arrested, tortured, and used as a hostage. And that's all assuming she doesn't have any powers like you and me," said Sasha.
Anne's mind suddenly conjured horrible images of Marcy screaming in pain and begging for mercy, calling out for Sasha and Anne to save her but were too far away to do anything. "We CAN'T let that happen Sasha! We have to–!"
"Shh, Shh. Anne calm your tits," said Sasha.
Anne blushed and covered her chest. "Really?"
"Oh what? I've seen all of you more than once, and you've seen all of me. Why are you getting all embarrassed for?" Sasha asked with a smirk.
"Sorry, guess I'm still getting used to that."
"Would it help if we walked around nude in our room? Have a 'leave all clothes at the front door' rule?"
Anne's face got redder. "NO! What if one of the soldiers comes in and sees us?!"
Sasha posed for Anne as she said, "Then they'll get an eyeful of a couple of powerful and hot goddesses. You really need to have more confidence in your figure, Anne. There's nothing about it that I'd change. And you're only going to get more beautiful as we get older."
Anne couldn't help the butterflies fluttering in her stomach whenever Sasha complimented her figure.
"Okay, getting off topic. So, what's the plan then?" Anne asked.
Sasha shifted back to her planning mode and stated, "It's a bit ambitious, a little crazy, and a lot dangerous. But in the end, I think it'll also benefit the Amphibians in the long run as well. Anne, we're going to stage a coup."
Anne's jaw dropped. "A coup?! You want to take down the king of Amphibia?!"
"It's the only way to protect Marcy if she's in Newtopia." Sasha placed her hand against the map and began to drag it in a circle around the outer perimeter of Newtopia. "We start by raising an army all around the city by going to each of these Toad Towers and gaining the support of the toads. Along the way, we also gain the support of the oppressed frogs. And by the time we're ready, we'll have an army that completely surrounds the entire city. I heard that they have a wall, but with our powers, we can easily bust it down! And then it'll be a cakewalk to take down the king afterwards."
"Okay, but what if Marcy's not in the city? What if she's somewhere else in all of this?!" Anne waved her hand over the rest of the map. "What happens if we find her before ever heading to Newtopia? We could be starting a fight for no reason!"
Sasha reached out and placed her hands on both of Anne's shoulders. "You're right, it's a risk. But either way, we'll have to follow through with this. We have a duty now, Anne. Obviously, our objectives haven't changed. We're still going to find Marcy and find a way home. But at the same time, we have Kamen Rider powers, and isn't it the schtick of a Rider to fight for good and help people? You know this system is fucked up. So, let's change it. Before we leave this world behind, let's change it for the better and help these guys out. We'll go home heroes!"
Anne looked at the map, that was so much land, so many towns and villages in between. And Sasha wanted to go on a campaign and recruit the toads and frogs into their army to fight against the very ruler of this world.
"Plus, we don't really have much of a choice. If we don't raise an army, and fight back, the king will send people to try and kill us. We have enough to worry about with those monsters that pop up randomly, the last thing we need is to constantly watch our backs for assassins and junk," Sasha added.
"This…This is a lot, Sasha…I…Can you give me some time to mull this over?" Anne asked.
Sasha sighed and released Anne. "Okay. We're not in a complete rush. Not yet. But I need you to come to a decision soon, I can't do this without you, Anne. Scratch that, I don't want to this without you. You mean a lot to me."
"I know, and I will think about, seriously," said Anne.
"Mmm, why don't you go for a ride? Just get on a spider and just go in a random direction. Get out of the tower for a few hours and be alone with your thoughts?" Sasha suggested.
"That's a great idea, Sash!" Anne leaned forward and kissed Sasha on the cheek. "I'll do that. See you in, what? Two hours?"
"Take as long as you need. Just wander around the valley if you want. Just be sure to be back before sundown, or at least call me if you're coming back late," said Sasha.
"Yes, mooom," Anne moaned.
"Ooh, you have a mommy fetish? I can work with that," Sasha teased.
"Ugh! Don't! I'm heading out you damn pervert," said Anne with a chuckle.
Sasha watched as Anne left the room, and as soon as she did, Sasha struck the wall with her fist. "I can't let Anne say no! If she does, this whole thing is moot! No, no. She trusts me, she loves me, she'll say yes to my plan regardless."
"You still doubt her. Perhaps she doubts you! Ah-ha!"
"GODDAMIT, WILL YOU SHUT UP?!" Sasha shouted. "Son of bitch, did he curse me or something before I killed him?!…Wait."
Sasha left her room and went to the medic.
Once there she asked the toad, "Hey, Hudson, I have a question, although it might not be medical."
"Okay, if I can answer it I will, Captain," said Hudson.
"Amphibia's a pretty mysterious place. Now, I'm just speculating, but do you guys have magic here?" Sasha asked.
"Oh, yes, most definitely," he stated.
Fucking new it.
"Okay, so do you know what kind of magic you guys have or how it works? I mean, I know you're not a wizard or anything, but do you have, like, general knowledge?"
Hudson hummed as he thought about her question. "Well, you would assume correctly that I don't know much on how it works. As for what kind, there are different kinds, but the most widely used in this age are curses."
Sasha blinked. "Wait, you mean you can really curse someone? Like put a spell on them or whatever?"
"Oh yes. Although, it's not something the average person can just do. There are manuscripts and tomes out there that give you instructions on how to create one. From what I hear it's mostly consisting of mixing certain natural ingredients found in nature and combining them into a concoction that will give you the desired curse. But it does require both a certain level of skill and an affinity for the dark arts."
"Interesting." Sasha rubbed her chin as she pondered this. "Are there any practitioners left in this world?"
"Most are secretive about their work, mostly because of the nature of curse making. But…" Hudson trailed off as he thought.
"But what?" Sasha asked.
"I've heard rumors, mostly from when Grime was in charge. Said he found a curse wielder here in the valley," said Hudson.
"Really? Who? Where?" she asked.
"If you don't mind me asking, Captain, why do you want to know?"
Sasha put on a serious expression. "I just want to make sure that no one will hurt Anne. Those frogs in Wartwood hurt her. I just want to make sure that they don't try and do something to her under my nose. And this curse stuff sounds like it could strike her or me at any time and at any moment. I'd like to get rid of any possible threats to our safety."
"Understood, Sir. From what I heard; Grime found a frog in – ironically enough – Wartwood. He didn't arrest him or kill him, he just warned him never to curse Grime, and that if he did, he would have to watch his back for the remainder of his life in this valley. The frog was a coward, and held up his promise," said Hudson.
Huh, wow, wasted potential. He had a person who could use magic and he didn't even bother to utilize him effectively. Grime, you really were a terrible leader. But you're mistake is my gain, thought Sasha.
"What's the name of this frog? I think I need to pay them a visit personally and make sure that a new deal is struck with me."
"His name is Barry, and he runs a candy stall in Wartwood as a front."
Sasha nodded and said, "Thanks Hudson. And one more thing. This conversation never happened."
Hudson nodded in the affirmative.
Okay Barry, time we had a little chat.
Barry the Candy Frog. He ran a cheerful little stall in the farmer's market, selling candy to all the little kids in the town, as well as to some of the adults who had a real sweet tooth. With the unpleasantness that happened a while back, the frogs in town needed a little happy pick me up, and nothing brought a smile to someone's face as much as their favorite sugary treat. As Barry was running his stall, he happened to spot the mayor's grandson, Sprig, walking to his stall. He had a scar on his chest due to said incident, and apparently he died and was brought back by the same person who had killed him. Nasty business that was.
"Heya there, Sprig," Barry greeted.
"Hey, Barry," Sprig replied.
"Lookin' a little down there, champ. What's the matter?" he asked.
"Nah, it's just, Anne's been gone for more than a month. I keep asking Hop Pop if I could go to the tower and see her, but he keeps saying no. Plus, everyone here hates Anne for what happened to me," said Sprig.
"Sorry, kid. I wasn't here for when it did happen, but it sounds like pretty rough stuff. But cheer up, I'm sure things will turn out better in the end. Here." Barry reached behind Sprig's head, and suddenly pulled out a lollipop. "Have one on the house. Ya look like you need a pick-me-up."
"Wow, thanks Barry! You really are the nicest frog in town!"
Barry smiled cheerfully as he waved Sprig goodbye, watching him enjoy the free lollipop. He could afford a freebie once in a while, not like there was a shortage of kids wanting his candy and paying for it out the wazoo.
When the market closed, Barry closed up his stall and placed his stock on a hand pulled wagon. Afterwards, he headed down the dirt road for about a mile before changing direction and heading into the forest. There was dirt path that was hard to notice unless you were paying attention, or knew about it already, so it was hard to miss. But Barry never missed it. At the end of the path was a stone building made of mortar and stone, with a straw roof. Barry walked up to the building and unlocked the door, after opening the doors he wheeled the wagon inside and tapped on the mushroom lights.
The room lit up and showed many shelves filled with dozens upon dozens of jars filled not only with candy creations, but ingredients of various plants, animal parts, fungi, and other things that you really wouldn't expect a candymaker to have in their store house.
Barry brought his wagon to the back and wiped his brow as he said, "Whew, another day, another copper."
"Nice operation you got here."
"WHA-AH!" Barry quickly turned around and saw a hooded figure standing in the doorway of his storage house. "W-W-Who are you?! Please don't hurt me! I'm just a simple candymaker!"
The cloaked figure glanced about the room and said, "Oh, I think you're more than that, curse wielder."
Barry's eyes widened as he back to sweat a bit. "Curse wielder?! I'm no such thing! I'm the nicest frog in Wartwood! You can ask any frog here and they'll tell ya the same thing! I've never cursed anyone in my life!"
"Yeah, I found out that you guys use different types of natural ingredients from the earth to make your curses. And while some of the things in here look like candy, there are others that look way out of place. Unless you're saying that you make your candy with those eyeballs and tongues, then, heh, wow, I wonder what your customers would think if they knew their children were eating gross candy made from this stuff," the figure threatened.
Barry's expression changed from shock and fear to angry. "You're not going to say a thing! My candy is top notch! I don't use any of that in it! But I do use it…FOR THIS!"
The top hat wearing frog tossed a pouch at the figure, but before it could hit them, the figure swiftly dodged to the right. The pouch sailed past them and struck the ground outside, exploding into a cloud of sparkling purple smoke that made a strange plant grow out of the ground, some kind of horrible abomination.
"Yodel-Ay-Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo~! Yodel-Ay-Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hooooo~!"
"Well, that's disturbing."
"Not one of my better curses, sue."
Barry tossed another pouch but dodged the attack easily. The candymaker was getting nervous with each dodged pouch and the assailant was getting closer and closer with each passing second. Barry thought he saw an opening and tossed it right at the cloaked figure, it was too close, there was no way they could dodge it. However, two magenta lights shined within the shadows of the figure's hood before a wall of flames erupted in front of them, burning the pouch and its contents to ashes. The assailant burst out of the flames and brandished a pink sword, pointing its tip right at Barry's neck.
The frog gulped, this was the first time had been held at sword point, and the first time he had ever met someone who was fast enough to dodge his curses. But those flames, that was something he was not expecting. Was this person a magic wielder as well?
"P-P-Please don't kill me! I'll give you whatever ya want! Money? Maybe someone I can curse for you?! Just don't kill me please," he whined.
"I don't want your life, candy man, but I will take you up on that curse."
The figure reached up and removed their hood, and once it was down, Barry gasped when he realized who it was.
"Y-You're Captain Sasha Waybright of Toad Tower!" Barry exclaimed.
"Indeed I am. So, you know that fighting against me is a one way ticket to an early grave."
Barry carefully nodded his head.
"Good, because I would like to hire your services," said Sasha.
"Hire? Me?"
Sasha withdrew her sword and sheathed it. "Like I said. I need to curse someone, and I need a curse wielder to do it. You think you're up to the task?"
Barry rubbed the spot where Sasha's blade touched, making sure that she didn't pierce it or cut his neck. "O-Okay, but uh…w-what kind of curse? I can't imagine there's someone out there that you can't take down by yourself. What with all your powers and such."
"You're right, there's not being in Amphibia that can match me. Well, except for one. Which is why I need to curse her," she explained.
"I…I see, well, what kind of curse are ya lookin' for?" Barry asked.
"Something that will allow me to control her."
"Huh? Just control? You don't want to debilitate her or anything?"
Sasha glared at him and responded, "I don't want her hurt, I want her under my control. Can you do it or not?"
"Y-Yes! Yes!" Barry hurried over to a shelf filled with books. He took out one of them and flipped through the pages looking for control curses. "There some variations depending on how much control you want over your victim. There's a curse that will allow you to control their mind, another that will allow you to control the body, and some that will allow you to control various aspects of their actions. Like I said, i-it just depends on the level of control you want."
Sasha pondered her options. Controlling her mind would probably be the most effective. But then she'll pretty much be a robot at that point. And where's the fun in that? I want to be able to have a conversation with her, and here her thoughts.
"Control of the body sounds better, the first one sounds like it'll just take away her personality. And that's what I love about her, one of things anyway. So, yeah, body," said Sasha.
"Wow, diabolical. Very well then. This kind of curse will take at least a day to get ready."
Sasha hummed as she began to circle Barry. "Now, Barry. You wouldn't be trying stall for time, would you? Perhaps you're thinking about trying to warn my girlfriend ahead of time and maybe have a counter curse ready to give her to pit us against each other?"
"N-N-No! Perish the thought, Captain Sasha!" Barry stated.
Sasha walked to the front door of the store house as she said, "Well, I can give you some incentive to work faster."
Barry gulped as she disappeared around the corner. A few seconds later, Sasha was in the doorway with a big sack in her right hand. She then tossed the sack and let it hit the ground in the middle of the room. There was a loud jingling noise, a familiar one at that. The sack slumped to the side, and from it spilled out a whole mess of copper coins. Barry gasped loudly as he dropped the book and slowly walked towards the bag. He dropped to his knees and ran his hands through the mess of coins lying on the floor before him.
"So, Barry, how long will it take for that curse to be made now?"
It was sundown by the time Anne returned to the tower, and she was still not sure about this plan to literally conquer the world. What Sasha was proposing was all out war on the king of Amphibia. And in the process, so many people could end up dying. Yes, the current political system in Amphibia was not ideal, far from it. But at the same time, was it really their place to kickstart a revolution? To be the ones to lead a rebellion against their king? Anne had made her peace with the fact that she might have to kill others in this world in order to protect herself, Sasha, Marcy, and to punish bad guys. But this? This was way beyond just punishing evil.
"Then again, there was Tritonio…"
It was a shock when Anne woke up that morning when Tritonio made his escape. Sasha had a bad feeling about him and decided to leave their bed and stake out the courtyard, and as it so happened, her hunch was right. She will admit that what Sasha did to him seemed excessive based on what the condition of his body was, but it just went to show her that bad guys will try and continue being bad guys. That sometimes putting them behind bars is not enough.
Anne drove the wagon into the tower, where the toads took the reins of her spider and saluted her as she walked by. One of the soldiers, Percy, ran up to Anne.
"Vice-Captain Anne!" Percy exclaimed.
"What's up, Percy?" she asked.
"Uh, well, it's weird. We received a letter addressed to you."
Anne raised an eyebrow in confusion. "A letter? From who? Can't be from Wartwood unless it's hate mail."
"The courier said that it was deliberately delayed per the sender's instructions, and just came now. Said it was written a month and a half ago," said Percy.
Someone wrote me a letter a month and a half ago? And it's only just now getting delivered because the person who wrote it told them to delay it this long? Why? Is the person psychic or something?
Anne took the letter, it only had her name on it, and no other distinguishing marks or hint of a sender. "Thanks, Percy. I'll have a look at it later."
"Oh yeah, and Captain Sasha said she wants to see you in your room. Said she wanted to talk to you," Percy added.
Anne sighed. She knew she couldn't avoid it for long, she had to give an answer to Sasha. The time for the mountain pass to unfreeze was practically right around the corner, and if Sasha wanted to start her plan, it had to be now to get everything ready. Anne headed inside the tower and ascended the stairs, walked down the hall, and stopped in front of the captain's quarters. The Thai teen took a deep breath, getting ready to steel her resolve in her decision.
I'm sorry, Sasha. But I don't think I can go through this. We'll cause so much chaos and hurt too many people in the process. I don't want that. We can come up with a better plan that will allow us to face the king, find Marcy, and get back home. Alright, Boonchuy, you can do this. She'll understand. We're in love. And being in love means listening to your partner, right? Right.
Anne knocked on the door and said, "It's Anne. You descent?"
"Oh, very descent, Boonchuy. Come in and see," Sasha replied.
"There's a lot of mixed messaging in that response." Anne took a deep breath, stood up straight, and opened the door. "Sasha, I thought about it all day and…and…hoopa-da-boopa…!"
Inside their room was now a table with a white cloth on it, the couch and coffee table had been moved to different sides of the room. Along with the two chairs was some freshly prepared food, and two glasses. One was filled with a pink liquid and in the other glass was a blue liquid. Leaning against the table was Sasha, wearing a beautiful red backless dress with her blonde hair undone from her ponytail and allowed to cascade down her back.
"Hey, babe, glad you made it back in time," said Sasha.
"Uh-huh…" Anne slowly walked in and closed the door behind her as she took off her armor and put her weapon against the wall. "Sash…w-what's all this?"
"I just realized that we never had a real date since being here. You know. Things are relatively quiet around here. So, I thought, why not take the time to just have a little dinner date. There's not really any place to go see a movie or anything, but I figured this would be enough."
Anne was still stunned, not just by the presentation, but by how beautiful Sasha looked in that dress. It wasn't a secret, Sasha was a beautiful girl, every boy back in Saint James would totally swear by it. And Anne was no different, but this was the first time she had ever seen Sasha in a dress like that. She looked, mature, a young woman who commanded respect with just here mere presence alone.
"Anne…are you just going to stand there with your mouth open? Or are you going to say something? Honestly, I put this together last minute, and I wasn't too sure if this dress was good enough," Sasha admitted.
Anne raised her right hand and slapped herself across the face before shaking her head. "W-What?! No! Sasha, this is perfect. Ugh, now I feel like an idiot for not thinking about the same thing sooner. I'm your girlfriend, I should've thought about doing a romantic gesture or something."
"Hey, we're both idiots. Busy idiots. A lot has happened. And a lot is going to happen in the future. I mean, we've banged a few times already, but we never really just had a romantic date, just the two of us. This is also an apology for doing that out of order. I mean, you're supposed to have a few dates before jumping into the sack, but…heh-heh…we kinda jumped that step, sorry," said Sasha.
Anne blushed as she was reminded of their love making. "I-It's okay. I mean, y-you don't hear me complaining. A-Anyway, let me change into something. Oh, shit, I don't have anything to wear!"
"I figured you want to change into something else. There's a suit in the bedroom lying on the bed. Go ahead and change, I'll be right here waiting," said Sasha.
"Cool! Okay! BRB!"
Anne dipped into her powers and superspeed dashed right into their bedroom as she closed the door behind her. The Thai teen was about to take off her top, but paused when the letter she had in her pocket fell out. She bent down and picked up the letter, inspecting it for a moment. The letter that was mysteriously sent to her with no return address and no sender. The letter that was given instruction to be delivered later from when it was given to the courier. Anne thought she should take a peek; it would be quick. But then again…
"Sash is waiting for me…" Anne sighed and placed the letter in the jacket pocket for later. "I'll look at it if we have some downtime."
After a couple of minutes, Anne emerged from the bedroom in a dapper black suit, with a white shirt, black bowtie, and a blue rose pinned to the lapel.
"Anne, damn, you are making that suit look so hot on you," said Sasha.
"Y-You think so? I've worn dresses before, but never any suits. It feels strangely good," said Anne.
"Own it, babe." Sasha walked up to Anne and draped her arms around her shoulders as she came in and gave her lover a kiss. When they parted, Sasha spoke in a husky voice, "You have no idea how much seeing you in that suit makes me want to take you into that bedroom and just let you do whatever you want to me."
"S-Sasha, w-wow, the suit is really doin' it for you, huh?"
"More than I was expecting." Sasha released a calming breath as she parted from Anne and began walking back to the table. "But I said we were going to do this in the proper order. A little dinner date, then the bedroom fun after. If anything, the date will make our playtime feel even better."
"Sasha, you have no idea what you do to me," said Anne as she followed behind her.
Once they reached the table, Sasha held up the two drinks. Both had a fizz going on, something that Anne hadn't seen before since carbonated drinks weren't a thing here in Amphibia.
"Don't worry, it's not alcohol, I'm not that hardcore, not yet. It's a special drink that I had the chefs make. Took a while to get it to taste right, but I think you'll like it," said Sasha as she handed the drink to Anne. "So, what should we toast to?"
Anne took the drink and asked, "Oh, you want to do a toast?"
"I think it's only fitting for our first ever date."
"Heh, yeah, okay. Uh, how about…" Anne raised her glass, "…to you?"
"Really?" Sasha asked.
"Look, I know it's corny and whatever. But, Sasha, you've done so much for me since we landed in this world. And not just in Amphibia, but on Earth as well. You've protected me and Marcy from all kinds of bullies. You've stuck by us even though you're the most popular girl in school. And…you fell in love with me and Marcy. Me, someone who just goes with the flow because it's the easy thing for me do. But you've pushed me ever since we've come here, and now, I'm Vice-Captain of a whole army. We're both badass Kamen Riders, and I've been able to do things I never thought I could do. So, yeah, I'm toasting to you Sasha Elizabeth Waybright. The girl I love, and the most important person in my life, along with Mar-Mar of course."
Sasha sniffled a little hearing those words from Anne, and then raised her glass up as well. "And for me, I'm toasting to you and Marcy. I'm going to be real here for a minute. Ever since my parents divorced, it's been hard. My Mom doesn't pay much attention to me, she just gives me a big allowance so I can do whatever I want. Honestly, I think she's fine with whatever I do so long as don't end up getting caught in a crime or get knocked up. And my Dad…his new wife and step kids, they're slowly trying to push him away from me. I see it in that woman's eyes, she hates my mere existence, and I see it even more when we're alone together. Not gonna lie, my life so far has been a slow burning hell…"
Anne lowered her drink as she stared wide eyed upon hearing this revelation. "Sash…I had no idea that was happening. Why didn't you tell us?"
"Because, you and Marcy are my safe place, Anne. No matter where we are, so long as I have you both next to me, that's my home. You two are my everything Anne, you mean more to me than either of you can possibly imagine. Is it any surprise I fell in love with the both of you? That's why I make sure to keep you two safe, that's why I make whoever hurts you two pay for it. Why I never abandoned you when I became the most popular girl in the school. Because I want you and Marcy by my side, now and…and forever. God I must sound like a complete mental case or something…"
Anne shook her head at that. "No! Sasha you're not! I get it! Marcy and I, we're special to you. And honestly, I can't think of better friends to have than you and Marcy. I'd love it if we could spend the rest of our lives together, even as more than just friends."
"So, to all three us. To our continued love," said Sasha.
"To our continued love," Anne replied.
Anne and Sasha tapped their glasses against each other and together they drank the beverage within. Both girls drank until the entire contents of the glasses were gone. When they were done, Anne smacked her lips and hummed in satisfaction.
"Mmm, like a fizzy blueberry flavored soda, neat," said Anne.
"C'mon, let's dig in before it gets cold. You're gonna need a lot of energy for what we do next," Sasha teased, again.
"Jeez, do you get a sick kick out of seeing me blush so much?"
"Oh absolutely, yes."
About thirty minutes later, Anne and Sasha had completed their meal and had moved to the bedroom where they just laid on the bed. Anne rested her back against the headboard, while Sasha rested her head against Anne's lap. The Thai girl gently brushed Sasha's soft blonde hair, enjoying the feeling of her golden locks passing between her fingers.
"Okay, I think we've waited long enough," said Sasha.
"Oh?"
Sasha got up and gave Anne a half-lidded gaze. "I'm going into the bathroom and will slip into something more…revealing. Wait right here."
Anne watched as Sasha sashayed into the bathroom and closed the door slowly behind her, giving Anne a wink before shutting it completely.
"Sasha Waybright. How the hell did I get this lucky?" Anne asked aloud.
Anne started to take off her jacket, but stopped when she remembered the letter was still inside. Screw it, I got a minute. Anne quickly tore it open and read the letter, and when she did her expression changed to utter shock.
"Dear Vice-Captain Anne, This is Tritonio Espada. If you have received this letter, then it means I was not able to make my daring escape and was killed by Captain Sasha. Now, I know you probably won't believe me. I am, after all, a thief. But you can bet that a good thief has their ways of dealing with double crossers even from beyond the grave. Vice-Captain Anne, you have been lied to. The conversation we no doubt had, the one that made you probably doubt the frogs of Wartwood, that was all a setup. You see, Captain Sasha approached me two days before our encounter. She paid me a good sum of coppers for my assistance in her plan to make you stop going to see the frogs of Wartwood. My part was to sew as much doubt in your mind as possible, while the captain paid a visit to the mayor of Wartwood and 'convinced' him to make you stop coming to their town. I know not what you think of your so-called 'friend' or 'lover', but she clearly does not want anyone else to have you. Even if it is in the capacity of friendship. I'm telling you this as to both screw up Sasha's plans, and to help you out. You can either believe what I say in this letter is true, or false. But I implore you either way to start thinking critically about the things she tells you, and her actions. Sincerely, Tritonio Espada P. S.: If by some miracle it turns out I was right, and this does mess up her plans. I get the last laugh. AH-HA!"
Sasha came walking in the room holding two different types of lingerie, and still in her dress. "Okay, so, I'm a little nervous. I wanted to be sexy for you tonight, and I really want your opinion before I put one of these on. Which would you like, Anne? Anne?"
The Thai girl rose from the bed and walked towards Sasha; her brow furrowed as tears streaked down her face.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Sasha asked.
Anne shoved the letter into Sasha's chest, making her quickly drop the two sets of underwear and quickly grab hold of the letter. "Read that. Now."
Sasha was confused, Anne's tone was serious, and full of anger. She quickly read the letter, fearing that it might be news about Marcy. However, when she finished reading it, Sasha released a growl of rage as the paper was flash burned into ashes in her hands.
"Fucking Tritonio Espada!" Sasha exclaimed.
"Is it true?" Anne asked.
"Anne, don't believe–!"
"IS. IT. TRUE?!" Anne demanded.
"Anne, listen to me–!"
"Oh my God, you can't even just say if it is or not! It's not a hard fucking question, Sasha! Yes, or no?!"
Sasha tried to come up with any sort of excuse to try and counter this, but her hesitation was only a damning admission to Anne.
"Goddammit, Sasha…I wondered why Hop Pop did a total one-eighty when I came back from my mission. And now that look on his face makes a lot more sense. He wasn't disappointed in me. He was disappointed in HIMSELF! He was disappointed that all of what happened, happened because he couldn't stand up to you! What did you do, Sasha?! What did you tell him that made Hop Pop feel like he had to lie to me?!" Anne demanded, again.
"Anne…I…I…"
This isn't happening! This isn't happening! This isn't happening! It can't be happening! Not like this! Sasha thought.
"Did you threaten him? Is that it?! Did you threaten his life?! His grandkids?! The town?! You know what, knowing you, it's probably all the above!" Anne accused.
Anne began pacing the room as she ran her hand through her thick head of hair.
"I can't believe this; you've been lying to me this whole damn time! Are you even telling me the truth about wanting to find Marcy?!"
"YES!" Sasha blurted out. "I wasn't lying about that, Anne! What I feel for you and Marcy, my wanting to find her, that's all real! What I said about you two back there is all true! I swear on my life it is!"
"And what about going home?" Anne asked.
Sasha fell silent.
"Oh my God…you never wanted to go back home, did you?" The pieces were starting to fall into place now. "That's why you want to go through with this whole coup plan. Why you want to work your way all around Amphibia, you want to build an army so you can conquer Amphibia and be its ruler. That's it, isn't it?! That's all this is about!"
Anne walked up to Sasha pointed an accusatory finger in her face.
"You just wanted to use me as your little attack dog, you had me kill Toadstool so I could get used to killing people for when it was time for this little war you want to start! Holy crap, I just realized, have you been planning this since we took over Toad Tower?! You sick bit–!"
Suddenly, Sasha slapped Anne across the face hard enough to make the Thai girl fall to the floor. Anne was in shock, wincing from the stinging pain radiating from the left side of her face. She slowly looked up at Sasha, and that's when she saw it. Gone was the mask of the loving girlfriend, replaced now by the look of rage, possessiveness, and…dare she say…evil?
"…You're right, Anne. I've planned all of this from the moment you found me. From the moment you unlocked my powers and showed me that we had powers. I planned the take over of this valley since then. And I've been planning the takeover of this whole damn world," said Sasha with an emotionless tone.
Anne shook her head in disbelief as she asked, "Why? Why do you want to takeover Amphibia? We have a life back home, Sasha!"
"Who, Anne? Who has a life? You? With your perfect little loving family, with a mom and dad that give a damn about you. Yeah, you're mom is strict, but if I had it my way, I'd much rather be a Boonchuy than a Waybright. But life isn't fair like that. I have a stepmom that's slowly poisoning my Dad against me, and a mom who barely acknowledges me. Meanwhile, you have a nice little family, and the same can be said for Marcy, despite her own restrictive parents."
Sasha walked slowly towards Anne, making the Thai girl flinch when she squatted down and looked her in the eyes, which were now glowing magenta.
"Little Sasha doesn't get to go home to loving parents, and a warm home. She's all alone, and the only ones who fill that void in my heart, are you and Marcy. That's why I'll never let anyone else have you. Not your parents, not some warty little frogs, not anyone. And yeah, I don't want to go back. I have nothing there worth going back to. But here, in Amphibia, we can rule as queens. You and I are the most powerful beings in this world. We could conquer all of it together! We could rule over this world as the three queens of another world, and I want you both at my side when that day comes!"
Sasha reached out and grabbed a fist full of Anne's shirt as she hoisted her up.
"Can't you see, Anne. I'm trying to make this world perfect for us. I'm trying to make this our new home. A paradise for the three of us. Where we can grow old and die together here. Away from everyone who would tell us to stay apart, away from anyone who could tear us apart. Can't you see everything I've done is for the three us?!"
"S-Sash, you're scaring me right now! Let me go!" Anne stated.
"No, Anne, I need you to understand. This has all been for our happiness."
"LET ME GO!" Anne ordered.
Anne's eyes glowed blue as lightning surged over her body and shocked Sasha's right arm, making the blonde release Anne as she fell to the floor. Anne slowly got up, her eyes still glowing blue as she glared back at Sasha.
"I take back what I said before, you really are crazy, Sasha," said Anne.
"I am…" Sasha shook the slight paralyzes off before she looked back at Anne. "I'm crazy for you and Marcy."
"…" Anne entered her fighting stance.
Sasha tilted her head as if confused by what she was seeing. "Are you…Are you raising your fists at me, Anne? Why are you doing that?"
"I'm going to stop you, Sasha. For the sake of everyone in this world, and for yours, I'm going to put an end to this tonight!" Anne swore.
Sasha's neutral expression changed to a smile of wickedness as she stated, "Oh, Anne, my sweet, sexy, little Anne. This fight's already over."
"I haven't even punched you yet, but don't worry, I'm about to get to it!"
"No, silly. I mean, this fight was over from the moment you drank that little concoction earlier."
Anne's eyes widened with fear as she remembered the two of them drinking something. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
"Anne…would you kindly lower your fists."
"What?! I'm not going to – what the hell?!"
Suddenly, against Anne's will, her arms started to lower.
"Anne, would you kindly sit down on the bed."
Again, against her will, Anne began walking towards the bed. She was scared, it was as if her body wasn't her own right now, as if something else was making it move, wresting all control from her conscious mind. After a few seconds, Anne was now sitting on the bed, and yet her body wouldn't respond to her at all, she was locked in place.
"S-S-Sasha stop it! I don't know what you're doing! But stop it!" Anne begged.
"I was afraid that you might turn on me, that you might start rebelling against me. So, I had a curse made and poured it into the drinks. Now I have control over your body Anne. Any time I say the words 'Would you kindly' followed by a command, you'll do it. No matter how much you don't want to, your body will do whatever I tell it to. I could even tell you when to go the bathroom, or…even naughtier things than that."
"Sasha…Sasha stop! This is so wrong! Make it stop!"
Sasha walked up to Anne and cupped both of her cheeks. "Anne, I really didn't want to do this. If you hadn't read that letter, you would've seen the kind of world I want to build with you and Mar-Mar. But that's alright. With enough time, you'll see that what I'm doing is the best thing for all three of us. And when that day comes, I'll release the curse."
The blonde teen let her hands drift down from Anne's face and onto her chest where she gave the Thai girl's breasts a harsh squeeze, eliciting a painful moan from Anne.
"Anne, I have to punish you tonight."
"W-W-What?! Punish?!"
"It's going to hurt, Anne."
"N-No…"
"Yes. I don't want to. But you need to learn that you can't disobey me. Now…" Sasha stood back and undid the clasp of her dress, letting it completely fall off her body and onto the floor. "Would you kindly undress yourself, Anne."
"No…No! Please! Sasha! NOOOO!"
Anne was lying on the bed, curled up in a fetal position. Her body hurt, especially down there. Her face was tear streaked, and her eyes had that hollow look from before. She was alone in the bed, naked under the sheets. And Sasha? Sasha was in the bathroom.
She…She hurt me…Sasha hurt me…
Sasha emerged from the bathroom wearing some shorts and a tank top. She moved the rest of the clothes to the corner of the room for now and got back into bed with Anne.
"I didn't enjoy doing that, Anne."
"…liar."
"I didn't. Do you think I liked forcing myself on you? Compared to the times we made love before? I'd much rather do that than have to do what I did again. But if you act up like you did earlier, you won't leave me any choice. I don't like hurting you, Anne. So, please, behave," said Sasha.
Sasha brushed some hair away from Anne's forehead, but the moment Sasha touched her, Anne's body flinched. That did not deter Sasha as she leaned over and kissed Anne's forehead.
"Now, try and go to sleep. If you still can't, tell me, and I'll command you to sleep."
"…I hate you."
"…You don't mean that."
"I do…"
Sasha furrowed her brow as she said, "Would you kindly snuggle up to me, Anne."
Anne's eyes flew wide open as her body once again went against her will and got closer to Sasha, wrapping her arms around the blonde girl's body and resting her head against the crook of Sasha's left shoulder.
"…Anne, nothing you say or do will make me stop loving you. Will I have to punish you if you keep acting like a bad girl? Yes. But if you do as I say, this will just be a bad memory that we can forget about. Now, get some sleep."
Anne watched as Sasha closed her eyes and eventually fell asleep.
Please…someone…anyone…help me…Mom…Dad…Marcy…help…
A/N: Be on the look out for the conclusion of Act 1 sometime today.