Sprig Plantar, ten years old, a young pink frog boy who lived in the little hamlet of Wartwood. Not a lot of big things have happened in his life, and the big things that have happened he could count them all on his one hand. The first was when his parents were killed by two herons. The second big thing? Was when two strange looking creatures called "humans" walked into town and lead an army of toads, proclaiming themselves as the new captains of Toad Tower. The third thing was when one of them, Anne, beheaded Toadstool for stealing tax money and trying to pin it on the citizens. And the fourth? That was a bit of a sore spot.
Anne, the girl he had started to like and become friendly with, accidentally hit him with a lightning bolt that stopped his heart and killed him. Despite that, Anne used her powers to save his life. Now, most people would probably be angry at her, by all rights Sprig was entitled to be angry at Anne for pretty much ending his life. But he wasn't angry at her, because the look on her face when he woke up, it was one of relief to see him alive. And then there was the look when she was told to never come back to Wartwood. Sprig could see just how hurt she was, and to this day he still didn't know why she was angry in the first place.
A month and a half had passed since that incident, and the valley had been through some changes. Captain Sasha had visited each of the different towns in the valley and presented her vision of a new Amphibia. One not ruled by the newts and a king who cares nothing about them, but by someone who can see the value in their individual skills and abilities. She wanted to break the shackles of this current system that binds each of the three races into their own assigned lots in life. And she needed everyone's help to do it, toads and frogs, and yes, even those newts who were actually opposed to this current system, but were too afraid to give any voice of opposition. Now, Captain Sasha had given them a voice.
The plan was laid out that the frogs of the valley and the toads would be trained together, learn how to fight, and bring their skills to bear. Many of the towns had started to fashion armor and weapons, getting ready for the revolution that was to come once the mountain pass had cleared of ice and could be traveled. Which was in a about four days from now if Sprig wasn't wrong. While all the other towns had agreed to join in this venture, Hop Pop had, well, he tried to refuse. If anything, he's been dragging his heels as far as Wartwood's participation was concerned.
Which Sprig wasn't blaming him. What Captain Sasha was talking about was a full-on war with the rest of Amphibia. If they joined their revolution, would they have to fight their fellow frogs? Sprig thought that might be the case, Captain Sasha and Anne were really powerful, so he doubted that anyone who saw them would say no to joining. Especially if they knew they'd make an enemy of them. Anne was put in charge of training the frogs her unique fighting style she called "Muay Thai", it was actually fun to learn, and Sprig found that it suited not only his fighting abilities, but others as well.
Frogs might not be as physically strong as toads, but they were wiry and fast, and Muay Thai taught you how to use pretty much your entire body as a weapon against your opponent, utilizing speed as much as strength. Different batches of kids and adults were to be bussed from the towns and to the tower, and then sent back to teach the local citizenry. Captain Sasha was determined to get this army ready by the time the pass opened so they could hit the ground running, so to speak.
One time when it was Wartwood's turn to send a batch of frogs, Sprig volunteered to go, along with Ivy. He remembered when he arrived at the tower and saw Anne for the first, he felt happy, he had to fight the urge to run up to her, but when he saw her, he became afraid. Not for himself but for her. Anne looked terrible. She had this look in her eyes, as if she was dead inside, even when she was training them, her voice was emotionless. Sprig had managed to break from the group at one point and went up to greet her, but the moment he reached out to touch her, Anne backed away and raised her fists as if Sprig was about to attack her. She had a frantic look in her eyes, and she was panting hard when that happened. When Sprig asked what was wrong, she just said, "Leave me alone," and walked off.
That was the last conversation he had with her, and it was almost time for everyone to get ready and march on Amphibia. Sprig never thought he'd be drafted into a war at such a young age, heck, he never thought he'd ever see a war in his lifetime. But now he was about to get brought into one.
Deciding to take his mind off things, Sprig accompanied Maddie Flour, the baker's daughter, and practicing witch, to go hunting for ingredients for curses and other types of spells.
"Thanks for giving me a hand with this, Sprig," said Maddie as she looked about the forest floor.
"Oh, yeah, no problem. I guess you'll need this stuff for the whole revolution thing, huh?" Sprig asked.
Maddie hummed as she replied, "To be honest, I'm not too thrilled with the idea of using my magic to hurt people. I want to use it to help rather than hurt, and if I must hurt someone, it must only be because they really deserve it. I'm sure Captain Sasha will want me to use my curses at some point when the war actually starts, but…I don't know if I want to."
"You're brave frog, Maddie," said Sprig.
"What about you? You're pretty brave too."
"Why do you say that?"
Maddie grabbed some moss and put in a jar before continuing. "You died. Most people would hate that girl for what she did, and a lot of the townsfolk do. But you, you only feel sorry for her and want to talk to her."
"I don't think she meant it Maddie. If she did, why would she save my life? She would've just left me for dead," said Sprig.
"True, she didn't have to save your life. The town was already going to hate her the moment she struck you with her lightning, saving your life held no benefit to her in changing that, yet she did it anyway," Maddie observed.
"Exactly! I know she's not a bad person! Something happened that day, but I don't know what, and it started when she left town hall," Sprig stated as he picked a mushroom.
"Have you asked your grandfather what happened?"
"He just keeps saying that it's better that I don't know. What is that supposed to mean?!" Sprig argued.
"Hmm…" Maddie hummed in contemplation.
"What?"
"I just…nah."
"No tell me," Sprig insisted.
"Did he happen to mention talking to Captain Sasha that day?" Maddie asked.
"Uh…no, I don't think so? I didn't even know that Captain Sasha had come into town at all," said Sprig.
Maddie shrugged. "Not surprising, you were off sparring with Ivy in the woods when that happened. I just find it curious that not long after that meeting, when Anne came back to Wartwood, she goes in and talks to Mr. Plantar, and then storms out and all that happens."
Sprig started to ponder Maddie words. His Hop Pop never said anything about Captain Sasha coming to talk with him, or that he had a meeting with her at all.
"I don't like this Maddie, too many things are lining up and at the same time not making sense," said Sprig. "Especially after I saw Anne that one time. She looked…hurt…like a wounded animal. Afraid to have anyone come near her because she thinks they're going to hurt her. I think something really bad happened to her after that. Something very bad."
Maddie shook her head in agreement with Sprig. "I'm starting to get that feeling, too. But without talking to Anne directly, or getting your grandfather to tell us what really happened that day, we can't do anything to help her, if she even needs help."
"I know she does, I just got a feeling about this," said Sprig as he placed his right hand over his heart, right where the scar was.
Maddie looked down at his scar, smiled a little, and said, "You're really somethin', Sprig. I admire that about you."
"What?"
"What?! Uh, I mean – OH LOOK – the rare Adamyre butterfly! I need its wings!" Maddie quickly lied as her face reddened.
Sprig glanced about and said, "I don't see it? I've never heard of that kind of butterfly before."
"Rare species! Not easily found! We need to catch it! C'mon!"
Sprig followed Maddie as the two hopped through the woods, bouncing off of tree trunks as they chased the imaginary bug.
UGH! I'm so stupid! Why did I say that! Don't say stupid things like that when you know he and Ivy are more than likely – what?
Maddie came to a stop on a tree branch with Sprig landing next to her.
"What's up? Did you find the butterfly?" he asked.
"Never mind that, look down there."
Sprig looked in the direction Maddie was pointing and saw a random store house out in the middle of the woods. "Huh, that's weird, I didn't think anyone lived out this far."
"Hmm, let's check it out. Might be some things left behind if it's abandoned," said Maddie as she hopped down.
Sprig shrugged and followed her lead on this one.
As the two frog children got closer to the storage house, they could hear noises coming from inside of it. Joyful noises. Sprig and Maddie glanced at each other and then stealthily moved closer until they were right next to the door and pressed their heads against it to hear what was going on. There was certainly a lot of jingling sounds, like a bunch of coins getting tossed up and landing on the ground.
"Woo-hoo! I've got more coppers than I know what to do with!"
Sprig whispered, "Is that Barry?"
"Sounds like it," Maddie replied in the same hushed tone.
"And to think, all I had to do was whip up a curse for that psycho of a Toad Tower captain," said Barry.
"A curse?!" they exclaimed.
"And he said he made it for Captain Sasha, you don't think…?!" Sprig asked.
Maddie started to think. "It is indeed possible, perhaps a curse was in fact the reason for all of this. It might just be the reason why Anne is acting the way she is now."
Sprig furrowed his brow and then kicked open the door, revealing Barry lying in a big pile of coppers making money angels.
"AAAH! Kids! What are you doin' here?!" Barry asked.
Sprig thrust an accusatory finger in Barry's direction as he said, "Give it up, Barry! We know you cursed Anne!"
"What?! How do you know that?!" Barry shouted as he shot to his feet.
Maddie crossed her arms and smirked at the candymaker. "We didn't, not until you just confirmed it. All we heard was you made a curse for Captain Sasha, we just guessed who it was used on."
Barry facepalmed himself for being tricked so easily.
"What did you do to Anne?!" Sprig inquired.
"Nothing as bad as what I'm going to do to you two. I can't have Captain Sasha finding out that I blabbed her secret, she'll burn me alive! So…you two need to go!"
Barry took out a curse pouch and tossed straight at the two kids. Sprig raised his arms up to in a feeble attempt to defend himself, but in the end, it was Maddie who saved them. She pulled out a small pouch and tossed it right in front of them. Upon the pouch striking the floor thick vines broke through and formed a wall. Barry's pouch struck the vine wall and exploded upon impact, burning away the vines. But they did their job in protecting the two of them, which made Barry gasp in shock that they survived.
"What the heck?! How did you survive that?!" Barry asked.
Maddie smirked as she responded, "You're pretty arrogant to think you're the only curse wielder in this town." The goth frog girl's expression shifted to one of anger as she glared with her single, uncovered eye straight at Barry. "And as a curse wielder myself, this abuse of magic disgusts me! You should never curse someone unless they really deserve it!"
The goth frog girl whipped out two pouches as she glared at the candy maker.
"And buddy, you really, really deserve it!"
Barry panicked and began tossing curse pouches at Maddie and Sprig. The young curse wielder jumped and kicked Sprig in the chest, using him as a springboard to both gain some altitude, and to get Sprig out of the way as he flew backwards out of the store house. The two pouches struck the spot where both kids stood a moment ago, exploding as the curse magic twisted the floor into an odd spiral shape. Maddie, who was still in the air, tossed the pouch in her right hand, at the wall near Barry. As soon it hit, the wall began to sprout tentacles that lashed out at the candy maker. Barry yelled in shock as he quickly ran from the tentacles, grabbing a pouch from his stash and throwing it at the tentacles.
When the pouch hit, the tentacles evaporated into nothing. But what Barry didn't realize, was that was what Maddie wanted. She glanced at the pile of coppers on the ground, and then back to Barry as a sinister smirk formed on her face. Barry looked to Maddie, back at the money, and then back to her.
"Oh no…"
"Oh yeeeeessss."
"No…!"
"Yeeeesssss."
"Nonononononnononononononono!"
"Yes! Yes! Yes!"
Maddie raised the pouch, winding up for the pitch.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Barry yelled as he ran for his pile of money.
Maddie delayed her toss just for a second, and then threw it straight for the money pile. However, the young goth frog girl was slicker than she looked. Because from where she was perched, she found some of Barry's own premade curses, and tossed it alongside her own. Just as she predicted, Barry's greed compelled him to protect his money, and foolishly put himself between the curses and the money. Both pouches managed to hit at the same time, creating a great explosion within the store house. A thick cloud of purple sparkling dust came wafting out of the building, making Sprig cough as he waved his hand to try and clear some of it out of his line of sight.
"Maddie! Maddie! Are you okay?!" Sprig called out.
"I'm okay."
"AAAH!" Sprig yelled as Maddie somehow appeared next to him.
"Barry on the other hand…"
The smoke finally cleared, and that's when he saw Barry. He was…well…he was some kind of hairy chicken. The candy maker looked down at his body and gasped in horror at what he had been transformed into.
"Bakaw! My body! My beautiful body! What have you done?!" Barry exclaimed.
Maddie took out another pouch and tossed it up and down in her left hand. "Oh, who said I was done?"
The young curse wielder tossed another pouch. The curse exploded against Barry, and magically, his legs were taken away, leaving him falling onto his rear and flailing about as he tried to get up and failed each time.
"You're a flightless bird, so don't even think about trying to escape like that," Maddie warned.
Sprig furrowed his brow and said, "Okay, Barry, time to come clean! What kind of curse did you give Sasha?! What exactly did you help her do to Anne?!"
"Bakaw! Like I'd tell you! If I tell you, then I'm going to get killed for sure! I'm keeping my beak shut!" Barry retorted.
"You better tell us what you did or else!" Sprig threatened.
"HA! Or else what?" Barry smirked up at Sprig, smugly looking at him with a knowing gaze. "You don't have a mean bone in your body, kid. You couldn't hurt someone even if you tried."
Sprig wanted to protest, but he did have a point. While he wasn't above getting angry, and getting physical, when necessary, it just wasn't in Sprig's nature be a hateful person. The pink frog boy deflated when he realized he really had nothing to back up his threat, and without that, he wouldn't be able to make Barry change his mind in the least.
"You're right, Barry, Sprig's too nice of a guy to really cause anyone harm. And honestly…" Maddie stole a glance at the young frog boy and smiled. "…That's not a bad thing. However, in this particular case, it's not really what's needed."
Maddie began examining the contents of Barry's shelves, humming a little tune as she did so.
"This is quite the impressive collection of ingredients you have here, Barry. Very high-quality stuff. I've searched the valley and only managed to find half of these ingredients. I could make some real nasty curses with these," said Maddie.
Barry's smug expression started to change slightly, "W-What are you getting at?"
"I mean, while Sprig doesn't have it in him to hurt someone." Maddie's expression turned scarily wicked. "I have no such problems. Being a curse wielder, you have to have a certain level of intent when casting a curse. It requires you to be in tune with your negative emotions, and I'm very in tune with my negative emotions."
Maddie took a few flasks and marveled at what was inside them. She then began taking some of the ingredients out and mixed them together into a freshly made curse pouch.
"Maddie…what are you…?" Sprig asked.
"Sprig, you're probably about to see a side of me I really didn't want to show you, or…really…anyone. But, if we want to save Anne from Sasha, then you need to let me handle this my way. Understand?" Maddie asked.
Sprig wasn't sure, but he slowly nodded his head and stepped back.
Maddie walked up to Barry with the new curse pouch and glared down at him with a sinister grin on her face. Barry had seen Maddie Flour around town, and only interacted with her briefly during his time in the market. She always had a creepy smile, but right now, this smile, it was something different. There was, dare he say, dark intention in her eye. Her smile spoke of a sadistic glee that she was unable to indulge in, until now.
"You're going to tell us what we want to know, Barry."
"W-What are you going to do with that?" Barry asked with a bit of fear in his voice.
"Oh, nothing much, just rearrange the function of all the orifices on your face."
As soon as she said that Maddie tossed the pouch at Barry's face. Upon exploding, Barry's eyes moved into his mouth, his eyes became his nose, and the holes for ears became his nose. Barry made horrible noises as he flailed about in a panic, unable to figure out how his rearranged functions were supposed to work.
Sprig stopped himself from hurling upon seeing this horror.
Maddie snapped her fingers, and the curse she just inflicted was lifted, and now allowed him breathe and talk normally.
"There are all kinds of different ingredients here, Barry. So many that it's making me giddy with excitement. I want to try so many of them!" Maddie started to blush as the excitement bubbled within her. "And I have you as my test subject!"
Barry started to back up as Maddie advanced on him.
"C'mon, Barry, as a fellow curse wielder, you should be just as excited as I am! We can test out so many different curses! There are some I haven't even been able to try because I didn't have the right ingredients, and now they're here! Oh, don't worry Barry, I'll make sure you don't die! But I can't guarantee how much your body can take before finally giving out! But up until that moment, we'll have hours and hours of fun!"
"KEEP HER AWAY FROM ME! SHE'S INSANE!" Barry exclaimed.
Sprig decided to jump in and give him an out. "Hmm, I don't know Barry. Maddie's looking very excited about testing out some curses. And, honestly, I don't know if can stop her. But maybe…if you tell us what we want to know, I could probably talk her into not curse torturing you. 'Cause, let's face it, Sasha will probably just cut you in half and end it there. But Maddie…"
"C-C'mon, let's test a few! A little of this," Maddie began putting together another pouch. "A little of that – oh – definitely gotta add this! Oh, wow! I didn't know you had this too! I've always wanted to see what kind of reaction the curse will have when you add this!"
To be honest, Sprig wasn't really sure if he could stop her with the way she was sounding, but if Barry believed him, then it was worth a shot.
"OKAY! OKAY! I'LL TELL YOU! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING! JUST STOP THAT CRAZY WITCH!" Barry pleaded.
Maddie was advancing on Barry again, a new curse at the ready, with an eager look in her eye to use it. However, Sprig got between her and Barry and held out his arms.
"G-Get out of my way, Sprig!" Maddie ordered.
"Maddie, just hold it! He's willing to talk!" Sprig stated.
"Oh, he will talk, I can curse him so that if he lies, he'll lose function of a vital organ until he tells the truth! And even if does lie, it'll still force him to tell the truth! What do you think, Barry?! Ready to spill your guts?!"
"MADDIE!" Sprig yelled.
The goth frog girl seemed to snap out of whatever little trance she was in and lowered the curse pouch as she looked away in shame. "S-Sorry…I…"
"Maddie, are you…okay?" Sprig asked.
"…Sprig…what you saw, is a side of me I don't like others to see. I get…really excited about magic…about curse making. I meant what I said when I said I was in tune with my negative emotions…maybe too in tune. I do want to use magic to help people, but sometimes…there's a part of me that really, really wants to hurt people with it…but I make sure that it's only those who deserve it. But living in Wartwood, we don't have that many people who are deserving of my brand of curses so…I got a little carried away with the prospect of going all out. It's okay if you think I'm a monster…"
Sprig reached out and took Maddie's right hand into his left, as he smiled at her. "It's okay, Maddie. You're not a monster. You've helped a lot of frogs with your potions. I know you're a good person inside, despite how you may look on the outside."
Maddie blushed from hearing Sprig's kind words and smiled at him. "You really are too nice sometimes. Anyway…" the young curse wielder looked directly at Barry. "Start talking, or this next curse will make you wish you talked a lot sooner."
A couple of hours passed before Sprig and Maddie came rolling into Wartwood. They had commandeered Barry's wagon, tied him down to the back, and wheeled him into town for all to see. Of course, such a spectacle drew a lot of attention from the townsfolk, which made them gather around the two young frog children, along with Hop Pop.
"What in the world did you find, boy?" Hop Pop asked.
"Oh, we didn't find him. This is Barry, the candymaker. Maddie cursed him," said Sprig.
Mr. Flour, Maddie's father, facepalmed. "Daughter, I thought you said you only curse people who really deserve it."
"Oh, trust me, Dad, he did deserve it," said Maddie as she glared at Barry.
Sprig cleared his throat and began addressing everyone within earshot, "Listen up everyone! Something bad's happened and you need to hear it! Barry, tell 'em!"
Barry huffed, refusing to speak. But then one look from Maddie and seeing her holding a curse pouch made the candymaker sing like a canary.
"Bakaw! Okay! Okay! Look, a month and a half ago, Captain Sasha came to me and paid me a lot of money to make a curse for her. A curse that she was going to use on Vice-Captain Anne," Barry confessed.
The crowd started to murmur upon hearing Barry say this, some were a bit curious about this, and others were apathetic considering the events that occurred with Sprig.
"Tell them what kind of curse," Maddie ordered.
"It…It was a control curse. This particular one allows someone to control the body of the victim. By uttering a specific phrase, you can make the person do anything you want, against their will. The victim is fully aware of what they're doing but have no power to stop themselves from doing what they've been told. You can also…" Barry hesitated to mention the rest of the curse's functions.
Sensing that Barry didn't have the balls to finish his explanation, she did it for him. "The curse also gives you complete control over that person's bodily functions as well. You can make them sleep when you want to, go to the bathroom, pretty much anything within reason."
Now everyone gasped when they heard what else the curse could do. Although they still had some harsh feelings towards Anne for what she did to Sprig, even they felt that such a curse was going way overboard.
"Wait, so are you saying that day that Sprig was hurt, Vice-Captain Anne was cursed?" Ivy asked.
"No, apparently that was before she got cursed. The cursing happened sometime after. Tell them the reason why Captain Sasha wanted it, Barry," said Sprig.
"Bakaw…She, uh, she wanted a way to control that girl…to keep her to herself. Listen, I'll be the first one to tell ya that chick is nuts! She's a whole other level of crazy! This one over here notwithstanding," said Barry.
Maddie curtsied, taking it as a compliment.
Hop Pop had been silent this whole time, listening to their explanation, and now he realized he hand he had in pushing Anne to such a creature as Sasha. "Everyone, there's somethin' Ah need to tell ya. Somethin' Ah should've told everyone a long time ago. The truth about what happened that day Sprig got hurt, and the reason behind it all…"
Everyone listened as Hop Pop explained the events of that day, how Sasha came to town hall and practically threatened him to make sure Anne would stop coming to Wartwood. How he had to stand there and lie to Anne, telling her that they were just being nice to her out of fear, breaking the poor girl's heart. And that because of what he did inadvertently led to Sprig being legally dead for a minute until Anne shocked him back to life. Hearing this information made every frog in Wartwood feel a great weight fall onto their shoulders. They yelled such hateful things at Anne, made her feel like she was never welcomed to Wartwood. And it was all a huge scheme to push her into the arms of Sasha Waybright, who just to add insult to injury, cursed Anne so that she could never disobey her.
"My Frog…" Wally whispered.
"This…This is terrible! Captain Sasha's a complete monster!" Felicia exclaimed.
"There's gotta be something we can do to help Anne!" Ivy stated.
"There is," spoke Maddie, "we can use a counter curse and free Anne from Sasha's control. It won't be easy, but if we're successful, she can finally be free from that monster."
Hop Pop nodded his head and asked, "Okay, how long will it take to make the counter curse?"
Sprig reached into the wagon and pulled out a flask of brightly colored liquid. "Got it right here!"
"Wow, that was fast," Mrs. Croaker commented.
"According to Barry, Sasha had him make it. She apparently plans to remove the curse one day when she's sure that Anne has been…ugh…'thoroughly trained'," Maddie cringed from uttering those words.
The cringe and disgust was felt all around.
"Hold on there, Ah think we need to consider somethin' here," said Sheriff Elliot Samuel. "If we go against Captain Sasha, there's a right good chance that we're all going to pay a heavy price for it. She might even kill all of us for helpin' Anne."
That was a fact that they couldn't get around. If they helped Anne, if they freed her, then Sasha would know, and her wrath would come down upon Wartwood and every frog in it, women and children, it didn't matter, they'd all be slain without remorse.
"Do you think Anne might be able to fight her? Can she win if we free her?" Loggle asked.
"Ah think we have to accept the fact that regardless of how well we plan this out, some of us, if not all of us, aren't gonna live to see the next day," said Hop Pop. "Ah hate to be grim right now, but that's the reality we have to face."
The others in the crowd started to become fearful, and some even seemed to question whether or not freeing Anne was even worth the trouble.
"But…"Hop Pop continued, "Ah do know that if we don't do anythin', Sasha is goin' to march every frog and toad in this valley onto the rest of Amphibia, and if she continues doin' what she's doin', she'll just make her army bigger and bigger until she finally has the support she needs to kill the king and take over our world. The only hope Amphibia has is if we manage to save Anne, who's probably the only one strong enough to stand on equal footin' with Sasha, or at the very least she can get to the king to warn 'em of what's comin'. Ah know Ah'm askin' a lot from ya. Ah know Ah'm askin' y'all to pay the ultimate price. But if Amphibia is goin' to have any chance of survivin' this, then we need to free Anne, no matter the cost."
Silence reigned within the town for several long seconds as they all mulled over Hop Pop's words. It was a steep price he was asking them to pay, he was essentially asking them to lay down their lives for Anne, but then again, it wasn't just for Anne, it was for the good of Amphibia. They may die, but many other families of frogs, newts, and toads will be alive to see another day thanks to their efforts, or at the very least will have a fighting chance against that monster. Before any of them could voice any concerns, or protest, Sprig stepped forward.
"I'm willing to take the risk, Hop Pop," said Sprig with every bit of confidence.
Maddie stepped up next beside him and said, "I am too. I can finally put my magic to use to help someone."
"I'll join too! I'm not about to let a jerk like Sasha get away with doing such bad things," said Ivy as she punched her left palm.
Mrs. Croker stepped up next and added, "I'm not about to let a buncha youngsters like these throw down their lives alone. It's embarrassin' as an elder and an adult."
"Here! Here!" Wally proclaimed as he joined their side. "Ah ain't afraid of some fire breathin' she devil!"
"YEAH!"
"YEAH!"
More and more frogs began to join in. Hop Pop wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, asking all these frogs to lay down their lives, but he was sure that helping that girl was not a mistake.
"Yeah!" Polly hopped in brandishing her morning star. "Let's kick that bitch's ass!"
"Polly, language!" Hop Pop scolded.
"Hehe…sorry, Hop Pop."
Anne was in hell. That's the conclusion she came to. She was in hell and there was nothing she could do to escape it. Her body was not her own to command; all control had been taken from her. She couldn't do anything without Sasha telling her or allowing her to do it. Every night since she was cursed, Sasha had taken more from her. Forced herself on her and made her perform lewd acts to satisfy Sasha's carnal urges. If she cried, or acted as if she hated it, then Sasha's gentle and caring demeanor would turn on a dime and then the pain would begin. Gentle touches became painful thrusts, a caress became a scratch, and thanks to their accelerated healing from their powers, any damage was healed by the next morning at the earliest, by noon at the latest.
Anne never imagined her life becoming this, she never saw herself becoming a victim. She had heard stories on TV about girls who were trapped in abusive relationships, who couldn't see the signs until it was too late. Anne often criticized those girls from the safety of her home from behind a TV screen, saying things like, "I SOOO wouldn't put up with that!" or "You should've noticed sooner!"
Grime was the first to warn me…but I was too blind…too…too enamored with Sasha to see what she was doing…she's been manipulating me from the start…I deserve this…I deserve this for being so stupid. I deserve this for not seeing this sooner…
Not being in control of her body left Anne with time to think, and in that time, she reflected on the past, bringing up all her past memories of when Sasha coerced her into doing something, or forced her to do things that she didn't necessarily want to do. Sasha made Anne give her things, most of which were Anne's to begin with, shoes, clothes, some school related items. Then there were the scare dare challenges, forcing Anne and Marcy into situations that Sasha blatantly knew neither one of them would complete either due to being too scared of the challenge itself, or because the challenge would get them in trouble if they were caught at all.
There were also times when Anne had to take the blame for Sasha, and now that she thought about it, she never once heard her supposed "best friend" ever so much as utter a "thank you" or "I'm sorry that you had to take the blame". Sleepovers were sometimes the subject of Sasha's whims. The "practice kissing", God, Anne wished she could punch herself right now. Sasha was practically grooming them from further back, waiting for her chance to finally make them her own. But once they arrived in Amphibia, Sasha was free from all the rules of Earth, she could do whatever she wanted, and act how she wanted without fear of reprisal from any adult or authority figure. And the addition of her powers certainly didn't help matters.
Currently, the two of them were inspecting the mountain pass that led out of Frog Valley. The large iceberg that had blocked the way was almost nonexistent now, just some chunks here and there. There was a path small enough for a wagon to get through, and if they were careful the army Sasha had raised could make it out if they marched single file. But that would take too long, and Anne knew Sasha was eager to get her plans underway. Now that they're inspection was complete, Sasha ordered the toads to return to the tower and have the rest of the towns prepare their frog troops to move out by morning the following day. Anne and Sasha entered their private carriage and began heading away from the pass back to the tower.
"Tomorrow the pass will be open, Anne. And then we can finally start our march on Amphibia, and find Marcy," said Sasha.
"Yeah…" Anne replied in an emotionless tone.
"C'mon, Anne, please sound more excited about this. We're gonna be able to make this world ours, and hopefully, soon, we'll have Marcy right beside us."
Anne briefly glanced at Sasha and asked, "Are you…Are you going to do to Marcy what you've done to me?"
Sasha sighed as she looked out of the window of the carriage. "Anne, I told you, I don't like this either. But you've been making me question you're loyalty, and I know this will be hard for you. I just want you to understand that I'm doing all of this for us, so that we can all be together. In a world that we rule. Why would you ever want to go back home?"
"…Sasha, if I promise to never leave you. If I promise to not disobey you, ever. Will you promise me that you won't do this to Marcy? That you won't curse her the way you did me? Please, you can keep doing all the things you've been doing to me even after you lifted the curse. Just…if you're going to be rough with anyone, be rough with me. I don't want you to hurt Marcy," Anne pleaded.
Sasha looked at Anne and smiled as she gently rubbed her lover's left cheek. "Anne, you really keep making me love you more. You're willingness to put Marcy's wellbeing above your own is so admirable. But I won't hurt her. I already told you I don't like hurting you. But you have to learn to obey me Anne, I want you to trust me in all things. To be mine and no one else's."
The blonde teen moved closer to Anne as she began kissing the Thai teen's neck. Anne wanted to fight against this, but she was glued to the spot she was sitting by Sasha's earlier command. Anne gritted her teeth when she felt Sasha's right hand caress her left thigh, growing more fearful as that hand steadily pushed between her thighs.
"Anne, would you kindly open your legs a little," she ordered.
"P-Please, Sasha, not here…Not in here…can you at least wait until we get back to the tower?" Anne begged.
"Anne, right now, I could have that toad stop this carriage, and I could march you into those woods and take you like a wild animal on the dirt ridden ground, on your hands and knees. Or I can take you in this comfy carriage with some privacy. But either way, this is happening. And the less you fight me on this, the less I have to order you to do it. Either that or you can just enjoy it, that's also an option," said Sasha.
Anne hissed as she felt Sasha's hand begin to rub against her crouch, she squirmed in place, trying to get away from her touch, but it was a futile effort. Sasha kept touching Anne as she continued to neck her, leaving little bite marks that would turn into hickies after a minute, but would fade not long after. She enjoyed marking Anne, even if it only lasted a short time, she enjoyed seeing how she left a mark on her bound lover, effectively establishing that Anne was hers. Sasha was about to slip that same right hand under Anne's pants when a knock was heard from the roof of the carriage.
"Ugh, what is it?!" Sasha asked.
"Sorry, Captain, but we just got a message via a bat," said the toad.
"What's it about? I'm kind of in the middle of something," Sasha stated in agitation.
"It's a letter from the mayor of Wartwood, he says he wants to speak to you regarding Wartwood's deployment tomorrow."
Sasha sighed as she pulled her hand away and scooted to the other side of the carriage. Anne mentally thanked God and Hop Pop for that bit of divine intervention. Sasha reached her arm out of the window and waited for the toad to hand her the letter. Once she got it, she read it through and smirked.
"Huh, sounds like that old frog's finally coming around. Driver, change of plans, we're heading to Wartwood, now," Sasha ordered.
"Yes, Sir!"
Anne felt the carriage change direction. "W-Wait?! W-Wartwood! S-Sasha I-I can't go back there! They hate me!"
"Do you really think they'll try something with me around? Unless they have a death wish, they won't dare touch you. Plus, if you're that hung up about it, I'll have the carriage park outside of the town and you can wait in here. It won't take that long anyway," said Sasha. "Sorry to work you up, Anne. I promise to take care of you on the way back to the tower."
I deserve this…I allowed this to happen…all of this is my fault…
After a two hour drive the carriage arrived at Wartwood, Sasha had the driver stop at the main gate of the town like she promised and had Anne wait there inside. She ordered the toad soldiers to stay with the carriage and that she would be back shortly.
Sasha walked through the town, some of the residents were there, and looked as if they were gearing up for battle. Which was good, as far as she was concerned, they had been dragging their heels long enough. Sasha walked up the steps of town hall and arrived at Hopadiah's office, finding the frog mayor sitting patiently in his chair behind his desk.
"Mayor Plantar, I got your message." Sasha sat down as she grinned at Hopadiah. "So, you're finally deciding to toe the line?"
Hopadiah nodded. "Yes. And Ah apologize fer that. This whole war business has us all a bit shaken. Amphibia hasn't been to war in a long time. Heck, the last war anyone can even remember was about, oh, more than a hundred years ago."
Sasha nodded. "I do understand, Hopadiah. But you also have to understand that this is for your own good. The current system puts all your frogs down and makes the toads into hired thugs when they have more to offer than just being the muscle for the kingdom. That will change once Anne and I change things around here. We'll make sure to restructure this world so that all species have the chance to be more than they were."
"Ah'll admit, that does sound mighty good. Ah worry about what kind of future Ah can provide for Sprig and Polly, and with the way things are, Ah doubt they'll ever be able to live up to their full potential," Hopadiah admitted.
"See, there you go, this benefits them too. Trust me, when this is all over, they'll have a bright future. And since you did as I asked when it came to Anne, I'll do you a favor. When the fighting starts, I'll make sure Sprig is at the rear of the army, as far from the fighting as possible. You'll be able to rest easy knowing that you're family name will continue on without fear of ending with your grandkids."
Hopadiah hummed in agreement as he poured himself a glass of water and was about to drink it but stopped suddenly. "Oh, pardon me. Where are my manners, do you want a glass?"
"Actually, I wouldn't mind. Let's just say I'm going to need to be well hydrated by the time I get back to the tower," said Sasha with a knowing smirk.
Hopadiah seemed to flinch and tightened his grip on the glass he was holding, but Sasha didn't notice, and he managed to maintain his cheerful smile in spite of the obviously lewd connotation of her words. The old frog handed the glass of water over to Sasha, and then poured himself one.
"To the future of Amphibia," said Hopadiah, raising a toast.
"To the future of Amphibia," Sasha repeated.
The two gently tapped their glasses against each other and began to drink. Hopadiah let a smirk form on his lips before letting his own water go past his lips and down his throat. After a few seconds, Sasha had downed the entire glass, and so had Hopadiah. Both parties placed their glasses on the table and smacked their lips.
"Wow, that's good water. Is it flavored?" Sasha asked.
"A bit, yes. The privaliges of bein' the mayor and all," said Hopadiah.
Sasha chuckled as she replied, "Heard that, Mr. Mayor. Well, I'm gonna get going. Anne's waiting for me in the carriage, and we should really get things ready for tomorrow."
"Hold on, before ya go, I want to say a few words," said Hopadiah.
Sasha groaned. "Seriously, Hopadiah? I am a very busy girl, and I have a lot to get ready."
"It won't take much time, not fer me anyway," he assured.
Sasha sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay, speak your piece."
"Thank ya kindly." Hopadiah scooted out of his seat and looked out of his window at the town. "Ah've lived here a long time, Sasha. Ah've seen a lot of things too. The Plantar family's roots can be traced far, far back to this town's foundin'. And in all that time, Ah can honestly say that this time Ah'm livin' in is truly the most unexpected."
"Mmm-hmm," Sasha wordlessly uttered.
"Yep, Ah've seen a lot…But Ah must say, Ah've never come across a creature or bein' in all of Amphibia as cruel, monstrous, and evil as you."
"Mmm-hmm…Wait, what did you say?" Sasha asked.
Hopadiah turned around and smirked. "Oh, sorry, let me repeat myself. Yer lower than dung beetle shit, and you're the bane of Anne's existence."
Sasha rose from her seat and glared down at the old frog. "Old man, you'd best watch what comes out of your mouth next."
"Or what? You'll kill me?" he asked.
"What do you think?"
"Ah don't need to think about it, Ah know ya will. But that's fine. Ah already made my peace with my passin'," Hopadiah confessed.
Sasha was starting to wonder what was going on. The old frog was acting strangely he really was not afraid to die. Why though? Why was Hopadiah not afraid of her? Something was off and Sasha didn't like it.
"Ah know all about what you did to Anne. Ah know you cursed her," Hopadiah informed.
"What?! Ugh! Damn you, Barry, you fat piece of shit!" Sasha cursed. "Fine, yeah, I did. It was for her own good. I'm not apologizing for it."
"Nor do Ah expect ya to. A demented creature like you wouldn't feel any remorse for such things…" Hopadiah coughed. "But now yer gonna lose everythin'."
Sasha scoffed at the empty threat. "Please, spare me. So, what if you know Anne's cursed, there's nothing you can do about it."
Hop Pop coughed again, but managed to reply, "Oh, Ah beg to differ. Ah can do one thing. Ah can free that poor girl from you."
Sasha placed both of her hands on the desk and glared daggers at Hop Pop. "You've really lost it if you think I'll let you take Anne away from me. I won't just kill you, Hopadiah, I'll kill your whole family. Forget what I said about your family line surviving, I'll end it here."
Hopadiah coughed again, but it was a bit harsher than before. "Havin' the family line end here, for a noble cause…is a small price to pay…"
Sasha watched as Hopadiah coughed violently as he put his right hand over his mouth. When the old frog pulled that hand away, she saw that there was blood on it. Sasha's eyes widened when she saw this and glanced at the pitcher of water.
"What the fuck did you do to that water?! You poisoned it! Didn't you?!" Sasha accused.
"Fer me…it…it was poison. Fer you, it was the counter curse…By now, Anne and the kids should almost be at the mountain pass…She'll be far away from you, Sasha…and the whole of Amphibia will know that yer comin'…"
Hopadiah coughed again, and this time more blood came out as he stumbled backwards into his chair. Sasha's eyes widened with shock. She was just tricked by this stupid frog, and had Anne swiped from right under her nose.
"No…No…! NOOOO! ANNE CAN'T LEAVE ME! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" Sasha screamed.
"…Eh-heh…At least Ah did…something worthwhile…in the end…"
Sasha's shot the old dying frog a murderous glare as her eyes lit up. She pointed her right hand at Hopadiah and released a huge blast of flames that roared and engulfed his entire body. The wall and window behind Hopadiah exploded upon the flames striking, blowing a huge hold in it. Sasha jumped through the flames and landed outside of town hall. She quickly ran around the building, heading for the main entryway, but skidded to a halt when she saw that many of the Wartwood frogs were now armed with weapons, and fully donned with armor. And all of them were staring her down, prepared to fight, even if it was a battle they knew they were going to lose.
Sasha looked ahead of them, and that's when she saw that the toad soldiers she left with Anne were all on the ground, and the door to the carriage was wide open. The blonde teen shook her head back and forth as she gripped both sides of it.
"No…NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOO! ANNE'S MINE! I WON'T LET HER LEAVE ME!" Sasha yelled.
"Even if it costs us our lives," said Wally.
"If it means we can give them even a second of extra time to escape," said Felicia.
"Then we'll gladly lay them down for that girl!" Mrs. Croaker finished.
Sasha's eyes looked crazed as she stared down the army of frogs that were standing in front of her, standing in her way of her and Anne.
"I'LL KILL YOU…I'LL KILL YOU ALL! YOU WON'T KEEP ME FROM MY ANNE! DO YOU HEAR ME!"
A ring of fire appeared around Sasha's waist, and within seconds her Driver materialized.
"HENSHIN!"
Sasha's body was engulfed in a dome of flames, and within seconds she was now donned in her Rider armor. She quickly pressed her right hand against the crystal filament of her Driver and drew out her sword. The blade was completely wrapped in raging flames that matched the unbridled rage Sasha was feeling. Sasha then stabbed her sword into the ground and pressed down on both of the devices yet again. Upon doing so, her right and left arm changed, getting additional armor as different colored lines appeared over her armor as well. Anne and Sasha had unlocked their different form changes, and managed to unlock a form that combined all three, granting them the benefits of their three base form changes in one. Not only that, but this form also boosted their power threefold. The red Rider drew her sword and let her flames rage around her, building them up more and more. The heat was so intense that frogs' skin was starting to blister from a distance, forcing them to back up.
"ALL OF YOU…EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU…DIE BY MY HELLFIRE!"
Sasha slashed with her sword, sending out a wave of flames in a wide, and quite frankly large crescent that none of the frogs in front of her could even hope to dodge. All they could do was stand there as all of them were instantly burned to ashes. The crescent struck the entryway of the town, releasing a huge explosion at the gate. Sasha didn't stop there, she slashed to her right and destroyed more of the buildings, setting them ablaze. Another slash to her right did the same. The wrathful girl kept swinging her sword in all directions, not stopping for a second as flames engulfed the entire town. When she was done, Sasha was standing in the middle of a town on fire, panting and still seething with anger.
"The mountain pass…I…I have to get to the mountain pass! Now!"
Sasha jumped into the air and focused her flames to release an explosion under feet that propelled her higher into the sky. Once there, Sasha cocked back her left gauntlet fist, ignited its jets, and thrust forward. The jets roared to life and carried Sasha forward, granting her flight as she headed right in the direction of the mountain pass.
(A Few Minutes Earlier…)
Anne waited patiently in the carriage; it was all she could do honestly. She had no control of her life. Suddenly, a familiar voice could be heard coming from outside of the carriage. Anne managed to tilt her head just enough to spot none other than Sprig walking up to the toad soldier standing at the right side of the carriage.
"Hey there, soldier, sir! Wha'cha doin'?" Sprig asked.
"Beat it kid, we're on duty," said the soldier.
"C'mon, we're about to be comrades soon, I just want to chat it up with a fellow freedom fighter," said Sprig.
"Look, I get it, but can ya talk to me some other time when Captain Sasha ain't nearby?"
"Actually, I was just wondering if you could do me a quick favor?" he asked.
"Okay, fine, what's the favor?"
"I need you to fall asleep."
Suddenly, Anne heard something from the top of the carriage. Afterwards, the second of the two soldiers fell off the carriage and onto the ground.
"What the–?!"
That was all the soldier managed to say when he turned around, and that's when Polly came up and bashed him in the head with her morning star. The toad fell to the ground, whether he was unconscious, or dead was not to be debated right now. Once both guards were taken out, Sprig rushed to the door and threw it open.
"Anne!" he exclaimed.
"S-Sprig, w-what are you doing?" Anne asked, confused.
"We're here to rescue you," Sprig answered confidently.
"W-W-What? I…I don't need rescuing; you need to leave before–!"
"We know you were cursed." A raspy voice drew Anne's attention, and that's when she spotted the goth frog girl, Maddie. "We got the truth from the one that Sasha asked to make the curse, and we created a plan to uncurse you and get you out of the valley, now."
Anne couldn't believe what she was hearing. No…No t-this has to be a trick. This is just Sasha trying to test me to see if I'll be loyal to her, it has to be! They hate me! They wouldn't help me!
Sprig reached out and gently touched Anne's right hand. "Hop Pop told us what happened. About what Sasha made him say to you. The frogs in town know it's not your fault. And they want to help you get away from Sasha. Anne, we're all here to get you out."
"You're…Y-You're joking…this…t-this is a trick, right?" Anne asked, still in disbelief.
Suddenly, a snail came driving up, and at the reins was the yellow frog girl, Ivy Sundew. "I read Bessie's entire manual…in one night…just so I could drive this baby! We're getting you out of the valley, Anne! And we're coming with you!"
Maddie came up to Anne, with a flask of colored liquid in hand. "This has the counter curse in it. You need to drink it, and afterwards, all we have to do is wait until Sasha drinks hers. Once that happens, the curse will be lifted, and you'll have control of your body again."
"You're…You're really helping me?"
"We ALL are, deary."
Anne looked towards the town, and that's when she saw the townsfolk armored and weaponed up, ready to fight. All of them had smiles on their faces as they looked straight at her.
"You've done a lot for us, and in the end, we threw you out based on a lie. There ain't no words we can say that will ever make up for what we did, so, we'll make it up with action," said Mrs. Croaker.
"But…even if I wanted to, I can't leave the carriage…I'm not allowed to move from this spot," said Anne.
"Just to be clear, you can't move from this spot, right?" Polly asked.
"Yes."
"Like, you yourself can't move from there?" Sprig clarified.
"YES! I FUCKING CAN'T GET UP FROM THIS SPOT!" Anne answered in annoyance.
"Good to know!" Wally exclaimed.
Just then, some of the Wartwood frogs came into the carriage and carefully extracted Anne from it, who was comically still in a seated position as she was moved out of the carriage and onto the seat on Bessie the snail.
"…Okay, I did not see that coming," said Anne.
Maddie jumped onto the snail and uncorked the flask. "Hurry and drink this so we can get moving!"
Anne looked at the flask, and then back to Maddie. She then glanced at Sprig who smiled and nodded at her. Deciding to put her trust in the frog child, Anne opened her mouth and allowed Maddie to pour the liquid down her throat. Anne chugged the contents of the flask until there was nothing left inside.
"O-Okay, now what?" Anne asked expectantly.
"Now we're getting out of here!" Ivy answered.
Sprig grabbed ahold of Polly and jumped onto Bessie. Once they were all on the snail, Ivy turned Bessie around. The frog children took one last look at their town, at their parents and family friends, and then Ivy shouted, "BESSIE! THINGS ARE GETTIN' MESSY!"
The snail kicked it into high gear and went full throttle down the dirt road, kicking up a dust cloud in her wake. The group continued to drive at a fast pace, putting many miles of distance between them and Wartwood. Anne still hadn't regained control of her body, but she hoped it would be soon. It was then that a thought occurred to her.
"Wait, why were they all dressed for a fight?" Anne asked.
The children remained silent.
"What are you guys not telling me?"
They still kept silent.
"Sprig, Maddie, someone, tell me what's really going on?! There's more to this plan you guys aren't telling me, right?!" Anne demanded.
Sprig sighed as he said, "Anne…everyone back there…they're staying behind to buy us as much time as they can. Even if it's only a few seconds. They're going to sacrifice themselves."
Anne's eyes widened upon hearing this news. "No…No, they can't do that! Sasha will annihilate them! What about Hop Pop?!"
"Mr. Plantar is going to die soon." Maddie answered. "The counter curse potion has ingredients that are toxic and will cause death not too long after being ingested. That is if you're not the person who's the caster of the curse or its victim. Mr. Plantar figured that Sasha might be suspicious of him, so in order to make sure she drank the counter curse, he'll also drink it. He'll die, but it'll ensure that Sasha drinks it and undoes the curse."
"The other kids from the town were sent away to relatives in the other towns, all the adults stayed behind to fight…" Ivy stated with some sadness, knowing that her mother was among them.
Anne couldn't believe it; the entire town was sacrificing their lives to save her. Just so she could get away from Sasha and be free from her control. They were doing all of this for her sake. The group were about a little over halfway there to the mountain pass, and once they did, Anne suddenly got feeling back in her body. Anne started to move her hands, and then her arms, and finally her legs. She twisted her body to and fro, and then she started to cry.
Sprig and Polly cried too, because the fact that Anne had control over her body meant that Hop Pop was successful in his mission.
Anne glanced over her shoulder at the two siblings and said, "I'm…I'm so sorry, Sprig, Polly."
"Hop Pop did it for you, Anne. He wanted to make up for breaking your heart and lying to you," said Sprig.
"And don't worry, he's probably going out telling off Sasha right now, getting the last laugh on that witch," said Polly.
"Hey, I resemble that remark," said Maddie.
"Oh, right, sorry. Wait, we're alone, I can swear for real!" Polly inhaled. "FUCK THAT BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHH!"
Ivy giggled, along with Maddie, but their eyes were watering. They knew that their parents were more than likely dead or about to die. Anne clenched her fists; all of this was her fault. So many people were probably dead right now, and it was all her fault for not standing up to Sasha sooner, for being such a weak person that she completely dismissed or flat out ignored the warning signs.
"I…"
"Don't say you're sorry," Maddie interrupted. "This is something we all knew we might not walk away from. Honestly, we're still not in the clear yet until we get through the pass. Well, IF we can."
"We can," said Anne, "Sasha and I were just there. The pass still has a lot of big chunks of ice, but there's a path that's opened that's small enough for wagons and soldiers to march through single file. I think it's just big enough for us to squeeze through, but I can't say for sure what the other end looks like. But if it's blocked then I'll unblock it!"
"Good to know, 'cause we're just about there!" Ivy stated.
Anne looked ahead, and sure enough, the mountain pass was coming up. The path that she had spoken of earlier was still there. This was it; they were about to make it out of there. However, that was not happening. Anne felt something, she expanded her awareness and detected something heading right for them.
"LOOK OUT!" Anne yelled as she yanked the reins from Ivy and pulled back on them hard.
Bessie came to a screeching halt just in time to avoid the object that she sensed from hitting them. But that did not save them from the ensuing shockwave. The object impacted the ground a few feet ahead of them, causing a powerful shockwave to erupt that threw Bessie into the air, along with the kids. Anne tapped into her powers and made the Driver materialize around her waist as she pressed down on the buttons and yelled, "HENSHIN!". The Thai teen was surrounded by a dome of lightning and was immediately transformed into her Rider form.
Anne landed on the ground, but then used her speed to quickly dash around the area, snatching Maddie, Ivy, Sprig, and Polly out of the air before they could hit the ground. She had them all in the crook of her arms and began looking around for the snail, when she heard the snail's chirps, Anne rushed to the snail and dropped off the kids. Something else landed in the smoke, creating a gust of wind that blew the remainder of the dust cloud away, and revealed Sasha in her Trinity Rider form. There was a wide crater behind her, and when Sasha raised her left arm into the air, something flew out of the crater and attached itself to her arm. Anne recognized it as her battle gauntlet, a purple spike knuckled weapon that had jets that not only increased Sasha's attack power, but also allowed her to launch it like an anime robot flying punch attack.
Anne felt a surge of fear run up her spine as she gazed upon Sasha's movements. She swayed a bit as she got her footing and then slowly turned her head in Anne's direction. Despite having her face covered, Anne could just see the animosity and rage that lurked behind that helmet. She was beyond angry right now, beyond pissed. This was the part in a domestic violence situation where the abuser was ready to kill the person they supposedly loved if the victim didn't cooperate. If not kill, Sasha was quite possibly ready to inflict maximum pain on Anne, beat her down until she couldn't move, and then drag her limp body back to the tower where she could heal and then begin a new cycle of abuse. Anne's hands were trembling, she never thought she'd ever have to fight the girl she once called her best friend, whom she looked up to, who she had come happy to call her lover.
"Anne…why did you leave the carriage?" Sasha asked in an eerily calm tone.
"Sasha…please…"
"Anne…I asked you a question. Why did you leave the carriage? I asked you to stay in the carriage. And when you weren't, I got scared and came looking for you."
"Sasha, what did you do to the frogs in Wartwood?" Anne dared to ask.
Sasha tilted her head back and forth, as if taking a moment to think about her answer. "Oh…what did I do? Wait. Oh yeah. I burned that shit hole town to the ground. And everyone in it as well."
Anne's fists began to clench. "Why…Sasha…WHY?!"
"YOU'RE MINE ANNE! NO ONE ELSES! WHY CAN'T YOU GET IT THROUGH THAT THICK SKULL OF YOURS THAT YOUR PLACE IS AT MY SIDE! I LOVE YOU! I WILL GIVE YOU AND MARCY ALL MY LOVE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE! I WANT TO CONQUER THIS WORLD FOR YOU TWO! TO MAKE IT OUR NEW HOME!" Sasha yelled.
The frog children were shocked when they heard this, although, the sting of it was probably not as strong as they thought. They knew that this whole "war for equality" was nothing but a lie, but they could never figure out Sasha's ulterior motive. Now they heard it straight from the horsefly's mouth. This whole war was only so that Sasha could become ruler of Amphibia, and rule over it with Anne and Marcy.
"I NEVER ASKED YOU TO DO THAT, SASHA! I NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS! I JUST WANT TO FIND MARCY AND GO HOME!"
"FUCK HOME! FUCK EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT PLACE! I'M YOU'RE HOME NOW, ANNE! THIS IS GOING TO BE OUR WORLD NOW! WHERE NOTHING AND NO ONE CAN TEAR US APART!"
"You killed all those frogs…you killed their parents…I…I…"
Anne raised both of her hands.
"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY!"
Anne pressed down on both hip devices as three different lights shined and transformed her into her own version of Trinity Form. The Thai teen yelled at the top of her lungs as she dashed straight for Sasha. The red Rider raised her shield just in time to block the hand mounted poison spike. Anne kept pressing her attack as she pushed Sasha further and further back, but Sasha wasn't having it as she launched her shield forward and managed to push Anne back.
Sasha jumped into the air and fired her gauntlet right at her lover. Anne dashed to the right as the gauntlet struck the ground and quickly returned to Sasha as she landed. Anne jumped into the air and came down with a flying ax kick. Sasha jumped back, barely missing the kick as Anne's heel struck the ground where she had stood, fracturing the earth beneath their feet. Anne concentrated and made the glowing spikes on her armor detach and form two lances. With both weapons in hand, Anne ran right for Sasha again, this time thrusting and slashing with her lance weapons.
The red Rider managed to block most of the hits with her large shield, but even in her Trinity Form, Sasha knew that Anne had the advantage when it came to speed. While she had more physical power to cause damage, Anne could just dodge the attacks and wear her down with consecutive attacks. Which was what happened next.
Anne jumped back and hurled the right lance at Sasha, she blocked the initial hit, but when she readied to fire her gauntlet, Anne was gone. During the block, Anne had jumped into the air, grabbed the deflected lance, and was now plummeting down towards Sasha. The blue Rider raised her lances, and as she landed behind Sasha, she slashed her back, forming a glowing pink "X" in her wake. Several sparks flew off Sasha's armor as she grunted in pain. She pivoted on her left foot and came in with a left backhand fist, but Anne ducked under the attack. Sasha raised her sword and slashed downwards, but Anne managed to catch the blade in the crook of the "X" pattern with her lances.
Anne managed to deflect the blade to the ground and then elbow Sasha in the chest with her right arm. A mini shockwave erupted from the impact, making more sparks fly. Sasha stumbled back a bit, and Anne was about to charge in for another attack, but the red Rider swiftly ignited her flames and slashed the ground in front of her, creating a wall of raging flames that managed to stop Anne in her tracks. Sasha had to think of a way to overcome Anne's speed, a way to ensure that she wouldn't dodge and take her blows. That's when she remembered, she was here with frog children.
Sasha glanced over her left shoulder and noticed that the frog kids had managed to get the snail moving towards the pass, one of them was lagging behind, a little tadpole. If she remembered correctly, that was Hopadiah's grandchild. Sasha raised her gauntlet, ignited the boosters, and then launched the fist right in her direction. Anne managed to break through the flames and slashed again, but Sasha blocked with her shield and held her ground.
"You're not paying attention ," said Sasha.
"HOW DO YOU FIGURE?!" Anne asked.
"Do you see my gauntlet on my arm?"
"Wait, wha – POLLY!"
Anne noticed too late, and so did the others. Polly turned to her left as the spiked gauntlet smashed into her. The impact and carnage was like a watermelon getting hit by a semi-truck. Sprig, Ivy, and Maddie could only stand there with pure horror-stricken faces as they saw bits of Polly's body and blood get splattered all over the ground, trees, and bushes. The rocket fist returned to Sasha and was now stained in the tadpole's blood.
"Wow, she popped like a water balloon. That was pretty sick," said Sasha.
"POOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY!" Sprig wailed as he fell to his knees.
"P-P-Polly! No…NO!"
That distraction was enough to grant Sasha a moment to push Anne back. She wrapped flames around her sword and slashed Anne across the chest, causing a huge amount of sparks to fly from her body. Anne stumbled about before regaining her footing, but before she could attack Sasha, she saw her former lover pointing the gauntlet at another of the kids.
"Let's see if you guys pop like her," said Sasha.
The gauntlet launched itself again, this time aiming at a still mourning Sprig.
"SPRRIIIGGG!"
Anne dashed at full speed straight for Sprig. She was able to keep pace with the gauntlet, but she knew she wouldn't be able to get him out of the way in time. So, she did the next best thing. At the last moment, Anne poured more of her power into her speed and managed to get ahead of the gauntlet as she threw out her arms. The gauntlet struck Anne right in the middle of her back, casing another large amount of sparks to fly off as the young Rider coughed up some blood inside her helmet. The gauntlet practically bounced off Anne's back and then shot back towards Sasha. Anne struggled to stay up, but that didn't last long as Sasha came in and grabbed Anne with her gauntlet and tossed her away from the kids.
The blue Rider landed on the ground, losing her two weapons in the process. Sasha threw her shield at Anne as she started to get back up, striking her right in the head, and ringing Anne's bell as she felt incredibly dizzy before hitting the ground. Sasha managed to appear over Anne, raised her right foot and then stomped on her chest, making the Thai teen wail in pain.
"YOU!"
Stomp.
"JUST!"
Stomp
"COULDN'T!"
Stomp.
"DO!"
Stomp.
"WHAT!"
Stomp.
"I!"
Stomp.
"TOLD!"
Stomp.
"YOU!"
Sasha's back was suddenly assaulted by several explosions. The red Rider looked behind her and saw that Maddie was throwing several exploding curse pouches at her, but none of them were even scratching the armor.
"UGH! YOU LITTLE FROGS ARE SO FUCKING ANNOYING!"
Sasha tossed her shield at Maddie while she was still in midair. With no way to dodge, Maddie was sliced through her stomach, losing the lower half of her arms in the process. The two limps and two halves of Maddie's body fell from the air and plopped unceremoniously onto the ground.
"MADDIE!" Sprig and Ivy exclaimed.
The two frog children ran to the upper half of Maddie's body, she was still alive, but the damage was so severe, and she was fading fast.
"Heh…g-guess I managed…t-to do some good…w-with my m-magic…" Maddie croaked.
"J-J-Just hang on, Maddie! Anne can fix you! She'll beat Sasha and fix you!" Sprig assured.
"C-Can't fix…this…Sprig…I'm just…going to say it. I've like you…a lot…you never made fun of me…and yeah, I know you thought…I was creepy…but…you still talked to me. I wish…I had the guts…to tell you sooner…heh, now…I have no guts…"
"S-Stop talking, Maddie!" Sprig begged.
"Can…Can you kiss me…just once?" Maddie pleaded.
Sprig, with tears in his eyes, kissed Maddie on the lips. A chaste kiss, one that could only be shared between two children.
"T-Thank…you…"
"Maddie…Maddie, wake up…MADDIE!" Sprig yelled.
"Wow, that was so sappy and cute. I feel bad for doing that…okay, now I'm over it." Sasha felt Anne's left hand grab her ankle, regaining her attention. "Anne, I need you to stop."
"I…HATE…YOU!" she roared.
"Anne, you don't mean that," said Sasha.
Lightning surged through Anne's hand and up Sasha's armor, causing several sparks to ignite all over her body. Sasha cried out in pain and managed to kick Anne's hand away, allowing the Thai teen to roll out from under Sasha's boot. She kept rolling until she eventually hit a tree. Anne used the tree as leverage and picked herself up until she was standing on both feet. Sasha growled as she came up on Anne slammed her left armored palm against Anne's chest, pinning her to the tree.
"Why do you insist on hurting me, Anne? I told you I don't like hurting you, I don't like punishing you. But now I have to because of that nasty and complete lie you just uttered," said Sasha in a crazed tone.
"Fuck…you…!"
Sasha raised her sword and hooked it under Anne's left arm.
"W-Wait…Sasha…Stop!"
"Grit your teeth, Anne. This is going to hurt a lot."
Sasha focused her power into her right arm, and then swiftly slashed upwards. Anne had a delayed reaction. She looked to her left and saw that most of her left arm was gone below the bicep. Blood was spilling out from the open wound as the other half of her arm laid there on the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"I'm sorry, Anne! I'm really, really sorry! But don't worry, even if you have only one arm, I'll still love you. Also, that means no one else will be able to love you because of this now. That's okay though, all you need is me and Marcy, that's all you really need!" Sasha, sort of, apologized in a still insane tone of voice.
Anne could barely register anything that Sasha was saying, the pain was so excruciating that everything else was blocked out. Lightning started to erupt from Anne's body as several bolts struck Sasha's armor, her power was reacting to the pain and coming to her defense. Sasha couldn't hold onto Anne and was forced to let her go. Once she had, Anne's lightning struck the severed area, cauterizing the wound and rapidly started to heal the damaged tissue. The pain was starting to ease, but it still hurt so bad.
"Are you ready to behave, Anne? Or do I need to punish you again?" Sasha asked. "AAAAAAAAAHH!"
Sasha yelled painfully as Anne's lance suddenly pierced through her right side. Anne, after regaining her senses, was shocked to see that Ivy had managed to pick up one of her weapons and stabbed it through Sasha's back.
"THAT WAS FOR MADDIE!" Ivy yelled.
Sasha growled savagely as she turned around, raised her sword, and cut Ivy right down the middle before the little frog knew what hit her. Sasha switched the sword to her left hand, gritted her teeth, reached back behind her, and pulled out the lance with a loud cry of pain. Once it was extracted, her flames sealed the wound, cauterizing it, and healing the damage inside.
"LITTLE BITCH! UGH!"
"TAAAAAAKE THIIIIIIIIIISSSSSS!"
Sasha looked up and watched as Sprig hefted Anne's scythe into the air and then tossed the weapon straight at her. The red Rider easily dodged it, and then in retaliation, launched flames at Sprig. Stuck in the air, Sprig tilted his body to the right. When the flames hit him, Sprig screamed as he hit the ground. Sasha growled as she walked over to the pink frog boy, noticing that only half his body had been burned, but the damage as was severe, there was no chance of him surviving.
"I hope that was worth the effort. You stupid little frog," Sasha mocked.
"It…It was…"
Sasha noticed something; he was looking behind her. The red Rider quickly turned around, but not quick enough. Anne, who had grabbed the scythe, twirled her weapon around, energizing the blade with all the power she could muster, transferring what was left of her Trinity power into it, and slashed upwards with her weapon. Sasha leaned back as far as she could to avoid the fatal blow, unfortunately, she didn't lean back just quite enough. The energized blade created a trail of light and crackling electricity as it sailed upwards, hooked into bottom left side of Sasha's helmet right under her eye, and carved through it.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Sasha screamed in agony as her Trinity Form deactivated. The red Rider scrambled away from Sprig and Anne, clutching at her face as she fell to the ground and began writhing and thrashing about in sheer pain.
Anne panted and then her body was wrapped up in lightning. A moment later and Anne was returned to her civilian form, and her arm was still missing. She looked over her shoulder and saw that her missing arm reverted back to its original state as well. She nearly threw up, but she couldn't be bothered right now. Anne knelt next to Sprig, seeing the half-burnt body of the pink frog boy brought Anne to tears.
"You didn't throw it to attack her…you threw it to give it to me," said Anne.
"Heh…w-worked like a charm…" Sprig coughed, and then called out, "B-Bessie…!"
The snail quickly slithered over to them. Bessie looked down at the injured Sprig, tears forming in her eyes as she looked upon the last of the Plantar family whom she served as their steed for many years. The snail began to release a trilling song as if to lull Sprig to sleep, and Sprig smiled up at the Plantar family's noble steed.
"There's…supplies…in the bags…and…a map…G-Go to Newtopia…w-warn the king…I'm sorry…A-Anne…but y-you're the only one…who can save my world…" Sprig spoke.
"I'm sorry…All of this…It's all my fault! If I hadn't opened that stupid box, we wouldn't be here! You're family, everyone's families, they'd still be alive if it wasn't for us!" Anne cried.
"Maybe…but…I'm glad I…I got to meet you…anyway. Maybe…if we…found you…we…we could've been…been…"
Anne watched as the life left Sprig, and with his passing, came the end of the Plantar family line, forever.
The Thai teen cried heavy tears, so many deaths, so much suffering. And for what? Anne glanced over at Sasha, rage filling her as she used the scythe to push herself back up to her feet. However, before she could make a move, Bessie nipped at her hair, stopping Anne from going any further. Anne thrashed about until Bessie let her go and turned to face the snail.
"WHAT?! I NEED TO FINISH THIS! I HAVE TO STOP HER BEFORE – AAAH!" Anne's injury surged with pain, making her nearly fall if it wasn't for the scythe.
Bessie began chirping at Anne. Although she couldn't speak this creature's language, it was clear to understand what it was trying to say to her. "They're gone, my family is gone! Don't let their sacrifice be in vain!"
Anne looked back at Sasha, who looked as if she was recovering from the injury.
"Okay…"
Anne let Bessie help her onto her back. The Thai teen took the reins into her right hand and directed the snail towards the narrow opening.
"B-Bessie…things are getting…messy!"
Bessie chirped loudly as she slithered forward at top speed, no faster than that, she was going to make sure that her family's final wish was carried out.
Meanwhile, Sasha's injury managed to heal. The helmet was still damaged, allowing one to see some of the injury she sustained. A large scar was over her left eye, and the eye itself was milky white, completely blind.
"ANNE! AAAAAAANNNNE! ANNE BOONCHUY, WHERE FUCKING HELL ARE YOU?!" Sasha called out.
She was having a hard time adjusting to only having one eye, but she managed to see a trail of snail slime.
"No…!"
Sasha ran to the narrow opening and saw that the snail and Anne were so far away now. The red Rider pressed on the left hip device, transforming her left arm into the purple gauntlet. Sasha widened her stance and planted feet as she pointed the weapon right down the shaft. She was not going to let her girl get away, she was not about to let her leave her. She was going to drag her back kicking and screaming, and then punish her again for what she did.
However, before Sasha could fire her gauntlet, her entire body was engulfed in a flame dome before she was forced out of her Rider form and was now back in civilian form.
"No…NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! C'MON! COME BACK!"
Sasha kept trying to summon her power, but the injuries she sustained, and the battle with Anne had drained her. She had never had to fight that hard against any creature, even the dark monsters. But when she fought Anne, she had to fight hard, and she sustained more injuries than she had ever before.
"ANNE, DON'T LEAVE ME! COME BACK! PLEASE! I NEED YOU! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Anne could hear Sasha's pain filled voice echo through the passage, but she ignored it. She could see light at the other end of the tunnel, and within seconds Bessie managed to get them through the other side. A vast field was laid out before her, along with a dirt road that stretched on for miles. Anne wanted to rest, she felt so tired, and she hurt so badly, but she couldn't. They had to keep moving, they had to put as much distance between them and Sasha as possible. It would take her time to muster up just the toad army, even longer to gather up all the forces in the valley. The way would be passable by tomorrow, and if Anne and Bessie weren't far enough, Sasha's forces would catch up with them.
"Bessie…let's go."
Bessie chirped and began slithering full steam ahead.
"I'm sorry…Bessie…we're both hurting so much, but…we have to keep moving. Sasha will come after us, she won't stop until she has me. We have to put as much distance between us between now and tomorrow," said Anne.
Bessie chirped back in response, as if saying she understood.
"Please…Please forgive me for what happened to your family…"
The snail chirped sadly, but kept on moving, nonetheless.
Anne would steal glances over her shoulder at the mountains that comprised Frog Valley. So much happened to her beyond those mountain walls. She awakened to her Rider powers, she found her orientation, she fell in love, had her first time, fought monsters, killed someone, was hurt by the one she loved multiple times, and now…she was free from her. But how long she would remain free was up for debate. The war was coming, and Anne's only chance of stopping it lied in Newtopia. She could only pray that, along the way, she would find Marcy before Sasha did.
KRAA: The Broken Hearted
ACT 1
END
A/N: Now we're done with Act 1, the second and final act will begin...a couple of weeks from now.
This week I'll be focusing on Heroes, and Witch the following week. Please look forward to those updates!