The red crescent moon shined down upon the forest below, within the forest was an abandoned mill. Connected to that mill was a river that generated basic hydro power for that mill, but tonight that river served another purpose. Further upstream, someone was sitting in that ice cold river, and that person was Sasha Waybright. She was one of the three human girls who was transported to Amphibia and was probably one of the more ambitious of the trio.
Why was she sitting in the middle of a river, wearing a makeshift cloth bikini? Well, it wasn't because she was out for a midnight swim. Sasha held her stomach as she felt the pain again, it started to get stronger the more she fought against it, the pain intensifying to the point that it felt like her insides were tearing themselves apart. But Sasha was stronger than that, she was not going to be brought down by this mysterious affliction.
Suddenly, the water around her started to boil. The icy cold water became warm and bubbled as if it was being rapidly heated. Steam started to rise from the river, and within seconds Sasha's body was set ablaze with intense flames. Sasha screamed into the air as the flames erupted from her body, causing a small explosion that dispersed the water around her. Thankfully, the water managed to keep the flames from raging out into the forest, the last thing they needed was for her to cause a wildfire.
The water crashed back into place, extinguishing the flames. Sasha slowly rose from the river, panting heavily from the pain as it receded. On the shore was Braddock, she had a towel ready for the human as she watched Sasha walk out of the river and back to shore. The toad warrior quickly moved to Sasha's side and gently draped the towel over her body.
"T-Thank you, Braddock," said Sasha.
"Sash, this is getting much worse, I don't like seeing you suffering like that," said Braddock.
"I know…I know…But I can handle it, I've handled it for the last month, and I can keep it up."
Braddock knew that Sasha was a tough girl, the toughest she'd ever met, but this wasn't normal. The pain that she was feeling in her stomach, and the flames that ignited around her body, that wasn't normal, even by Amphibia standards, and Sasha assured them that that was not normal for humans. The stomach pain might've been something else, but Sasha was a bit embarrassed to go into detail about it, but the flaming aura, that was definitely not normal.
It was part of the reason why they hid in a place like this, the literal flare ups would give away their position wherever they went. So, Grime decided to hide in the mill, since it was abandoned no one would come around, and thanks to it being near a river, it allowed Sasha to go in and dowse her flames and prevent them from showing where they were. Braddock had volunteered to escort Sasha to and from the river, and Sasha was grateful for that.
Braddock and Sasha made their way back to the mill, and Braddock brought Sasha back inside. Percy was snoring away at the far end of the mill, with Grime lounging on a pile of grain sacks, his chest rising and falling as he slept. The human girl thanked Braddock quietly before she lied down on her spot in the mill. Braddock stayed with Sasha for a few minutes until the teenager finally drifted to sleep. Once she was assured Sasha was out, Braddock began walking back to where Percy was sleeping, but paused when she noticed Grime's one glowing eye starting at her.
"How was she tonight?" Grime asked.
Braddock rubbed her left arm and said, "It's getting, worse sir. She seems fine after it's over, but it's the pain that concerns me. I'm worried that the next time this happens it might be too much for her to handle, and she might…"
"That's enough, Braddock…thank you, you're dismissed," said Grime.
Braddock nodded and lied down next to Percy. Grime looked on at Sasha, the old gladiator had lost a lot, but he couldn't figure out why for the love of frog Sasha continues to stay with them? She didn't belong in this world, and if there was a way to get back her best option was to reunite with her other human companions. It annoyed him, and if he was being honest, it also made him happy. She was like the daughter he had never had, being a captain in charge of an army didn't provide him with the chances to find a wife. He poured all his time and effort to making the South Toad Tower great and powerful, a force to be feared.
He wasn't going to lie, he was worried just as Braddock and Percy were, but there was nothing he could do. This wasn't a disease, if anything it appeared as if it were some kind of ancient witchcraft of some sort. Perhaps Sasha was cursed without her knowing? This all happened not too long after Toad Tower fell, could it have been one of those frogs? Or could the other human, Anne, have done something to Sasha during their fight that he missed?
Whatever it is…I fear this will claim her before long.
Despite her episode that night, it didn't deter Sasha from waking up in the morning to do her routine. The young blonde dressed herself in her armor and ran out to attack the day. She ran to her training course, doing a few pushups and sit ups, followed by some jumping jacks to get herself warmed up and stave off the cold morning air. With that done, she began running back to the mill, using a longer trail to get there.
Sasha saw the first part of her course, a large canyon gap. The blonde teen increased her speed, jumped, and flipped in the air, narrowly dodging a giant insect that snapped at her with its pincers. When she landed, Sasha chuckled mockingly at the monster, she never understood how that thing hadn't figured out the best timing to get her, but she admired its persistence. Sasha continued her run and jumped up, grabbing a sturdy tree branch to do a few pull ups before using the branch to swing forward.
The human girl grabbed ahold of a vine and continued her swing, she dismounted from the vine and began hopping across several stumps, never losing momentum as she leaped from one to other. Sasha performed one more flip in the air before landing in front of her last obstacle. Set up in front of her were four dummies made to look like Anne, Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly. Without a moment's hesitation, Sasha grabbed dummy Sprig and smashed her head against it, destroying the melon that acted as its head. She continued her assault by raising her left hand and karate chopping the log that stood in as Hop Pop. After essentially assaulting an old man, Sasha moved to the fake Polly and punt kicked her like a football.
Now only fake Anne was left standing, it was here that she hesitated. The words spoken to her during their fight at Toad Tower echoed in her mind over and over again. How could she lose control of everything? How could she lose Anne like this? How come Anne changed so much? It was all that frog family's fault, Anne never went against her, she was always meek and timid, and it was always Sasha's job to protect her. Some people would complain about having do something like that, but Sasha didn't mind, she liked Anne, and it was because of that it was hard for her to accept how Anne was now.
"TRAIL BY COMBAT!"
"It's over, Sash! You're not going to push me around anymore."
"Hey, Anne…maybe you're better off without me…"
She didn't believe that, she would never believe that. She wasn't better off without her, Anne needed her, and she needed Anne. Just like Marcy needed her…both of them needed her. With an aggressive growl Sasha turned around and struck the Anne dummy with a flying kick, when the dummy fell to the ground, she drew her sword and pointed it over the dummy. She panted hard from her workout, but also from her pent-up frustration over this whole situation. Sasha pulled out a photo of her, Anne, and Marcy, she looked at it with both longing and anger, she didn't know what she was going to do, but for now all she could do was train.
"Yo, Grime, how was my form on that last kick?!" Sasha asked. She turned around and saw that Grime hadn't watched at all. "Grime?" Sasha walked towards the mill, which sported a wanted poster of Grime on it, she opened the door and asked, "Grime, are you in there – Oh my gosh!"
What Sasha found when she opened the door was Grime, still lounging on the grain sacks, but now he had a barrel moved in front of him, with Sasha's cellphone propped up as he watched one of her downloaded TV shows. On his stomach was pile of cheese beetles, and from what it appears, the former gladiator had let himself go since the fall of Toad Tower. Especially with the addition of a beard.
{Next time on: Suspicion Island!}
{But, Randy, I think you're suspicious!}
{NOOOOO!}
Grime stuck his tongue out snapped up some of the beetles on his chest. He then chuckled and said, "Wow, Randy too?! Everyone really is suspicious!" Grime looked up as Sasha's shadow was casted over him, the teenager glared down on him, none too pleased by his current state. "Hey, what's up Sash?"
Sasha growled and said, "Oh, I'll tell you what's up! You're sitting here, binge watching trash TV all day, when we're supposed to be training! I mean, what are you going to do when someone comes to claim the big fat price on your big fat head?!"
No sooner had Sasha said that did two bounty hunters come crashing through the boarded-up windows of the mill. Sasha immediately drew her sword and deflected one of the assailants blows. The second came her with an ax, forcing Sasha to backstep away, she caught the next attack with the flat of her sword and pushed back against the bounty hunter, making them stumble backwards. The first bounty hunter came charging in, looking to exploit her opening, but Sasha proved that any opening she had was just a form of bait as she kicked the first bounty hunter in the gut and forced him to retreat.
"GRIME, HELP ME TAKE THESE GUYS DOWN!" Sasha yelled.
Grime attempted to grab his sword, straining from the effort. After a couple of tries he turned to her and said, "Nah, you got this."
"UGH! Okay, guys, that's enough," said Sasha as she threw her sword to the ground.
The two bounty hunters stopped their attack, with both of them running into each other and falling to the ground in front of Grime. The bounty hunter with the ax lifted her hood and revealed themselves to be Braddock, the second with the sword showed himself to be Percy.
"Oh man, I landed on my favorite horn," said Percy as he pulled out said broken horn.
Grime looked down at his two subordinates and asked, "Percy? Braddock? Why were you–?!
"Sasha thought a little action my help you get out of your rut," said Braddock.
Grime's eyes narrowed as he glared at his subordinates and Sasha as he hopped out of his makeshift chair. "So, you all staged this attack?! Sounds like you two belong…" Braddock and Percy held their breath, they knew where this might go, this usually ended with them going to the Pain Room, but since the Pain Room no longer existed, they feared what he could do instead of it. "…On Suspicion Island!"
Percy and Braddock broke out into laughter along with Grime; however, Sasha was in no laughing mood.
"Hey, you guys want to join me? The season's just getting good," Grime offered.
"AH heck nah!" Sasha grabbed Percy and Braddock from behind, spun them around, and stopped when they were at the front door. She reached into her belt and pulled out some money and gave it to Braddock and said, "You two go into town and get some food or whatever, I need a word with Captain Grime, alone."
"Okay!"
"Suits us!"
With that said, Percy and Braddock headed towards town, leaving Sasha and Grime alone in the mill. The teenage blonde turned around and growled at Grime in both disappointment and anger.
Grime just looked at his young ward with confusion and asked, "What? Oh, beetle fingers." Grime licked the remnants of his snack from earlier off his left hand and returned his attention to Sasha. "You were saying?"
"What can I say?! Look at you, you're a mess! What happened to the Grime I used to know?! The badass captain of Toad Tower! Mr. 'Take Him To The Pain Room'! That Grime?!" Sasha demanded.
Grime sighed as she plopped his rear back on his seat and said, "He's gone, Sasha. Ever since Newtopia branded me a traitor, I don't see the point anymore…"
Sasha rubbed the back of her head as she sighed, "So you lost control of the valley, abandoned your post, and you're a fugitive. That doesn't mean we should give up! We can still put those frogs back in their place and reclaim what's ours!"
Grime chuckled at the idea. "Us and what army? All but two of my soldiers have abandoned us. We can't possibly retake the valley!"
Sasha face palmed at this defeatist mentality that Grime had adopted since the tower fell. "So, that's it then? You're just going to sit here and do nothing?"
"Do nothing? Hello, I'm growing a beard!"
"Yeah, don't remind me."
Grime reached into said beard and pulled out a can of Bog Grog, he popped the cap of the can and said, "Look, Sasha, don't worry about it. I may be a little out of shape," Grime downed the whole can of Bog Grog and continued, "But I'm sure I can lick whoever Newtopia sends after me!" The burly toad chucked the can up, wrapped his tongue around it, and munched it down, afterwards he released a long and powerful blech that blew Sasha's hair back.
"You better be right about that…"
"More importantly…"
Sasha knew where he was about to go with it and decided to stop it. "No, we're not discussing that."
"Oh, I think we should. Braddock told me how it's getting worse," said Grime.
"Yeah, it is, so what?! I'm still standing, aren't I?! It's just some weird curse or something, I'll beat it!" Sasha assured.
"A curse that's getting worse by the day." Grime got off his seat and walked up to the teenager. "Perhaps it might be for the best that you meetup with your friend? Maybe she can assist you, or at the very least, she may know someone that specializes in curses."
The mention of Anne made Sasha's brow furrow. "I'm fine! I don't need anyone's help with this! I'll figure it out on my own, Grime! If you have enough time to care about my weird illness, then you have time to train! So, c'mon!"
Sasha grabbed Grime's arm and led him outside, much to the warrior toad's protest.
A few hours later, Sasha managed to get Grime out of the mill. While she wasn't able to get him to train, she at least managed to get him to watch her train.
"Still think we should discuss your affliction," Grime persisted.
"Oh, oh yeah? Well, I think we should discuss you!" Sasha threw back as she set up the dummies. "So, first of all, this whole beard and burping situation. Unacceptable! Second…wait, do you hear that?"
Before Sasha could move on to her next topic, she was interrupted by someone whistling. The sound was so loud that it carried through the woods and was getting closer. In the distance, Sasha and Grime spotted a newt in full armor walking towards them. She had pink skin, and a long tail. Her armor was gray and silver with three different medals pinned to the chest plate. Her sandy colored hair and purple cape fluttered in the light breeze that blew through the forest, and when she stopped in front of the training dummies, she gave both of them a toothy grin.
"Who's that?" Sasha asked.
"Oh crud, that armor, she's Newtopian military for sure!" Grime stated.
The female newt's grin widened as she said, "I found you at last."
"Who the heck are you?!" Sasha asked.
The newt inhaled deeply and said, "Okay, third time today, let's do it! I am General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars! Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever receive the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army!" Yunan paused when she noticed the bearded toad. "Wait, you're Grime?! The fiercest fighter of the Coliseum?"
Grime drank a can of Bog Grog as he said, "Yep, that's me. You here for my autograph?"
"Nope, I'm here for your HEAD!" Yunan declared, she then flexed her wrists and made two, three foot long, razor sharp blades extend out from her gauntlets.
"Well, that took a dark turn," Grime commented.
Sasha was not impressed, "Heh, some general you are. Where's your army?" she mocked.
"I had an army once…" Yunan raised her blades, and in an impressive display of speed and accuracy, slashed at the trees and training dummies around her. In the next moment, the trees and dummies fell over, in total, she cut down five thick oak trees in a single motion. "They slowed me down!"
Sasha slowly turned around as she said, "Ooooooooookay we're leaving now!" Sasha grabbed Grime and the two of them began running for their lives.
"I'll give them a head start, keep things interesting," said Yunan as she discarded her cape.
"Just my luck! They send some psychotic glory hound after me! We'll never–" Grime released a long belch, "–escape her!"
"Like hell we won't! Follow me!"
Sasha jumped over a frozen stream, hopped off some mushrooms, and did flip in the air before landing on the other side. When she looked back to see if Grime was right behind her, she found that Grime was struggling to grab a vine.
"Just…give me a minute!"
"UGH!"
Sasha went back and helped Grime across, once that was done, the two of them resumed their running.
"Couldn't we have taken an easier route?!" Grime asked.
"Maybe if you trained with me once and awhile, you'd be prepared for a situation like this," said Sasha.
Sasha dodged a tree branch, but Grime got it in the face. The toad warrior growled in frustration as he smashed the branch in half and said, "ENOUGH! At least be honest about why you throw yourself into your training!"
Sasha jumped off a log, landing a few feet below it before asking, "What are you talking about?!"
Grime tried to do the same but ended up faceplanting on the ground. "Hello?! It's a distraction! You're using it to keep your mind off of the real reason you're upset!"
Some trees behind them fell, an indication of how close Yunan was getting to them.
"Look I know why I'm upset! I lost the duel at Toad Tower, aka the biggest fight of my life!" Sasha replied.
Grime laughed at the absurdity of notion that that was the reason. "Oh-ho-ho please, you're not upset because you lost the fight! You're upset because you lost your friend!" Sasha stopped in he tracks, and Grime knew he hit the mark. "You're upset because Anne stood up to you! And that things between you will never be the same, again!"
Sasha balled her hands into fists as a pang of hurt went through her heart. "Y-You don't know what you're talking about!"
Grime watched as Sasha blindly ran forward, making Grime rush towards her as he grabbed the teenager by the arm. "SASHA, LOOK OUT!"
Sasha and Grime looked down as the long drop to the river below and the waterfall next to it.
"Ooh, that's a long way down," he commented.
Sasha turned around and wrapped her right hand around the hilt of her sword. "Looks like our only option left is to make a stand!"
"No! Our only option is for you to get the flip out of here!"
Sasha looked at Grime in confusion. "What?!"
"She's only after me! She won't bother with you if you don't engage! So, go, save yourself! Now, before it's too late!" Grime ordered. "What are you waiting for?! As your captain, I'm ordering you to run! GO! LEAVE ME!"
Sasha furrowed her brow as she shouted, "NO!" the teenager collected herself and said, "Look…there's another reason why I've been training so hard…It's to protect the one person I know I can count on right now, you. You're right, I did lose a friend, but I'm not about to lose another. So, no matter what happens, I'm not going to let that psycho hurt you! And why I won't let some curse keep me from doing that either!"
Grime was honestly surprised by her answer, he didn't know that the human girl cared about him that much. "Wow…I…I did not see that coming."
Yunan jumped out of the forest and into the clearing, grinning her psychotic grin. "Ah, I see you've decided to submit yourself to the great General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars! Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched! The youngest newt ever–!"
"DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS EVERY SINGLE TIME?!" Sasha interrupted.
"Honestly, yes! Repetition helps it stick!" Yunan replied. "Alright you washed up slob, time to go."
Sasha got in front of Grime and proclaimed, "Hey, only I can call him that!"
Sasha drew her sword and charged straight for Yunan, the Newtopian general saw the attack coming and tail whipped the teenager, sending her flying into a rock.
"Lieutenant!" Grime called out. The toad warrior lashed out with his tongue, grabbing a large tree branch and ripping it off of the tree. When his tongue retracted, Grime grabbed the branch and wielded it like a club. "If you want me, you'll have to fight both of us!"
Yunan shrugged. "Why not? After all, two heads are better than one!"
Sasha and Grime took ready stances, the young blonde glanced to her left and smiled at Grime. "Welcome back, Captain."
"Thank you, Lieutenant, for reminding that I still have something worth fighting for!" Grime declared. "I'm talking about our friendship, I'm not sure if you caught that…"
"I got it, now c'mon!"
Yunan jumped over Grime and Sasha, landing behind Sasha. The human girl quickly turned around and began parrying Yunan's slashes, but Yunan came up with a right hook swipe that almost caught Sasha in the ribs. Sasha used her heron sword to block the attack, but Yunan's strength was enough to throw her to the side. Grime came in next, but Yunan closed in and began attacking, but the former captain began blocking each of the attacks with his club. When Yunan stopped, Grime's club fell to pieces.
"Oh, nuts…"
Yunan kicked Grime in the face, sending the toad to the ground. The Newtopian general slowly advanced on Grime, ready to slice off his head. "You are going to look good stuffed!"
Sasha came in and sucker kicked Yunan in the side. Yunan skidded backwards, but drove her blades into the ground, slowing her down until she came to a halt.
"You do have some skill, creature, but let's see if it's enough to keep you alive," said Yunan.
"If all you can do is talk, then Newtopia has some low standards when it comes to picking their generals!" Sasha jabbed.
Yunan growled and dashed across the field, she engaged with Sasha, the two trading blows as their blades rang with each clash. Sasha brought down her sword, but Yunan blocked the attack, bringing her blades into an "X" pattern. Both women stared each other down, glaring into the other's eyes. Suddenly, it started to happen again.
No, dammit, not now! "AAAAAAHHHHH!"
Yunan backed away and watched Sasha drop her sword. The teenage girl wrapped her arms around her stomach and fell to her knees in pain, feeling the same sensation of something wanting to break free from her.
How is this happening?! It's not even nighttime yet?! Grime thought as he rushed towards his lieutenant. "Sasha!"
"Well, this is no fun. Fighting a sick opponent is hardly very sporting, but I suppose I'll let you live for the time being. No sense in kicking a dog when she's down. Now, Grime, where were we," said Yunan as she readied to fight him.
Grime growled angrily at Yunan, but his attention was placed more on Sasha than the psychotic glory hound. "Sasha, listen to me, you'll be alright! You can get through this!"
Sasha continued to grunt and scream, her eyes watering as the pain intensified, it was much greater than it was before, why was that? Of all the times for this to happen, it had to happen now. Just then, Sasha felt something else, danger, it was like a siren was going off in her head, blaring loudly that there was something else out there that was coming for them.
Suddenly, the sounds of snapping branches caught everyone's attention. Yunan, Grime, and Sasha glanced towards the forest and watched as something monstrous came lumbering out of it. The creature was muscular in appearance, with dark brown fur covering its body. On its chest it wore armor with thirteen eyes molded onto it. It wore large gauntlets on its arms, with molding that depicted images of destruction. The monster looked like a grizzly bear but anthropomorphized. Its hands had long black claws as well as its feet, the creature's shins were protected by bracers with the same mayhem modeling. On its back were two small black feathered wings, and a steel rod with an obsidian looking twin sided battle ax. The beast's eyes glowed bright yellow as it growled at its victims.
One word kept repeating in Sasha's mind, "Fallen…"
"What in frog's name is that thing?!" Grime exclaimed.
"What in the world is a Fallen doing here?!" Yunan asked. I thought that they were only attacking Newtopia…?
"What in the name of frog is that monster?!"
Yunan readied her blades, while Grime kept Sasha behind him. Sasha completely fell to the ground as the pain grew stronger, she hated it, she hated this pain, it was as if her insides wanted to punch out of her stomach, but she wasn't going to die, she wasn't about to let herself get killed here, not before she found Anne, not before she had a serious talk with her.
The Grizzly Fallen stomped its way towards them, growling deeply as it did. Yunan wasn't waiting for this thing to make the first move, she dashed straight for it and slashed at its exposed parts with her blades. However, when she stopped for a moment, she saw that the monster wasn't even bleeding.
That's not possible, Yunan thought. I know I cut it!
The Grizzly Fallen looked down at her, regarding her for a moment, but then continued to walk towards Sasha and Grime.
"Are you ignoring me?!" Yunan asked in annoyance. The Grizzly Fallen kept walking, not even bothering to acknowledge Yunan. "YOU!"
Yunan dashed once again towards the beast, and slashed at the back of its legs, and once more at the back of its head. The Grizzly Fallen finally turned its head to glance at Yunan, it then raised its right claw and performed a backhand swipe. The creature was fast, but Yunan was faster, however, the attack generated a buffeting gust of wind that threw Yunan onto her back. The force of that missed blow surprised Yunan, if she didn't dodge it, that thing could've easily crushed every bone in her body from that single strike alone.
Grime was considering his options, he needed to figure out a way to get Sasha out of here and away from that thing, while also getting rid of Yunan. Well, there was only one option in this case. "General Yunan, fight with me! Together we might be able to defeat this thing!"
"You and me?! Fighting together?! You do realize that I'm here to kill you, right," said Yunan.
"It's either that or we all die!"
Yunan looked to the Grizzly Fallen and then to Grime. "Tch, don't slow me down, Grime!"
"Hang in there, Lieutenant, I'll get you out of here and get you some proper help!" Grime reached down and grabbed her sword. "I'll be borrowing this for a moment! GRAAAAAAHHH!"
Grime and Yunan began attacking the Grizzly Fallen, each of them taking turns in slashing at the vulnerable areas of the monster's body. But it was becoming increasing clear that their attacks were futile, but it did appear to be slowing the monster down. The Grizzly Fallen seemed to be getting annoyed and finally drew its battle ax, lifting it up over its head, and then bringing it down onto the ground.
The impact was great, causing a shockwave that threw both Yunan and Grime several feet away from it, and nearly threw Grime off the edge of the cliff. Sasha's heron sword flew up into the air and landed just a couple of feet from her. The flaming aura began to build up around her body again, but Sasha knew that another discharge of flame wouldn't stop it this time.
I can't…I can't die like this…not until I've talked to Anne…! Not until I find Marcy!
Time slowed down all around Sasha, grinding to a near halt. Before Sasha a spirit formed, it was about half her size, and looked like a toad. The apparition was made of magenta flames, and had white glowing eyes, which were aimed directly at Sasha.
"You resist your change, it's better to accept it," said the Magenta Spirit happily.
How can I accept this?! I'm going to die!
"Do you think that's true? I don't. I think what's about to happen to you is something that you need to have happen, just like you need to accept what you're feeling inside towards your friend."
Sasha hated this, she had to admit it, if she was going to die, then at least she could admit that much. YES, OKAY! I MISS ANNE!
The Magenta Spirit nodded at her as if telling her to continue.
I mess her…I mess what we had! But I don't…I don't want to lose her…I want to talk…I want to…I WANT TO SEE HER AGAIN! Sasha gritted her teeth and began, rising to one knee as she glared at the Grizzly Fallen. And I won't fall, not here, not to the likes of that monster!
"Then show me your strength."
The world returned to normal, Sasha stood to her full height and made a gesture as if she was drawing a sword at her left hip, when she did this a bright white light shined from her midsection. The Grizzly Fallen covered its eyes and took a few cautious steps back. Yunan and Grime did the same, unable to look directly at the light. When it faded, Sasha now had a Driver around her waist, and her eyes were glowing a bright magenta color.
"Sasha…" Grime whispered.
The human girl brought her arms forward, keeping the same hand position, she then parted her hands as if she was drawing a sword from its sheath, and when both hands were nearly parallel to the two devices on her hips she said, "Henshin."
Sasha pressed on both devices and activated the driver. Fire swirled around her body, energizing every cell within her. Her body aged rapidly to a woman in her early twenties, armor started to form around her body as well. The heron sword that was outside of the transformation field suddenly rose and flew into the flaming dome, it hovered before her and transformed as well. The sword's hilt and guard were now a bright golden color, with the guard changing to the form of two flaring wings, at the center of the guard was a magenta gemstone, and the blade was a pristine sky-blue color.
When the dome fell, it revealed a whole new Rider to the world. Her armor was a crimson red color, with a large shoulder pauldron on her right that had the image of two sharp eyes and bird wings in white. Her left shoulder pauldron was equipped with a long pink cape that covered her left arm. On her gauntlets were three glowing lines, two more were on her midsection just above the Driver, two more were on her thighs, and two were on her chest. At the center of her chest armor was a black gemstone in the shape of an upside-down triangle. Her helmet had an avian design, with two wing fins on the side of it, and a glowing engraving at the center. The top half of the helmet was colored red, while the bottom was white, which matched the guards around her shins, and outward coloring of her kneepads. The sword floated in the air before her for a moment before it floated into her open right hand.
The flaming Rider's eyes shined magenta for a moment before taking a ready stance with her sword.
"Calamity of Strength…"
The Grizzly Fallen charged towards Sasha, flames burst below her boots as she was propelled forward. The rider of fire slashed with her sword just as the Grizzly Fallen brought down its battle ax, both blades clashed, creating a powerful shockwave that rang throughout the forest and shook the leaves off some of the trees in the area. The Rider and Fallen traded blows with each other, each impact resounding heavily through the air. Despite Sasha's body not showing any the impressive musculature of the Grizzly Fallen, it was clear that she was every bit as strong as the monster she was battling.
The Grizzly Fallen snarled as it channeled its dark energy into the obsidian blade, making a dark aura form around it. The Rider saw this and jumped back, flipping a few times before landing in a defensive stance. The Grizzly Fallen twirled its battle ax around and slammed it on the ground, causing a blade of darkness to cut through the ground as it hurled itself at her. The Rider raised her sword and held it out in a horizontal fashion, she then ran her left hand over the blade, setting it ablaze. She then pierced the ground with the sword and slashed upwards, sending her own cutting crescent wave of fire. The two attacks met in the middle and exploded, causing a dust cloud to be kicked up into the air and obscure their positions.
The Grizzly Fallen wasn't waiting for the smoke to clear, it raised its battle ax and gave a mighty swing. The wind gust it generated was strong enough that it blew away the dust could, but when it was clear, the Rider was nowhere to be seen. However, its instincts told it that there was danger, and those same instincts told it to look up. The Rider had jumped right before the dust cloud was cleared and was now dropping down with an overhead strike. The Grizzly Fallen raised its ax up and caught the attack on the shaft, sparks scattered about as the sword blade scraped against the metal shaft of the ax.
The Rider of fire used this a springboard, allowing her to flip behind the Grizzly Fallen. Once at its back, she slashed at it, causing sparks to fly off its back and making the Grizzly Fallen roar in pain. The Fallen swung with its left arm to try and hit her, but the Rider used her flames to propel herself upwards and land in front of the monster. The Grizzly Fallen had to abruptly stop its attack to change direction, but that lapse was enough time for the Rider to slash the Grizzly Fallen in the chest at least five times, sending more sparks into the air and making the creature back up from the hero.
The Rider of fire was ready to end this battle as she grasped the hilt of her sword with both hands and assumed her attack stance. The lines on her armor began to emit a bright magenta glow, along with the eyes of the helmet. The magenta gemstone on her sword glowed in unison with the rest of the armor and ignited the sword with magenta flames. The wing frills on the side of the helmet fanned out for a total of six wings. The Grizzly Fallen charged its ax dark energy once again, bathing the ax blades in a dark power as they wafted off the weapon like an evil miasma.
The Rider and Fallen charged for each other and both swung their mighty blades at the same time, a flash of magenta and darkness was all that Grime and Yunan could see before the Rider and Fallen were on the opposite sides of where they started. For a moment the two fighters were motionless, but then the Rider made a motion as if she was sheathing her sword into her left hand, and when she did, the Fallen's ax was cut in half. A dark halo appeared over its head, and soon after it exploded, leaving not a trace of it to be seen.
Yunan and Grime looked at each other, not sure what to do in this case, the Rider was inactive now, just standing there. Grime decided to approach his lieutenant, arms up as if surrendering, showing that he was not a threat to her. The Rider turned around and saw Grime coming, her right hand hovering a few inches above the hilt of her sword.
"Lieutenant, Sasha, it's me, Captain Grime." The Rider's head tilted a bit. "I know you're in there, that was a spectacular show of power and skill, but now the threat has been neutralized. It's time to standdown."
The Rider looked at Grime for a moment longer and steadily moved her hand away from the sword. "There you go."
That didn't last long as she soon grabbed the hilt of her sword and rushed towards Grime. The old gladiator stood his ground, while this wasn't idle, if he was going to be struck down, he'd rather it be by someone like Sasha. But strangely, the Rider went passed him and then drew her sword, there was ring of metal that made Grime turn his head around to see that Yunan had been stopped from impaling him.
"Heh, it seems you've gotten faster." Yunan commented as she struggled against the strength of the Rider. "A-And, stronger, too!"
It seemed that even in her current state, Sasha's will to protect Grime was so strong that it allowed her to continue fighting even after the Fallen had been destroyed. The blade of the Rider's sword started to heat up, and within seconds Yunan's right wrist blades were cut off, the ends showing that they were melted and red hot. The Rider twirled around and kicked Yunan in the chest, sending her flying towards the edge of the cliff, Sasha ran towards that spot, jumped into the air, and raised her sword for an overhead strike. Yunan rolled out of the way, but the power of the sword managed to crack off a chunk of the cliff that Yunan was lying on.
"Well, this isn't good…" After saying that, the cliff broke off and both it and Yunan were sent falling to the river below. "THIS CANNOT BE, I AM GENERAL YUNAAAAAAAAAAN!"
While the threat wasn't eliminated, it was dealt with. Now that the danger had passed, Sasha's mind started to come out of its trance as she dropped her sword. "Wha…What just…HUH?!" Sasha looked at her body and hands, she felt around her head and found that it was inside a helmet. "W-W-What's happening?! W-W-Why am I wearing this armor?!"
"Sasha, Sasha calm down," said Grime.
Sasha turned around and saw Grime slowly approaching her. "Grime, oh thank God, what happened to me?! Where's the monster?! Where's that Yunan chick?!"
"Sasha, please, listen to me. Give me your hands." Grime held out his hands towards Sasha, and the teenager placed her shaking hands into Grime's. "Now kneel down with me and take a breath."
Sasha did as Grime ordered, taking a knee and taking deep breathes before releasing it in a long exhale. She did this about three times before her panic started to subside. "I…I think I'm okay now."
"Okay then, to answer your questions, Lieutenant, you changed. You transformed into this armored form, and you defeated that monster in one strike of your sword," Grime explained.
"My sword…" Sasha looked around for her sword, the first gift that she received from Grime. But when she looked around, she saw that the only sword around was the one next to her. "Is…Is that my sword?"
"It changed along with you, but as I said, you defeated that monster and drove away that glory hound! It was spectacular, Lieutenant, I couldn't be prouder of you! I had no idea humans possessed such hidden power!"
Sasha released Grimes hands and looked at them. "We…We don't…I need to see what I look like!"
Sasha grabbed her sword and ran for the waterfall, when she did, the teenager found that she was much quicker than she was before as she arrived at the waterfall in less than a few seconds. When Sasha looked at her reflection, she gasped. She was much older and taller, the armor she wore was way different from what Grime gave her, and the belt around her waist, it almost looked like…
"There's no way…"
After speaking those words, Sasha's body was engulfed in flames. A moment later, she returned to her normal state, with her sword returning to normal as well. Grime finally arrived, panting heavily from the effort of running and the fatigue of the fight from earlier.
"Okay, you, you may have a point about me being out of shape!" Grime admitted. "Huh? You're back to normal!"
"Grime…before I changed, did I say something?" Sasha asked.
"Um…I think you did, but it wasn't a word that I normally hear from you," said Grime.
"What was it?!"
"Um…I believe you said…'Hen-Shin'?"
Sasha's eyes widened, and then she facepalmed herself. "Oh-ho-ho, God, Marcy would be geeking out right now…"
Grime was really confused. "I'm sorry, is there some significance to that word?"
Sasha chuckled as she fell onto her rear and said, "Yeah, there is. It's a Japanese word that means 'transform', and it's a word that's used routinely in all of those cheesy Japanese superhero shows that she tires to get me to watch. I'm a freakin' Kamen Rider!"