A week had passed since the Anne and the Plantars had integrated into the Wartwood resistance army. And since then, the amount of missions that the resistance was able to execute had gone up significantly. With the addition of Anne to the missions, and using her Kamen Rider powers, they were able to start causing some damage to the war effort for King Andrias and The Night. Although, that was only so far as they could see. Whenever they looked at the map of Amphibia, they saw that most of it was still under the rule of King Andrias. Despite how many successful missions they had, it was still going to be an arduous and long fought fight.
Sprig, Polly, and Anne had just gotten back from a mission to liberate some frogs that had been taken prisoner by The Night cultists. Oh, yeah, as if the mind-controlled creatures, robots, and random Fallen. But they also had to fight against the cultists that worshipped The Night like a god, the very same people who came close to sacrificing Marcy. Thankfully, the trio were successful in not only freeing the frogs, but also managed to take down the cultists.
Now after the mission, Anne went off to debrief Sasha about how the mission went, while Sprig and Polly got some food from Stumpy. While they ate, Sprig couldn't help but worry for Anne. Not that he thought she couldn't handle these missions, far from it, what he was really worried about was Sasha.
"I don't like it," said Sprig as he ate his meal.
"What don't you like?" Polly asked. "I'll admit Stumpy's food isn't like the Boonchuy's, but it's still good."
"No, Polly. It's Sasha."
"Oh, here we go," Polly groaned.
"What?"
Polly took a bite of the Swamp Soup that Stumpy made before replying, "Sprig, now's not the time for your paranoia."
"Paranoia? Or Sprig-tuition?" Sprig countered.
Polly deadpanned.
"Yeah, that sounded better in my head than it did coming out. Whatever. But my point still stands! I was right about Sasha not being good for Anne, and I was right about her planning something behind her back!" Sprig argued.
Polly groaned again, but she couldn't deny that her big brother had a valid point there. He warned them that Sasha was still bad news, and that Sasha would only end up hurting Anne in the end. And despite Anne asking Sprig to trust her decisions, Anne only ended up getting hurt. Polly had to admit, if Anne did listen to Sprig, things would've turned out differently.
"True, but you have to admit, that even if you managed to convince Anne that Sasha was planning something, we might all be in a dungeon or turned into monsters by King Andrias and The Night," Polly countered.
Sprig groaned in response. Yes, it was a true, if Sasha hadn't done her whole takeover plan, then they would've been in deeper trouble thanks to the king's evil plans that Marcy was only half in on, since Andrias was lying to her about what he was really after.
"Okay, yes, you have a point. But c'mon, you can't deny that this is almost exactly how Sasha took over Toad Tower. The only deference here is that Grime is demoted, and Sasha's fully in charge," said Sprig.
"Anne's also in charge, Sprig. They're co-leaders," Polly argued back. "Plus, Anne doesn't want to be in charge of everything. She made the right choice by letting Sasha be in charge. She may've led us and kept us safe back on Earth, but here, Sasha's been fighting and leading everyone. No offense to Anne, but she's not up to that."
"Ugh, I just don't like it."
"Well, get used to it. Sasha's in charge, and right now, we're all just grunts."
"Mark my words, Polly. She's going to send us on a mission and use it as a way to get rid of us so she can make sure Anne is all hers," Sprig stated as he slammed his fist against the table.
When he did, the bowl of Swamp Soup he was eating flipped into the air and landed on Polly's head. The little pollywog turned red as she growled up at her big brother, who immediately gulped.
"S-Sorry, Polly…"
"Five second head start. One…FIVE!"
"AAAH!"
Sasha was not having a good week, the first week since Anne and the Plantar's return was great. A few missions were done, robots were destroyed, some robotic Fallen hybrids were obliterated, and a lot of captured frogs were saved. But these last five days were a different story.
Since Monday, Sasha has been…well…getting pranked here and there. It started out small. Pieces of her armor were hidden around the base…
Sasha was walking back to her room; she had finished working out and taking shower. After getting dressed, she headed back to her room to put on her armor only managed to find her breast plate.
"Wait, what? I know I took it all off here," said Sasha.
The blonde teen exited the room when she couldn't find the pieces in there and began searching the rest of the base. She found another piece in the workout room. Placed high on a ledge in the cave. And several more placed about in obscure places that she had not been too. Heck, one them was in the middle of the underground lake, which she had to swim for after just washing up.
When she got out of the water, she saw Sprig walking by nonchalantly. The pink frog boy looked in her direction and said, "Hey, Sasha. Did ya have a nice swim?"
Sasha knew right away it was Sprig's work, but she gritted her teeth and smiled at him. "Yeah! My cape mysteriously got whisked away and I found it floating in the middle of the lake. Pretty weird, right?"
"Yeah, totally weird. Either that or you just forgot it. Oh well, see ya 'round," said Sprig as he walked off.
"Ugh…"
Then there was a bedbug in her bed…
Sasha groaned, the mission today was hard, but it went off without a hitch. Having Anne there to double team a giant Fallen monster made these kinds of missions so much easier, although this time around there were four of them, but it was still nothing they couldn't handle. Sasha had to admit, even she noticed that she smiled a lot more since Anne got back, and fighting beside her was just…soothing, rather, it just felt right.
Sasha began taking off her armor, piling it in a corner as she was dead tired and just wanted to plop into her bed. After removing everything, leaving her in a tank top and shorts, she walked over her bed, not bothering to move the covers, and let herself collapse onto the bed.
"Huh…that's weird…why does my bed feel…lumpy?"
Then the bed moved.
"Uh…S-Since when does my bed move?"
*Hiss!*
"Since does my bed hiss?!"
Sasha got off the bed and pulled back the sheets. The teen screamed when she saw a giant bedbug crawling around in it. The insect hissed at her, opened its jaws, and lunged at her. Sasha rolled out of the way and managed to grab one of her heron swords. When the bedbug attacked again, Sasha slashed right through the creature, cleaving it in half.
The two parts continued to twitch and move despite being bisected. Sasha found it creepy and disturbing, so she used her powers to set both halves on fire, burning them to cinders. Anne burst into her room and looked around with a frantic expression.
"What happened?! Are you okay?!" Anne asked.
"Yeah, yeah. Just a bedbug," said Sasha.
"Uh, you screamed for a bedbug?"
"An Amphibia bedbug, Anne," Sasha added.
Anne snapped her fingers. "Right, got it. You okay though?"
"Totally." When Anne left the room, Sasha growled under her breath, "Spriiiiig!"
Then the incidents escalated from there.
Sasha started to hit in the back of the head by pebbles, she could never tell who did it, but deep down she knew exactly who it was. Then there was the shower incident…
Sasha had yet another intense day of fighting, and was looking forward to washing the day's grime off her, the actual grime, not Grime the toad. She walked into her private stall and closed the curtain behind her. From the silhouette that could be seen, Sasha reached out and grabbed a bottle that was supposedly the shampoo. However, upon squeezing the bottle onto her head, a rank smell filled the stall.
The silhouette of Sasha quickly touched her hair and then yelled as she tossed the bottle out of the stall, where it slid across the floor. The bottle began leaking out a slimy green substance that had all sorts of things in it that were not minerals or crushed flowers. There were small bugs, twigs, and some worms crawling around in it.
Sasha's silhouette could be seen frantically washing out her mess of blonde hair, trying to do everything she could to get out what she accidentally put in. After about a couple of minutes, Sasha was sure that she removed any debris from her hair, however, after she got out, dried off, and got dressed, her hair still had the rank smell. She knew Sprig had done it, he had the biggest grin on his face every time she passed by him or saw him. The smell was rank enough that you could smell Sasha coming several feet away.
It got to the point where she had to ask Maddie to make her a potion that would get rid of the smell, which Maddie was more than happy to provide just to get rid of it.
And then there was the second incident with the showers…
Sasha kept the towel wrapped around her body as she approached the stall. She saw the bottle of shampoo and scrutinized it greatly. Sasha got the bottle, uncapped it, and squeezed it. What came out was not a horrendous smelling substance, but the fragrant floral scent that was normally in the bottle.
Confident that Sprig had not messed with her cleaning products, Sasha got into the shower and turned the knob that should've been for the hot water. However, when it turned on, Sasha was blasted by ice cold water that made the teen shriek. She backed out of the shower, got wrapped up in the shower curtain, spun around, and then hit something before falling over on the floor.
Sasha groaned as she managed to get up, but paused when she looked down and then blushed. Right below her was Anne, still in her school uniform, but Sasha only had the shower curtain wrapped around her body.
"Uh…hey…Anne."
"H-Hey…Sash…What, uh, why are you wrapped up in a curtain?"
"Oh, uh, yeah…well…t-the water. I turned it to hot, but it came out ice cold. I-I wasn't expecting it…a-and got drenched it."
"Yeesh, t-that sucks…um…so…c-could you get off me, please? This is…very awkward."
Sasha scrambled off of Anne, got up, and left the showers still wrapped up in the curtain.
Sasha groaned upon remembering that embarrassing moment, and all because of Sprig. Whatever, just suck it up Waybright. There's no point in getting mad at a kid right now.
Currently Anne was in the war room with Sasha. She was going over how the last mission went as Sasha looked over the map where the operation took place.
"You relocated the refugees to these regions I told you about?" Sasha asked.
"Yep, we brought them all there, and I said we'd be back with some supplies later," said Anne.
"Good. Andrias hasn't bothered to retake much here, so it should be relatively safe for the time being. Did any of them want to fight with us?" Sasha asked.
"I good number did. I told them I would talk to you and then come back with an answer," Anne replied.
"That's good, but I think I'll go and do it myself. There's another mission I want you to take on." Sasha caught herself and quickly added, "O-Only if you want to, that is! I know you just got through with this mission! So, you don't have to go on another one if you're too tired or if you don't want to!"
Anne rolled her eyes playfully. "Sash, I'm good. That mission was a cakewalk. What else you got for me?"
"Sorry…I used to go on missions with different teams before I became the commander. And while I still do, it's not as much as I used to. And because of that, not having a Kamen Rider to deal some serious damage has put us behind. But now that you're here, we can really start sticking it to Andrias. Sorry if it looks like I'm just waving you around like a sword, Anne," Sasha apologized.
"Sash, I get it." Anne crossed her arms and smiled at her friend. "You've been doing a lot as the sole Rider of Amphibia. Now I'm here to help lighten the load."
Sasha smiled as well. "Okay. But seriously, you can say no at any time. You're just as much in charge as I am. If you think something isn't right, don't hesitate to call me out. Anyway, the mission can wait until tomorrow. Go get some grub and some rest. You can head out in the morning."
"Cool, but are you going alone or are you going with some others?" Anne asked.
"I'll take Croaker and Loggle," said Sasha.
"Cool." Anne looked at Sasha for a moment, she seemed a little stressed.
Sasha noticed her friend staring, smirked, and asked, "What's up, Boonchuy? See somethin' you like?"
Anne rolled her eyes as she replied, "You look a little tired, well, more than usual."
"Running an army is a stressful job," said Sasha.
"Uh-huh, also, it's weird how all those incidents have been happening around you lately," Anne noted.
Sasha paused and suddenly had a nervous smile on her face. "Oh, yeah, well, you know. Things happen. Scatterbrain me. My heads in five different places, so misplacing some armor or my swords is bound to happen."
"Uh-huh." Anne sat on the edge of the table next to Sasha, which only made the blonde more nervous. "Funny thing is, I talked to Grime, and he said things like this didn't happen, like, at all. And strangely, they only happened after we came back."
"Really?! Wow! Strange coincidence, huh?!" Sasha exclaimed.
Anne put a finger under Sasha's chin and forced her friend to look in her direction, where Sasha beheld Anne looking at her with half-lidded eyes. "Sasha, we're friends, and we used to be girlfriends."
Sasha blushed. "Y-Yeah, we are, and we were…"
"You can tell me anything, right?" Anne asked as she inched closer to Sasha's face.
"Y-Yeah," Sasha squeaked.
"So, tell me Sash," Anne got close to Sasha's left ear and whispered, "was Sprig behind those incidents?"
Sasha gulped as she responded without thinking, "Yes!"
"I knew it!" Anne exclaimed as she got off the table.
Sasha blinked. "…What just happened?"
"Ugh! Dang it, Sprig! I knew he was messing with you, but I didn't know it was getting this bad," said Anne.
Sasha shook her head as she asked, "Did you use seduction to get the truth out of me?"
Anne stopped her pacing, thought about it, blushed, spluttered, and the responded, "Not the issue right now!"
So cute, Sasha thought.
Sasha got out of her chair and said, "Anne, it's okay. They're just harmless pranks."
"But right now, we don't have time for Sprig to be acting like that. We're in the middle of a war, and he's stressing you out, right?"
Sasha rubbed the back of her head as she answered, "Maaaaaaaybe a little bit."
"See! That's not good! You're already busy and stressed enough with running the resistance, even with me here!" Anne put her hands on her hips as he furrowed her brow. "That's it, I'm going to have a talk with him."
"Anne, it's fine, don' bother with it," Sasha insisted.
"But…"
"Anne, I understand why he's doing all this, and I can't really blame him for it." Sasha sat on the table as she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "He's just acting like a little brother, trying to protect his big sister. I hurt the person he cares about, not once, but twice, and the second time I broke their heart…I know if the roles were reversed, I'd do the exact same thing."
Anne sat down next to Sasha as she placed her right hand on Sasha's shoulder. "Sash, you're not like that anymore. Even I can see that now. And Sprig should, but he's…well…he's just stubborn about it, and I get why he's angry, but this isn't the time for him to be angry at you. We all need to work together or else we're all going to lose this war."
"Again, I understand why he's doing it. Which is why I'm not making a big deal out of it, 'sides, they're just little pranks." Sasha thought for a moment. "Some of them are. But it's nothing I can't handle."
"Sasha."
"Okay, okay. If he gets too out of line, I'll tell you. That good with you?" Sasha asked.
Anne sighed, she really wanted to have a talk with Sprig to lay off Sasha right now, but she wanted to trust that Sasha could handle this. "Fine, but the moment he crosses the line, come and tell me and I'll take care of it."
"Heh-heh, got it. Oh, and one more thing."
"Yeah?"
Sasha raised her left hand, which was still clad in her claw gauntlet. She brought the tips of the claws under Anne's chin and lightly grazed them against the Thai teen's skin. Anne froze in place as Sasha stared at her with those beautiful blue eyes of hers.
"I respect your seduction game," Sasha leaned forward and brought her mouth close to Anne's ear, "but don't forget who's the queen of that game around here, Boonchuy."
Sasha stood up, slowly backing away as she gently dragged the claws against Anne's skin before shooting her friend a flirty look.
"Now, go ahead and get some rest," said Sasha.
"Y-Yeah, rest! Gonna go rest!"
Anne stood up and walked out of the war room in an almost robotic manner. When she left the room, she pressed her back against the wall, eyes wide, and clutched at her heart. HOLY FROG! THAT WAS HOT!
Meanwhile, Sasha sat back down, took a deep breath, and then slammed her head against the table. OH, MY FROG WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! TAKING IT SLOW AND JUST BEING FRIENDS MY ASS! UGH!
"Damn it, Waybright, you have got to control yourself! Although, to be fair, Anne started it first…STILL! UGH!"
Life in the underground wasn't all bad, especially for Wartwood's number one cutest couple, SprIvy. While Sprig had been tormenting Sasha with his pranks here and there, the young pink frog child had also been spending plenty of time with this girlfriend, Ivy Sundew. Sprig was so excited to see her again, and she him. Ivy had been wondering if he was alright, and the same went for Sprig. The pink frog boy told Ivy of Anne's world, all the modern appliances, the adventures they had, pretty much everything.
Ivy did the same for Sprig, informing him of all the missions she had been on, the close calls she had, and a the times where Sasha saved her life. Sprig frowned a little at the mention of that girl's name, while he was glad that Ivy was safe, he still didn't trust that human girl as far as he could throw her, which wasn't far at all.
Currently, the two young frogs were walking in the impromptu park close to the underground lake. The way illuminated by dozens of glowing mushrooms. The young frogs walked hand-in-hand down the dirt path, but as they did, a large moth flew overhead and perched on the stalactites above them.
"Ooh, a Corpsemaker Moth," Sprig observed, "Ahem, you're supposed to kiss when you see one otherwise your crops will be cursed for seven years."
Sprig leaned over and kissed Ivy on her cheek.
"Just to be safe," he assured.
Ivy blushed as she said, "Well, crops are very important."
No sooner had she said that did the Corpsemaker Moth fly down and attack Sprig and Ivy. The moth smacked down Sprig and went straight for Ivy, but the yellow frog girl managed to punch the moth straight into the air. Once there, Sprig shot up back to his feet, loaded his trusty Silverbolt slingshot, and fired a single shot. The rock struck the moth dead on, and made it fall straight to the ground in the distance. Where it landed on a pink boom-shroom. The resulting explosion created a pink smoke cloud that formed a heart pattern in the air, strangely enough.
"Whoa-ho-ho, nice shot Sprig," said Ivy.
Sprig twirled around Silverbolt before holstering it in his pocket. "I've managed to hone my skills over there in Anne's world. Lots of fast-moving things to snipe at. Especially drones."
"Dang, I wish could see Earth," said Ivy as they continued their walk.
"Well, maybe, when this is over, and we get the music box back, I can take you there?" Sprig suggested.
"Now that would be awesome." As they walked, Ivy mentioned, "Hey, have you noticed that Commander Sasha is looking a bit tired lately? I mean, more than usual?"
Sprig had a nervous look on his face as he replied, "Oh, you don't say?"
"Yeah, which is strange. I thought she'd be less tired since Anne came back, but she looks more tired now," Ivy observed.
"Well…maybe she's just not cut out for this leader stuff," Sprig commented.
Ivy laughed as she shoulder bumped Sprig. "Hahaha, c'mon Sprig, don't kid around like that. Sasha's helped us out a lot. She's managed to get us all together to fight against Andrias. I miss Anne and Marcy, but Sasha's really stepped up."
"Tch, stepped up, and squirmed right into everyone's hearts," Sprig grumbled under his breath.
"What's that?"
"Oh, nothing!"
Just then a bell began to ring and echoed throughout the underground base.
"Sounds like the mission briefing bell," said Sprig.
"C'mon!" Ivy exclaimed as she grabbed ahold of Sprig's hand and ran off.
The young couple kept up their running pace, heading down one of the tunnels until they appeared inside of the amphitheater that was the mission briefing area. At the bottom of the crescent shaped room was an easel, behind that was a wall with another tunnel that went off in different directions. On either side of the room were the newly made banners of the resistance. It consisted of a raging flame, and two lightning bolts in the shape of an "X". Once inside the briefing area, Sprig and Ivy noticed that most of the seats were already taken.
"Ugh, there's no seats left together," said Ivy.
Sprig let go of Ivy's hand he walked up to the edge of the steps and said, "Attention fellow freedom fighters! Will someone please give up their seat for SprIvy?! Wartwood's cutest couple!"
Ivy joined Sprig, and the two of them posed together.
"Not this again," Buff Loggle groaned.
"Ugh, young love is the worst," said Croaker.
Ivy and Sprig waited to see if anyone would give up their seats, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen.
"No takers, eh? Huh. Guess we'll just stand in the back together," said Ivy.
"As long as we're together!" Sprig added.
The entire room groaned in annoyance. Ever since Sprig came back, he and Ivy had been flaunting their young love all over the base, to the point that it was kind of getting on everybody's nerves. Just then, Grime, Sasha, and Anne walked into the briefing room.
Croaker leaned over to Loggle and whispered, "And then there's those two."
"Good morning, everyone. Wait, is it morning? Kinda hard to tell underground. Whatever. We got good news, and we got bad news," Sasha announced.
"The good news is we've secured a major shipment of crucial supplies from a wealthy, pro-Wartwood elite," said Grime.
Everyone cheered at this news.
"But the bad news is the only way to get to Wartwood is through the mountain pass. And Andrias has it locked down with a giant laser cannon," said Anne.
"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
"I like the other news better!" Wally shouted.
Anne frowned as she whispered to Sasha, "Why does Grime always get to do the good news?"
"Cause everyone likes you, and hearing bad news from you softens the blow," Sasha answered.
"Not cool, dude."
"Alright, alright, we'll switch up for the next meeting," Sasha assured.
"No take backs," said Anne.
"Heh-hmm, wouldn't dream of it," she replied.
Loggle leaned closer to Croaker and said, "Yep, I see what you mean."
Just then, Archie came crawling up the easel with a piece of paper in his mouth. Anne grabbed the paper, and once Archie left, she unfolded it against the easel.
"The cannon is protected by a force field, if we can take that out, we can destroy the weapon. There's a robot battalion protecting both structures, but every hour there's a five-minute window where the robots change shifts. And that's our chance to strike," Sasha explained.
"Wait, the robots change shifts?" Loggle questioned.
"Everybody deserves a break, Loggle," Croaker commented.
"For this mission, I'm bringing two teams of two. One to take out the shield generator, and the other to take out the cannon before the five minutes are up." Sasha looked out into the crowd and pointed at her operatives. "Stumpy, Fern, Ivy, and Sprig, you four follow me."
"Looks like our number's up," said Stumpy as he and Fern walked down the stairs.
"Of course, they want the two of us," said Sprig.
"After all, we're perfectly in sync," Ivy added.
"Sprig, hold up a sec," said Anne.
Sprig paused and then looked at Ivy.
"Go ahead, I'll be there in a second," said Sprig as Ivy nodded and headed down the tunnel.
Anne brought Sprig to the corner of the briefing room and said, "Hey, promise me you'll do what Sasha says on this mission, please?"
"What do you mean? I'll make sure the mission goes well," said Sprig.
"That's not what I mean, dude. I…" Anne didn't want to bring it up, as Sasha told her that it wasn't a big deal. "…Just listen to Sasha, okay. She's the commander."
"Okay, okay. Don't worry. Anyway, wish us luck, Anne!" Sprig exclaimed as he left down the tunnel.
Anne sighed as she rejoined Grime at the center. "Alright, well, that's the only mission today. Soooo…what do you guys want to do?"
Wally raised his hand and asked, "Can we have a piñata party?"
Anne and Grime looked at each other for a moment before the latter said, "Don't see why not."
Just then a giant piñata of King Andrias dropped from the ceiling. Everyone whipped out sticks and began beating the stuffing out of it.
Sprig, Ivy, Stumpy, and Fern, a purple frog girl with grass green hair and a giant pair of red scissors, took a few turns down the tunnel and ended up in the stable where many snails were housed. Bessie, the fastest and most reliable of the steeds, was being hitched to a wagon while Sasha waited with a clipboard. Once the four showed up, the commander of the Wartwood resistance addressed them.
"Okay, so the teams are Stumpy with Sprig, aaand Ivy with Fern," said Sasha as she turned around and began loading the wagon.
Sprig and Ivy gasped when they heard this news. They were going to be separated, this just couldn't be happening.
The couple walked up to Sasha, with Sprig explaining, "Uh, heh-heh, Sasha. Shouldn't me and Ivy be partners?"
"He means 'cause we're dating," Ivy clarified.
Sasha rolled her eyes at the young couple as she turned around and retorted, "Listen twerp and twerpette, you're not here to pass notes and play footsie. You're here to do a job. And these pairings are super important to the mission. Got it?"
Sprig furrowed his brow for a moment before he turned to Ivy and said, "Hey, Ivy, could you give me and Sasha a minute?"
"Oh, uh, sure, I'll help Fern and Stumpy get ready," said Ivy as she walked away.
Once Sprig was sure she was far enough away from them, he turned to look up at Sasha, his brow furrowed as he said, "Okay, don't play dumb with me, Sasha! I know why you're separating us!"
"Yeah, I just told you why," said Sasha.
"No, not that lie you just told! You're separating us to get back at me for all those pranks I've been pulling on you!" Sprig accused.
Sasha crossed her arms and sighed. "It's not about the pranks, twerp. I chose these pairings for a very specific reason. It had nothing to do with your childish pranks against me." Sasha went back to loading the boom-shrooms for their mission. "I'm the commander of the resistance, I don't have time to be messing around getting back at a little kid for acting out."
Sprig scoffed at that explanation. "Tch, like I'd buy that. You've fooled everyone in Wartwood, and every other frog that's joined. But I know what you're capable of! I saw it at Toad Tower, and I saw it in Newtopia!"
Sasha stopped for a moment. Bringing up her second mistake, the biggest mistake of her life, was still a sore spot.
"I won't let you hurt Anne, again! And I won't let you bully me and Ivy just because you know that Anne won't want you back when this is over!" Sprig exclaimed.
Sasha whipped around and looked like she was about to shout something at Sprig, but the little frog boy had a look on his face that dared her to try something. The Caucasian girl took a deep breath, stood up straight, and changed her expression to a neutral one.
"Get ready for the mission Sprig, you and Stumpy have a mission to complete when we get there. Now move out," Sasha ordered as she walked away.
Sprig wasn't having it. He was sure he hit the nail on the head when it came to Sasha's real reasons for separating them. Well, he wasn't going to stand for it, and he was going to prove Sasha wrong with her choices.
She probably set us up to fail. Fine, but I know how to get around that.
After loading the wagon and making sure Bessie was hitched securely, the team headed out of base and went on their way to the mountain pass. Fern and Stumpy were in the front with Sasha, while Sprig and Ivy were in the back keeping an eye on their boom-shroom supply.
"Ivy, you think it's not good that we're separated, right?" Sprig asked.
"Of course, but Sasha gave the order. We have to go with our teams," said Ivy.
"Well, she could be wrong, you know. We work well together, we're the best when we're together. I think Sasha just needs to be reminded about that," said Sprig with a devious smirk on his face.
"What do you got in mind Sprig?" Ivy asked.
Sprig took out a piece of paper and a pen he borrowed from Anne. He then began to write on it, and as he did, Ivy understood what he was going to do. After an hour of driving, they arrived at a cliff that overlooked the pass, and from their vantage point, they could see the cannon and the generator. There were several Frobots guarding the cannon as well as the energy supply for it.
"Okay, team, there's our target. And our supplier is just on the other side of the pass. I'll keep watch up here and signal them when the cannon's down," said Sasha.
The blonde teen then whipped out two sticks with flags on them, then she went into a whole routine with them that was reminiscent of her cheerleading practices. Sasha caught what she was doing and put the sticks back on her belt.
"Sorry, cheerleading muscle memory." Sasha went back to the wagon, picked up a sack, and from it began handing out four watches. "Here's a watch for each of you. The shift change is about to start. Follow my plan exactly and it'll just be enough. Okay, team, move out!"
Upon giving he order, the four frogs tied down some ropes and repelled down the side of the cliff. At the same time, Sasha got on her stomach and took out a spyglass as she surveyed the area from the high ground. As she did, she spotted a frog currier walking through the pass.
"Delivery for Wartwood~, delivery today~," he sang.
The cannon turned, pointed down, and fired on the frog. The blast hit just in front of him, creating a big enough explosion that threw him onto his back and covered in soot.
"Delivery for Wartwood…Delivery delay," he croaked.
Sasha winced.
Once the team had made it down the side of the cliff, they made their way to the fork where they would split off into their respective sub teams. However, before they reached that point, Sprig took out a crumbled piece of paper.
"Oh, hey guys, I forgot. Sasha gave me this note. Something about switching up the teams," he lied.
"That sounds important, Sprig. Let us read it together," said Ivy, also in on the lie.
Stumpy leaned over Sprig and read the note aloud, "Dear Nerds, I Sasha order you to switch partners. Sprig should be with Ivy since they're datin'."
Fern hummed in contemplation, which made Sprig and Ivy worry that she saw through the lie, but then Fern said, "Well, it certainly sounds legit."
"Well let's switch it up then! Sasha's a tactical wizard, muckin' about with her decisions could have devastatin' consequences," said Stumpy.
Once Fern and Stumpy walked away, Sprig and Ivy smiled, held hands, and ran to catch up with them. Once they were at the fork in the road, Sprig and Ivy headed to the laser cannon, while Fern and Stumpy headed uphill to the shield generator.
The young couple waited and watched as the Frobots began their shift change, all of them taking off and flying away so that the next guard shift could take over. Now they had exactly five minutes to carry out the mission. Sprig and Ivy jumped over the fence, and while still in midair, Sprig planted a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek, causing her to blush, all before landing on the other side and with neither one of them letting go of the other's hand. As they made their way to the cannon, as mushroom shaped surveillance cameras popped up from the ground, but thanks to their quick and nimble movements, the couple was easily able to avoid them all the way to the cannon itself.
"Boom! Now all we have to do is wait for the shield to go down," said Sprig.
"Heh. Looks like you were right, Sprig. Maybe Sasha missed the mark on the teams thing this go around," said Ivy.
Sprig smiled and crossed his arms. I knew it. She just wanted to separate us to get back at me. Well, ha! Proved you wrong, Sasha!
The two frog children waited for about a minute and a half as they checked the watch.
"Hmm, the shield down yet?" Ivy asked.
"Let's check."
Sprig walked up to the machine, reached out with his hand, and was immediately shocked by the shield and blasted onto his back feet away from the cannon itself.
"Yeowch…" Sprig managed to get himself back up and stood next to his girlfriend.
Ivy furrowed her brow upon seeing this. "Huh, it's still up. But we can't expect Fern and Stumpy to work as good together as we do."
"Good call," Sprig flinched as the electricity that lingered in his body shocked him, again. "Let's give 'em a little extra time."
"You wanna work on our couple's dance routine?" Ivy asked with a sly look.
"Which one?" Sprig asked.
After that, the two them went into their entire routine, killing about two minutes in total before the two of them collapsed onto their backs.
"Nailed it," Ivy exclaimed.
Sprig stood back up and checked the watch. "Okay, only two minutes left. Let's try this one more time."
Ivy watched as her boyfriend walked up to the cannon, reached out, and then got blasted back by the shield, again.
"It hurts sooo much," Sprig groaned.
Ivy helped Sprig back up and said, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Try the shield again?" Sprig asked.
"No. Stumpy and Fern are in trouble! C'mon!" Ivy stated.
The two frog children leaped back over the fence and followed the huge power cable up the hill. They leaped from tree to tree, and hurriedly made their way to where the shield generator was. They perched themselves on a tree closest to the hill, and when they looked down, they saw that Fern and Stumpy were lying on the ground, and not moving.
"Fern! Stumpy!" Sprig gasped as he jumped down from the branch. "What happened?!"
Ivy, who remained on the branch, looked about the area, and that's when a feeling of dread befell her. "Oh no! Sprig! I think this might be a–!"
"AAAAAAAAAMMMMMMBUUUUUUUUUSSSSSHHHH!" Stumpy yelled.
"Yeah, like, what he said," Fern confirmed.
Sprig watched as Stumpy suddenly fell through a hole in the ground. Ivy jumped down from the branch and joined her boyfriend just in time to watch a claw spring up from the ground and clamp around Fern before dragging her down. The two frog children watched as the shield generator rose up and revealed itself to be a robot. The robotic insect raised both of its other limps, revealing the claws that had snatched up Fern and Stumpy, who were still in it claws.
"THIS WAS NOT IN THE MISSION BREIFING!" Stumpy yelled.
"HOLY CRAB!" Fern also yelled.
The robotic insect threw both of them like a pair of ragdolls, with Stumpy and Fern landing behind the young couple. Seeing this, Ivy and Sprig let out a fierce battle cry as they charged for the robot. Stumpy managed to get back up, switched out his hand with a sword hand, and charged in as well. Fern followed right behind them as she wielded her scissors. The four them jumped into the air and readied to strike, but the robot was quicker and swatted them away like flies. They all hit the ground at once, groaning painfully from the impact.
Fern managed to take out her watch and noticed their time was dwindling. "This mission's a bust!"
"We're all done fer!" Stumpy lamented.
The robot's giant electrodes began to charge up, generating huge amounts of electrical energy. The robotic insect unleashed a blast of lightning straight at them, with Sprig and Ivy hugging each other as they readied for their end. However, the end did not come. When they looked to see what had happened, they noticed that a large yellow shield had protected them from the blast. The sound of a motorcycle filled the air. The sound got louder and louder until they managed to pinpoint its origin, it was coming from behind them.
All four frogs turned around just in time to watch Machine Burner leap into the air and over the four frogs. Kamen Rider Bellona drew the Phoenix Wing sword from her MetamorphRing Driver, and as she skidded across the ground, she passed under the robot. As she did, Bellona stabbed her flaming sword straight up, cutting the machine's underbelly as she came out the other side of the machine. The robotic insect shrieked in pain from the now large gash under it, and turned around to face Bellona.
"SASHA!" the others yelled.
"GET DOWN TO THE CANNON! NOW!" she ordered.
The others wasted no time in heading down the hill. Sasha recalled the Aegis shield and changed out of her Scutum Form and back into Fire Form. The red Rider revved the engine of her bike as she glared at the robot. The robotic insect shirked again and unleashed multiple lightning blasts at her. Bellona took off with Machine Burner, driving literal circles around it as she dodged the bolts that were coming at her. The red Rider hopped up, crouching on the seat of her bike as she jumped straight into the air and above the generator.
When Bellona was high enough, she changed the MetamorphRing into the MetamorphRing TRI. She quickly pressed down on both hip devices, shifting straight into Invictus: Gladiator Mode. Bellona cocked back her right fist, coating it flames as she released a burst of flames that propelled her downward. The robotic insect realized too late that Bellona was above it as the Rider crashed straight through it with her flaming fist, blasting a huge hole all the way through its body. The robot's glowing eyes faded to black as it fell over and exploded around her.
Bellona walked out of the flames and noticed that the Frobots were flying in for the shift change. She furrowed her brow as magenta flames engulfed her body, and within seconds, Bellona flew out of those flames, now in Invictus: Burst Gladiator Mode. With the increased speed boost of this form, she quickly intercepted the incoming Frobots, using her intense flames to obliterate them as she passed by them and setting off multiple explosions in the air. Bellona hovered in the air, and then watched as the laser cannon exploded. Upon seeing the explosion, Bellona summoned a magenta fireball and shot into the air, making it explode like a fireworks display to signal the all clear for their supplier.
However, there was still one other problem to deal with. Bellona flew back to the rendezvous point and changed back to civilian form. Sasha leaned against the wagon and waited, and after a couple of minutes, her team finally arrived back, still alive and with only minor injuries.
"Whew, that did not go according to plan," said Fern.
"So, I saw. Care to explain why you all ignored my orders and went with different teams?" Sasha asked.
Sprig and Ivy started to look nervous.
"Ignored?" Stumpy questioned. "We followed your orders, Sash. Sprig read us the note and everythin'."
Sasha's furious gaze fell on the pink frog boy. "Oh, you did, did you? A note I wrote telling you to switch teams. When I could've just told you before you guys headed down the cliff?"
"Well…now that you say that it does sound a bit strange," said Stumpy.
Just then a huge horned beetle with a skull painted on its head pulled up with a wagon, and driving the wagon was none other than Wigbert Ribbiton. On the back of the huge wagon was a huge supply of armor, weapons, medical supplies, and other essentials.
"Cheery-o my good frogs! The Ribbiton estates is here to pledge its full support for your rebellion," said Wigbert.
"Thank you, Wigbert. Your supplies are really going to make a difference. We'll escort you back to the base," said Sasha.
As the Stumpy and Fern filed into their wagon, Sasha shot Sprig and Ivy a glare, making the young frogs gulp.
"When we get back, I want to see you both in the war room. Immediately."
"You disobeyed by direct orders! Almost jeopardized the mission! AND almost got yourselves, Stumpy, and Fern killed!" Sasha yelled.
The young couple were in the war room with Sasha, getting grilled by the resistance commander.
"If I hadn't been there, you would've all died! And for what?!" Sasha asked.
Sprig and Ivy were silent.
The Caucasian girl slammed her left fist against the table as she said, "Don't clam up on me now! I want to know why you thought it was a brilliant idea to switch up my carefully thought up teams! If you're old enough to call an audible during the mission, you're old enough to answer to your commander when you fumble the ball!"
Ivy gripped the edges of her skirt as she said, "S-Sasha, we're…we're–!"
"It was my fault!" Sprig quickly answered.
Sasha crossed her arms and waited.
"I…I was the one who wrote the note! I was the one who convinced Ivy to go along with it! So, if you're going to punish anyone! Punish me!" Sprig stated.
"Wait, no, Sprig! We both made a mistake! We should both get punished! I won't let you get punished alone," said Ivy.
Sasha shifted her gaze between the two frogs before she said, "Do either of you know why I chose those pairings? I know Sprig has an idea, but after how this mission almost got screwed up, perhaps you can tell me now with some perspective?"
Sprig and Ivy looked at each other for a moment, seemingly wracking their brains trying to figure out the reason, but it didn't seem to come to them right away.
"Then let me tell you." Sasha stood up from her chair and walked slowly towards the couple. "I Stumpy's physique and missing leg doesn't lend well to going uphill, so fighting on a level ground and not high up works to his advantage. Also, thanks to his bone spatula hand, Stumpy could check to see if the shield was up without getting shocked by it."
Sprig recalled the two times he was shocked, if Stumpy used his bone spatula, he wouldn't have gotten shocked at all. And he did have a hard time getting up the hill according to Fern.
"Fern's skill with her scissors makes her quick with cutting through certain things quickly and efficiently. But to ensure that both of them could complete their missions, I sent along our top two commandos to aid our two specialists. To protect them and make sure they could fulfill their jobs. But as you can see, switching the teams led to that fiasco," Sasha explained.
Sprig lowered his gaze towards the ground. It really wasn't to spite him for his pranks, the pairings were crucial to the mission.
"Ivy, I respect your willingness to stick by your boyfriend, but you cannot let your relationship dictate your actions during a mission. That goes for both you."
"So…what's our punishment?" Ivy asked.
Sasha sighed as she stated, "While we're getting new recruits, not all of them are combat ready. Ideally, I'd throw you two in the brig for insubordination for a few days for disobeying direct orders and almost getting your teammates killed! But…since our recruits aren't combat ready, I can't afford to lose our two best commandos. So, for the time being, your punishment will be latrine duty for the next two weeks. I want you to think about this hard, because the next time you pull a stunt like this, me or Anne might not be around to save you."
Ivy and Sprig nodded, the former looking like she was on the verge of tears, which made Sprig feel even worse. As the two of them were about to leave, Sasha called out to Sprig.
"Sprig, you stay. I want a word with you, alone."
Ivy looked at Sprig worriedly.
"I'll be okay, go on ahead," said Sprig.
Ivy, reluctantly, nodded and left the room, leaving the two of them alone.
"Was it worth it?" Sasha asked.
"Was what worth it?" Sprig asked.
"Getting back at me. Trying to spite me. You almost got the person you love killed," said Sasha.
Sprig clenched his fists.
"I know…I know I messed up…But even so…How can you expect me trust you?!" Sprig asked.
"Sprig, we're in a war right now! Your world is getting ravaged by Andrias, and if we don't stop him my world is next! We can't afford to keep doing this schoolyard crap! You can be mad at me, you can hate me and distrust me, but out there!" Sasha pointed with her left hand to some random direction. "In the field! You need to listen to my orders! Or else people will die! Do you want that?!"
"NO! But you hurt Anne! You broke her heart once! And I can see it! She hasn't gotten over you, and even though she said she forgives you, I don't! Anne is like the big sister I never had, she's my best friend! A better friend than YOU deserve, Sasha! I was right when I told Anne not to trust you! And I gave you the benefit of the doubt because she was the one asking me! But now…I don't want her making that same mistake again! This time I'm going to protect her from YOU!" Sprig shouted.
Sasha's eyes widened as she heard Sprig's tirade. She knew the little frog cared about Anne, but now she understood just how angry he was at her.
"…You're not wrong to think like that." Sasha sat on the edge of the table as she sighed heavily. "She really is better than I deserve, both as a friend, and as a girlfriend. I've manipulated her, pushed her around, practically tried to control her and Marcy. All because of my own messed up issues back at home…It's not excuse, because I knew what I was doing was wrong, but I justified it in my head as keeping us together."
Sasha gently pressed her right hand against her head.
"When I came here to Wartwood, all I could think about was how much I messed up. How I drove away the person I loved, how I betrayed her and broke her heart. And when I realized how badly I effed up, I understood that I needed to make it up to her. I wanted to change, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart I wanted to become someone who is worthy of her. Not just as girlfriend, but as a friend. I wanted Anne to see that no matter which way our relationship goes, she can see me as a true friend, one who will see her side as an equal, and not as a subordinate."
Sprig crossed his arms as he listened to her.
"But…sometimes I get these nightmares. They started when I planned the coup against Andrias. They were horrible, different variations each time, but all of them had the same thing in common. Anne would resist me, and I would make her mine, either through force or other means…the last major one I had was seeing her come back to Amphibia in that form of hers, destroying Andrias' army, and killing me and Marcy for what we did…"
The pink frog boy was honestly shocked to hear that.
"I don't want to hurt Anne again, and every day I struggle with the fear that I'll slip back into that toxic person I once was without realizing it, and just keep going down that same dark path. Now that I think about it…you're probably the best person to give it to."
"Give what to?" Sprig asked.
Sasha walked over to a chest situated in the back of the room. She opened it and rifled through it for a few seconds before pulling out a small box. Sasha walked back to Sprig and handed him the box.
"Open it."
"What is it?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just open it, you'll see."
Sprig cautiously opened the box and inside he saw a red dart with a cork covering the needle. "A dart?"
"Do you remember the poison that I used on Anne and Marcy? That dart has it inside."
Sprig quickly closed the box and hopped away from her as he pointed at Sasha and exclaimed, "I KNEW IT! YOU WERE PLANNING ON HURTING ANNE!"
"THAT DART IS NOT MEANT FOR ANNE, IT'S MEANT FOR ME!" Sasha argued.
Sprig had a confused look on his face. "Wait, for you?"
"The poison in that dart is twice as strong as the one I used on Anne. If I get hit with that, I'll be out of commission for days, if not weeks. I won't be able to use my powers, I'll barely be able to move or think, I'll be a zombie."
Sprig got a little closer to Sasha. "Why would you have this and why for you?"
"It's insurance. In case I ever flip out and become the monster I see in my nightmares. I made this dart so that Anne or Marcy could take me down. I made it before we met up with you guys at the Temple of Strength. I wanted to give it to Grime but…" Sasha blushed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "He's started to see me like a daughter, as much as a trusted lieutenant. And, honestly, I see him as a second father figure. And I'm afraid if the time came, he might not be able to do it."
Sasha walked closer to Sprig and got down on both knees before him.
"That's why I'm giving it to you. I know you won't hesitate to hit me with it if you see me becoming how I used to be. Plus, as good as you shoot, I know you'll be able to stick me with that dart before I even know you hit me."
Sprig opened the box again and looked at the dart. "How do I know you're not just messing with me? There could be nothing in here, and you're just telling me that just so I can trust you."
"I don't blame you for thinking like that. It's totally a me thing." Sasha lowered her head and moved her hair out of the as she exposed her neck. "Stick me with it. You can lie to Anne and say that I got bitten by some nasty bug or something. I'll back up whatever lie you tell her when I come out of it."
Sprig looked at the dart again, he took it out of the box, uncorked it, and raised it up. The pink frog boy brought down the dart, but at the last second stopped. This could be his only chance to keep Sasha from hurting Anne, but at the same time, if the dart was real, then he'd use up his only trump card against Sasha. Plus, Sasha was the resistance commander, losing her would destroy the rebellion. Anne already said she wasn't good at leading, although Sprig believed she could've been if she had been here fighting like Sasha had. That being said, Sasha had the experience and tactical ability to lead the resistance. Taking her out now would help Andrias in the long run.
Sprig moved the dart away from Sasha's neck, corked it, and put it back in the box. "I'll hold onto it. But if I even think for a moment that you're going to hurt Anne again…"
"I won't, but at least now I can breathe easier knowing that there's someone else in here that can stop me," said Sasha.
"Good…So, does this mean Ivy and I don't have to do latrine duty?"
"Don't push your luck kid."