Polly and Sprig were helping with inventory, thanks to the fresh supply line that was established thanks to Wally's father, they were able to get plenty of much needed medical supplies, weapons, armor, and even additional food. Anne was giving them a hand, supervising as she checked the clipboard here and there, and going through a few crates herself.
"So, how's it goin' in here?"
Anne turned around and saw Sasha walking up towards her, causing the Thai teen to smile a little. "Pretty good so far. Although, Sprig saw that we were running low on salve, you know, for laser burns."
"Really? Let me see." Sasha walked behind Anne, pressing her body against Anne's back as she looked over her friend's shoulder at the clipboard. "Where's the count?"
Anne was blushing as she felt Sasha's body heat, how close her face was next to hers, and a couple of other things pressed against her back. "Uh…H-Here."
Sasha looked down at the clipboard to where Anne was pointing, grimaced, and said, "Damn, we're really going through that stuff. Friggin' robots. I'll send a messenger to the Ribbiton estate to double the amount for the next shipment. Anything else?"
Anne shook her head as she said, "N-Nope! Nothing else so far, b-but we're just halfway through."
"Okay. Sorry for interrupting. I'll take a look at the list once you're done." Sasha waved to Polly and Sprig as she said, "Keep up the good work guys!" Sasha was about to leave, but not before she remarked, "You too, Boonchuy."
Sasha absentmindedly gave Anne a slap on the rear, making Anne squeak in embarrassment. It was meant as a friendly gesture, but considering what they used to be, having Sasha's hand slap her rear had a vastly different context to it. The commander of the resistance headed out of their little warehouse, leaving the three of them alone.
Anne was still bright red, the lingering sensation of Sasha's slap still very much in her mind.
"Anne, you alright?" Sprig asked.
"Yep! Yes! Totally good, dude!" Anne replied.
"Uh-huh, ya sure? You're looking a little red there, Anne," Polly noticed.
"I'm not red! You look red! Is it hot in here? Sasha's hot – I mean – I'M HOT! – Me! – Anne Boonchuy! I'm hot! Well, Sasha's hotter but – AAH!"
Silence reigned in the storeroom for a moment before Anne hastily announced, "I COULD SURE USE SOME WATER!"
Anne zipped out of the storeroom with her superspeed before either Sprig or Polly could make a comment about her reaction.
Sprig and Polly glanced at each other and deadpanned.
Sasha was in the gym, despite not going on missions as often as she used to, it was important to her that she keep her physical strength up. That included a jog around the base, followed by some pull ups, sit ups, pushups, and a little swordplay here and there. The blonde teen was currently on a bench, lifting a makeshift stone weight as she counted out her reps.
"Twenty-nine…thirty…thirty-one…thirty-two…"
As Sasha continued her counting, she saw Anne coming into the room and paused in her work out a moment.
"Anne?"
"Oh, hey, I didn't know you were in here," said Anne.
"Yeah, I usually keep a routine. Gotta stay strong," said Sasha as she continued.
"Cool, um, you probably want some alone time for that. I'll come back when you're done," Anne remarked as she turned to leave.
"Boonchuy, this gym is plenty big enough for at least twenty people. Just pick a spot, you're not in my way," Sasha insisted.
Anne glanced over her shoulder and asked, "You sure?"
"Yep," Sasha grunted as she continued to lift.
Anne rubbed the back of her head nervously for a moment, but then decided to take her up on the offer.
Sasha watched as Anne moved to the open combat area, a place to practice one's weapon skills. Instead of grabbing one of the wooden swords, Anne began wrapping her hands and feet, and once she was done, Anne started going into her Muay Thai. Sasha had to admit, she loved seeing Anne's Muay Thai skills. She was graceful in her movements, strong and precise, and so focused. It reminded her of when she would watch Anne practice tennis, it was the same kind of intensity.
Stop staring you idiot! Sasha mentally berated herself. She was ogling Anne and lost count. She pretended to be done with that arm and switched to her left. Like I can help it, she's just so…so…well…Look at her!
Sasha dared to take another peek, glancing at Anne from the corner of her eye. However, as she did, Sasha blushed when she noticed that Anne was looking at her, a slight blush tinting the Thai girl's cheeks.
Wait! Is…Is Anne checking me out?!
Unfortunately, this led to Sasha losing her concentration and ended up dropping the weight right on her left foot.
"SON OF A–!" Sasha snapped her mouth shut as she noticed Anne stop her shadowboxing and looked at her with concern. "AAHAHAHAHA! THAT WAS SUCH A FUNNY JOKE I REMEMBERED!"
"Sasha! Are you alright?!" Anne asked as she moved towards her.
The blonde teen quickly stood up, but winced as she bit her bottom lip. "Oh yeah! Totally fine, Boonchuy! Why do you ask?!"
"Sasha, you dropped that weight on your foot," said Anne.
"OH, that? I-I barely felt that! I've gotten hit with much harder things and worse attacks than just a little weight dropping on my foot," Sasha remarked. "It's totally NOT because I was checking you out!"
Anne blinked.
Sasha blinked.
"I have to go to the bathroom!" Sasha declared.
Despite the throbbing pain in her left foot, Sasha managed to fast walk out of the gym. She thought she heard Anne say something, but she was too embarrassed to even ask what she said.
The mission to take down the marauders was a success, and thankfully, Croaker, Toadie, Maddie, Wally, and Loggle managed to get out of that situation safely, while also putting the marauders in their place. It was hard for Anne not to act, she had her powers, both her and Sasha, they could easily have taken out the marauders, but Sasha insisted that they not waste their power on them.
"We don't know when or where Andrias might send out another Robo Fallen, or a regular Fallen. We need to conserve our Rider powers for when we really need them. Or else we'll be too tired to use them when it matters most."
Initially, Anne thought this was an excuse for Sasha not to go and save their team, but only later did she understand that Sasha did care about the Wartwood frogs.
When they arrived back at the base, Anne and Sasha walked alongside each other.
"Sash, again, I'm sorry I said you only think of them as soldiers. That was stupid of me," said Anne.
"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it, Anne. You have every right to suspect me like that. After everything I've done," Sasha said ruefully.
Anne shook her head and retorted, "It still doesn't make it right. You've done so much to change yourself and prove you're not the same girl as before. And I was so ready to believe that you were just being like that again, ignoring the person you've become."
Sasha smiled and patted Anne on the shoulder as she said, "Anne, I said it's alright. We're still getting used to each other again. It's not going to be easy to push away all the bad stuff I did out of your head, and I don't expect you to. Because I know you'll call me out on it if you think I'm becoming like the old me."
"I just don't want to dismiss all the work you've done," Anne admitted.
Sasha threw her arm around Anne's shoulders and brought her into a hug.
"Boonchuy, you need to stop being so judgmental about yourself. Something I need to work on myself. But you make me want to be a better person. Someone who…"
Anne looked to Sasha expectantly and asked, "Who…what?"
Sasha used her right hand to rub the back of her head as she went silent.
Anne waited for a response and spoke, "Sasha…"
The commander of the resistance released Anne and began walking ahead of her.
Anne felt her heart thumping in her chest, which she tried to quell but to no avail. Denying these feelings for Sasha was getting harder with each passing day and week, and from what she just saw, it seemed Sasha was trying hard to honor Anne's request to start over as friends.
Unbeknownst to Anne, Hop Pop had been passing by. He looked up at Anne, and then at the retreating form of Sasha, and back to Anne. "So, Anne, when are you and Sasha just goin' to get back together and be girlfriends again?"
"Yeet."
"Yeet?!"
Anne picked up Hop Pop and tossed him over the edge of the walkway where he plopped into the underground lake below.
"Ah'm ooookay!"
The two girls found themselves in the training hall sparring. While Anne and Sasha's weapons skills were sharp, they needed to keep their fist fighting skills up to par. While Sasha had learned some of Felicia's Frog Kata, she was reluctant to go too hard since she didn't want to injure the woman. But now that Anne was back, Sasha had an ideal sparring partner.
Sasha and Anne squared off as the latter dashed straight for her. Sasha raised her arms up as Anne came in with a right hook, but Sasha managed to block it. However, Anne came in with a knee strike to Sasha's gut. Sasha managed to catch the knee strike with her right hand just a few inches shy of her stomach. The blonde teen grunted from the impact but smirked up at Anne as she saw her friend giving her a smirk as well.
Anne broke off their engagement and started throwing a series of jabs and straight punches. As Sasha expected, Anne was fast, precise, and strong in her attacks. Even without her superspeed, Anne was still plenty fast enough to throw punches and kicks. Sasha found an opening and threw a punch straight for Anne's stomach. The blow made contact, making Anne release a grunt of pain, and momentarily stunned her.
Sasha took this chance and began counterattacking, throwing her own punches and jabs and stamping her foot forward with each thrown strike. This made it hard for Anne to get her footing or throw a kick as she was forced backwards. While Anne was quick and strong, Sasha was strong and sturdy, she could take a lot of blows and dish them back with double the power. Anne was starting to feel the pressure as she was being forced back, and every blocked punch made her grunt in pain.
"C'mon, Anne! Don't let me dictate this fight! Find an opening!" Sasha encouraged.
Anne was looking, processing, she didn't want to use her powers, she needed to figure this out without relying on them. The Thai teen was almost at the edge of the makeshift arena, she had to come up with something quick. That's when something crossed her mind, it was probably stupid, but it was worth a shot. Anne quickly stepped backwards, putting a bit of distance between them. The Thai teen squared up her shoulders and widened her stance, making it look like she was taking a defensive posture.
Sasha took the initiative and came in with a left hook, but Anne easily weaved the shot. The commander of the resistance came in with another punch, but Anne weaved around it again. Sasha kept throwing punches, but Anne was dipping and rolling away so smoothly and quickly it looked as if she was using her powers, but her eyes lacked the familiar blue glow. That's when Anne attacked, she struck Sasha on the right side, rolled, and struck her in the left side.
Anne came in with another punch, but this time to Sasha's face, and one more from the right. The four-blow combo made Sasha stagger backwards, allowing Anne to dash forward as she barreled into Sasha, making the two of them roll along the floor until they finally stopped. Anne managed to get on top of Sasha, pinning the buff commander of the resistance to floor, but it was a struggle. Sasha was physically stronger, and it made Anne feel as if she was trying to restrain a bull.
"Give up, Sash! I got you pinned!" Anne stated.
"It ain't over 'til it's over, Boonchuy!" Sasha retorted.
Sasha made her move as she bucked her hips upwards, making Anne yelp as she was tossed overhead and landed on her back onto the floor. The blonde teen quickly crawled over and pinned Anne against the floor, gripping both of Anne's wrists, and sitting on her stomach above her hips, not repeating the mistake Anne made.
"Never sit on your opponent's hips, Anne. Always the stomach, less chance of getting yourself bucked off," said Sasha. "Now, I think you need to give up."
"Not gonna happen!" Anne retorted as she continued to struggle against Sasha.
The blonde smirked as she leaned forward, putting much of her weight forward and effectively pinned Anne to the floor as her face hovered over Anne's, their chests just barely touching at this point. Sasha's long hair and bangs formed a veil on either side of her face, forcing Anne to only see Sasha's face.
"C'mon, Anne, is submitting to me that much of a bad thing?" Sasha asked.
Anne blushed when she heard Sasha say that and asked, "W-What did you say?"
Sasha, having just realized how that sounded, took a moment to assess their current state. Anne was under her, both were sweating, panting, and now she was blushing along with Anne. This was not good.
"Okay! Sparring session's over!" The blonde teen quickly got up and sat across from Anne. "Y-You okay?"
Anne sat up, still blushing as she responded, "I-I'm good. H-How 'bout you? I punched you pretty hard a few times."
"I'm good, we'll heal up in a few minutes anyway. W-Well, we should hit the showers and grab some grub," said Sasha.
"Y-Yeah. B-But not together, right?" Anne asked.
"N-No! No, not together, duh. But I mean, we could. It's n-not like we haven't seen each other in the locker rooms back home before," Sasha argued.
"Yeah, n-nothing wrong with that. We're just two best friends who are going to go shower together," said Anne.
"Right! Just us two. In the showers…With no clothes on…Seeing everything…"
Silence held for about ten seconds.
"I'm going first," said Anne.
"All yours!" Sasha agreed.
Anne zipped away with her superspeed, leaving Sasha sitting there on the floor. The commander of the resistance flopped onto her back, rolled onto her front, and then yelled in frustration into the floor.
Of course, they didn't realize that Ivy, Maddie, Polly, Wally, and Loggle had just witnessed that hot mess and understandably facepalmed themselves.
Sasha found herself in Frog Valley, although it wasn't like it was now, it was more like how it used to be. Before Andrias' army proceeded to ravage the land for its resources to fuel their war machines. She didn't know why she was seeing this. Perhaps nostalgic reasons? Suddenly, Sasha heard the clashing of blades and crackling of lightning. The young teen looked around, trying to find the source of the fighting. Her search eventually brought her to the mountain pass that led out of Frog Valley. She hurried up the path, but when she got there. She wished she hadn't.
When she got there, she saw herself as Bellona, and Anne as Amp. Along with them were Maddie, Sprig, Polly, and Ivy. Amp and Bellona were locked in mortal combat, this wasn't some sparring session, this was full on combat, the kind that was to the death, she could see it in every blow. Both Bellona and Amp were in their Trinity Forms, and for some reason, the mountain pass was still blocked by ice, and Bessie was overturned. Not to mention that Sprig had a nasty scar on his chest.
But her attention was drawn back to the battle as Amp was busy speed blitzing Bellona from different angles. For some reason, Sasha could sense Bellona's intentions. Sasha's eyes were drawn to the fleeing frog children and then went back to Bellona as she launched her Cestus gauntlet straight for them.
"You're not paying attention," said Bellona.
"HOW DO YOU FIGURE?!"Amp asked.
"Do you see my gauntlet on my arm?"
"Wait, wha – POLLY!"
"NOOOO!" Sasha yelled.
Sasha looked away, but she could hear it, the moment of collision, it was horrifying, she didn't see it, but hearing it was enough to make her stomach churn.
"Wow, she popped like a water balloon. That was pretty sick," said Bellona.
"POOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLYYYYYYYY!" Sprig wailed as he fell to his knees.
"P-P-Polly! No…NO!"
That distraction was enough to grant Bellona a moment to push Amp back. She wrapped flames around her sword and slashed Amp across the chest, causing a huge amount of sparks to fly from her body. Amp stumbled about before regaining her footing, but before she could attack Bellona, she saw her pointing the gauntlet at another of the kids.
"Let's see if you guys pop like her," said Bellona.
The gauntlet launched itself again, this time aiming at a still mourning Sprig.
"SPRRIIIGGG!"
Sasha watched as Amp dashed at full speed and took the blow that was meant for Sprig.
"STOP IT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Sasha yelled as she ran for Bellona.
When Sasha dove to stop her Rider self, she passed right through her. Sasha watched as Bellona marched over to the staggered Amp, grabbed her, and tossed her away from the rest of the kids.
The blue Rider landed on the ground, losing her two weapons in the process. Bellona threw her shield at Amp as she started to get back up, striking her right in the head, and ringing Amp's bell as she felt incredibly dizzy before hitting the ground. Bellona managed to appear over Amp, 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 was practically in tears as she watched this savage assault on her friend and the kids. She tried to stop it, she tried to punch the red Rider in front of her, but nothing she did stopped the carnage. She witnessed Maddie use her curses to try and damage Bellona, only to be cut down a moment later without any hesitation or remorse.
"PLEASE STOP THIS! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS ANYMORE!" Sasha screamed.
Suddenly, the world shifted around her, and Sasha found herself in the place of Bellona, with her Cestus gauntlet pressing Amp against a tree and pinning her there.
"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 Bellona in a crazed tone.
The words came out of her mouth, but it was as if it was someone else speaking them, but it was her voice. As if she was watching this from inside the head of Bellona. But what came next made Sasha's eyes widen as she saw her right arm hook the Phoenix Wing sword under Amp's left arm.
"No…NONONONONONONO! DON'T DO IT!" Sasha begged.
"W-Wait…Sasha…Stop!"
"Grit your teeth, Anne. This is going to hurt a lot."
The sword slashed upwards, and Sasha saw…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Sasha screamed loudly.
The resistance commander scrambled out of her bed and rushed to the nearest waste basket where she began retching into it again and again. The screams did not go unnoticed as Grime, along with Anne, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, and R/C Frobo came barging into the room with worried looks on their faces.
"SASHA WHAT'S WRONG?!" Anne asked before she noticed her friend throwing up. "HOLY FROG!"
Anne rushed to Sasha's side and held her hair back as she kept on throwing up for another few seconds before finally stopping.
"Sasha, what's wrong?! What happened to you?!" Anne asked again with growing concern.
Sasha heard Anne's voice, turned to her, and began sobbing uncontrollably as she threw her arms around her. "OH, ANNE! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY!" Sasha broke away from her as she remembered it was with her own hands that she hurt the person she loved. "NO!"
Anne watched as Sasha backed away from her until she hit the wall and began hyperventilating. The others were confused and just as concerned as Anne was. None of them had ever seen her act his way before, well, that was not true. Grime had seen this before, but this seemed to be on a whole other level than Sasha's past episodes.
"Sasha, calm down. It's just me." Anne waved to the others, silently telling them to back out of the room. Once they had, Anne returned her attention to Sasha. "Hey, you just had a bad dream, it's okay. I'm here."
"NO! No! Stay away from me! I'll just hurt you! That's all I ever do! I just hurt you!" Sasha rambled.
"Sasha, I already told you I forgave you. Remember? We agreed to start over," said Anne.
"HOW CAN YOU FORGIVE ME AFTER I TOOK YOUR ARM! AFTER I KILLED MADDIE AND POLLY?!" Sasha screamed.
Polly patted herself for a moment before whispering, "What is she talking about? I'm not dead."
"Neither is Maddie, I just talked to her a couple of hours ago," said Sprig.
"Grime…is…is Sasha alright?" Hop Pop asked.
"It's…complicated," he answered.
Anne moved a little closer, making sure her movements were slow as she approached Sasha. "Hey, hey, you didn't hurt anyone. Polly's right over there in Hop Pop's arms. Maddie's alive. And look." Anne waved both of her arms up and down. "I have both of my arms."
Sasha looked at the door and saw Polly, and then back to Anne who did indeed have both of her arms. She took a moment to breathe as she got her heart rate and breathing under control. Once she had, Sasha leaned against the wall and let out a long sigh as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
"I…I'm okay now," said Sasha.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Anne looked back at the door and said, "Can you guys give us a minute?"
Grime didn't hesitate as he closed the door and left them alone. Anne got a little closer and sat on Sasha's right as she brought her legs up to her chest and looked at her friend with concern.
"You made me really scared for you, Sash. I thought someone had hurt you or something," said Anne.
"I'm sorry…dammit, I probably woke up half the base," said Sasha.
"Don't worry about that right now. I'm more concerned about why you screamed bloody murder."
Sasha's mind flashed with the images of her dream self's actions. "Bad choice of words, Anne…" The Caucasian girl stared at the floor before adding, "It was just a bad dream, but I'm okay."
Now it was Anne's turn to sigh. "When I was back on Earth, I had a lot of nightmares. A lot of them were of what I would find if I came back here. You half dead, Marcy in a grave, Amphibia in ruins. And some nights I just saw the moment of Marcy getting stabbed over and over again, and no matter how many times I saved her, the outcome was the same."
Sasha glanced at Anne, "Oh, Anne…"
"They became less frequent, but not until I finally talked to someone. My parents, the Plantars, and of course the Pines twins. But the point of it is, I talked to someone. Trust me when I say, just bottling it up inside will only hurt you in the end." Anne reached down with her left hand and gently grasped Sasha's right hand. "Tell me what the nightmare was about. I won't leave you. No matter how bad is."
Sasha slowly gripped Anne's hand harder as tears fell from her eyes. She began recounting how her nightmare began, and eventually how it ended.
"I could feel it…that me wanted you so badly she was willing to kill…willing to maim and hurt you just to keep you," said Sasha with a trembling voice. "When I did what I did at Newtopia…I wanted to send you and Marcy back to Earth. I wanted to keep you as far away from me as possible when I realized that another nightmare of mine was coming true."
"Sash…"
"I'm sorry…I screwed up back there in Newtopia…I shattered everything we had…and for what? For some semblance of control? To make you two mine? God, I'm sick…" Sasha stated.
"You're not sick, Sasha. I know what you were going through back home, I understand why you wanted to keep us close," said Anne.
"How?" Sasha asked.
"You're Mom and Dad," Anne answered.
Sasha facepalmed herself with the other hand. "Oh, Frog help me…What did they say? More importantly, please tell me they didn't cause you any trouble?"
"Eh-heh…" Anne rubbed the back of her head with her right hand as she chuckled nervously. "Well, kind of…but they meant well. Kinda triggered me a little…" Anne explained as she looked at her right hand.
Sasha followed Anne's gaze and frowned a bit. "Does…Does your hand still shake?"
"Sometimes. Not a lot nowadays. But when I got back to Earth, yeah. But apparently your mom found your diary and found out that you're bi."
"Ugh…" Sasha facepalmed with her left. "Dammit…Now I have to deal with that when I get back."
"Don't worry, they didn't seem upset. Anyway, feel a little better?" Anne asked.
"Yeah, thanks, Anne," said Sasha.
"Don't mention it. Let's head back to bed," Anne replied.
Anne was about to get up, but Sasha still held onto her hand. The Thai teen looked down at her friend who was blushing as she turned her gaze downward.
"Could you…Could you stay with me for little bit? I…I just want to know that you're alright," said Sasha.
Anne smiled as she tugged upwards and made Sasha stand up. She walked her over to the bed and had the former cheerleader lay back down in the bed, as she lay next to Sasha.
"Goodnight, Sash," said Anne.
Sasha wanted to reach over and cuddle with Anne, but she stopped herself. Although Anne had forgiven her, and despite the fact that she'd done a lot of good for the resistance, there was still a part of Sasha that felt unworthy of Anne. She wanted to get back what they had, the closeness, the love, but she had to respect Anne's wishes. Anne wanted to start over as friends and work their way back to being lovers, or at least, put a pause on the being lovers thing until after they stopped Andrias and The Night. But that was starting to become harder than she thought.
(2 weeks later…)
Maddie and Ivy were walking along the tunnel and idly chitchatting as they made their way to the mess hall. However…
"Maddie!"
The two frog girls stopped when they saw Sasha standing before them and called out to the goth frog girl.
"Yes, commander?" Maddie asked.
"I need you to come with me, I have something important I want to discuss with you," said Sasha in a serious tone.
"Oh, uh, okay." Maddie turned to Ivy and said, "Talk to ya later, Ivy."
"No problem, go ahead," said Ivy.
Ivy watched as Maddie followed Sasha, turning the corner as they headed down a different tunnel to the war room for whatever meeting the human teen wanted to have with Maddie. Ivy was about to take a step forward to continue her way to the mess hall, but before she knew it, she was whisked away, hearing the crackling of lightning as the world around her rushed on by in a blur.
After a few moments, Ivy found herself in a room. She then heard the door shut behind her, and when she turned to see who had taken her, she was confused.
"Anne?"
"Oh, uh, hey, Ivy," Anne responded.
"What, uh, wha'cha doing there?"
Anne rubbed the back of her head nervously as she said, "Well…I wanted to talk to you about something…but I wanted to do it in private."
"Okay, so, what did you want to talk about?" Ivy asked.
Anne took a deep, calming breath. Walked over to the bed, sat down in it, and looked at Ivy with a happy expression before it morphed into a panicked one.
"I'M TOTALLY STILL IN LOVE WITH SASHA!"
"I'M TOTALLY STILL IN LOVE WITH ANNE!"
Maddie sat there, with a deadpan expression. Apparently, the reason why Sasha had wanted Maddie to come with her was not to talk about a raid, or strategy for an upcoming mission. It was to vent about her still lingering feelings for her technical ex-girlfriend.
"Uh-huh…" was Maddie's response.
"I mean…I'm trying – emphasis on TRYING – not to do anything that would be considered flirty or like I want to get back together right now! But it's so damn hard! Pardon my French," Sasha apologized.
"Uh, that's fine. So, what I'm hearing is, you want to be with Anne again. You want to be girlfriends, right?" Maddie asked.
Sasha sat down at the war table and smacked her forehead against it as she answered, "Yes…"
"Okay, so why not?"
"Because I just told her that I wanted to start over as friends before we even think about becoming girlfriends again! That's why! I'll look like such a hypocrite! Plus, what does that say about me to her? That I can't stick to my guns, that I can flipflop on my decisions on the drop of a hat? It's not a good look, Ivy!" Anne argued.
Ivy sat on a stool across from Anne, having just listened to the human girl tell her that she still had feelings for Sasha, duh. And also, how she was trying not to show it. Which both of them failed in that department. Now Anne was afraid of telling Sasha of how she was still in love with her.
"Anne, I get that you said that to Sasha, but, at the same time. I don't think she would look down on you for wanting to get back together. I mean, yeah, what happened at Newtopia was a disaster, but–"
"Oh, my Frog, Newtopia!"
Dang it, Ivy mentally cursed.
"Oh-ho! Let's not forget Newtopia! My biggest blunder of all time!" Sasha ranted.
Maddie propped her left hand under chin as she whispered, "Here we go…"
"Not only did I plan a coup to take down the King of Newtopia – who was totally evil, but I didn't know that at the time – but I also drugged my two girlfriends with darts! I didn't have to go through with any of that! I could've just thrown the plan out the window and just kept what we had! I was on top! I had my two best friends as my girlfriends, and I know we still had some kinks to work out, but it would've worked out! I loved them! I could've made it work! But, ha-ha, stupid controlling me just HAD to take control of the throne and of her lovers!" Sasha continued to rant.
"I mean, in hindsight, if you hadn't done that coup thing, Andrias would've gotten the Calamity Box immediately, and who knows what would've happened after that," Maddie argued. "As messed up as it sounds, some things happen for a reason."
Sasha sighed as she retorted, "I mean…I guess? But the price of it was Anne saying that she hated me, Maddie. Hated me! I've never seen her so angry and ticked off at me in our whole lives, ever! I knew right then and there that it was over. I just snuffed out whatever embers of love she had for me. The fact that she wants to be friends with me, to start over, is a miracle that I don't want to destroy by telling her that I want to get back together. That I miss kissing her! Holding her in my arms! Last night, having her sleep next to me, despite how crappy the circumstances for it were, I loved having her there, and feeling her warmth beside me. It was comforting…"
Maddie raised her brow a bit and asked, "Okay, but what if Anne felt the same way?"
"C'mon, Ivy, there's no way she would want me back…" Anne stated.
Ivy sighed in frustration as she argued, "Anne, c'mon! You obviously love Sasha, just think about it! What if she still loves you, too?! Yeah, you guys parted on a less than happy note, but you've changed. Sasha's changed, you even said so yourself."
Anne smiled as she recalled all the ways she had seen Sasha change in these last few weeks. "Yeah, she's changed a lot. Not just physically, but also in the way she acts. She's a lot more caring now, she's controlling, but not in the negative why she was before. She's putting all that ability for leading into something positive, and she even risked her own life to save you guys. But at the same time, I don't want to start thinking like she did all this for me."
"Well, what if it was half for us and half you. She does care about us frogs, but I think she might also want to show you that she's not the same Sasha that you once knew. That she has changed."
"I know I've changed Maddie; I've changed because I hated the person I was before. I want to become someone who's worthy of Anne. Not just her friendship, but also her love. And…" Sasha rubbed her left arm as she looked down at the table. "…I don't feel like I've earned that right, yet."
"UGH!" Maddie groaned. "What else do you think you need to do to feel worthy, Sasha?! You've protected us! Fought alongside us! Became the commander of the resistance despite all the times you said you didn't want to! You're even co-leading this resistance with Anne! Something I don't think the old you would've even allowed to happen."
"You're not wrong there," Sasha remarked.
"Honestly, Sasha, I think you're missing out on a great chance to patch things up and regain what you once had." Maddie thought for a moment and then pounded her fist against the table, startling Sasha. "No! Actually, you won't!"
"It'll be better than you once had!" Ivy jumped onto the bed next to Anne and looked in her eyes. "You've both been through a lot, and now, if you get back together, you won't make the same mistakes!"
Maddie jumped onto the table and grabbed Sasha by the ruffles of her cape as she said, "Because you know you've changed, and Anne knows you've changed! Now you can make something better!"
"Something that's great! That you can both be happy about!"
"You can do it, Sasha!"
"You can do it, Anne!"
"Just tell her you love her!"
Anne smiled at the frog girl and sighed heavily. "I want to, Ivy. I really want to. But…I just don't want to rush into it and ruin everything."
"I hear you, Maddie. But I can't risk destroying Anne's trust in me. I can't risk losing our friendship just because I want to be lovers again," said Sasha.
"OH, FOR FROG'S SAKE!"
"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF FROG!"
(10 hours later…)
"Okay, I think we can all agree why we're here," said Maddie.
A contingent of the Wartwood frogs had gathered. The five known as "Sasha's Angels", which consisted of Loggle, Mrs. Croaker, Maddie herself, Wally, and Toadie, who recently became more badass. Along with them were Ivy, Sprig, Hop Pop, Polly, and R/C Frobo.
"Yeah," they all answered.
"So, then our problem is thus…HOW THE FROG ARE WE GOING TO GET THOSE TWO TO JUST STOP THE FLIRTING AND GET BACK TOGETHER ALREADY?!" Maddie exclaimed.
A round of groans and moans followed as many of them either dragged their hands down their faces, slammed their foreheads against the round table, or in Loggle's case, gave a frustrated groan, picked up his chair, and broke it in half. Everybody looked at him with an expression that said, "Really?" The woods-smith blushed a little, went off to the corner, and brought back another chair before quietly sitting down.
"Sorry, got a little carried away," said Loggle.
"Not like we can blame ya too much. Considerin' how those two have been actin'," Hop Pop remarked.
"I swear to Frog, if they don't just KISS already, I'm gonna LOSE IT!" Wally declared.
"Yeah, that's a problem." Sprig spoke up. "Anne said they both agreed to start over as friends. And, honestly, while I still dislike Sasha, it's better for them this way."
"Are you kidding, Sprig?! Those two got it BAD! That whole thing in the storeroom. That was painful to watch," Polly admitted.
Mrs. Croaker scoffed at that. "You think that was painful? I caught her drawing up battle plans, and somehow, she ended up drawing a picture of Anne with hearts, and then next to it was a picture of Marcy with hearts as well. When I asked her what she was doing, she set the whole board on fire and said, 'nothing'. My left eye, 'nothing'."
"Better than the reception Ah got. Ah more or less asked, 'Hey, Anne, why don't ya just ask Sasha to be yer girlfriend again?'" Hop Pop remarked.
"And what did she do?" Loggle asked.
"Oh, Ah made the mistake of askin' her that question while we were on the walkway. Then she said 'yeet' and tossed me off the side and into the lake."
"Huh, I was wondering why you were soaking wet when I saw you that one time," said Toadie.
"Point is," Maddie interjected, "these two clearly want to be together, again. And at this point, they're just making it harder for themselves, and for the rest of us! I mean, seriously, I don't know how much more of their flirting and denialism I can take before I whip up a curse that makes them spill their guts!"
"You mean that figuratively, right?" Ivy asked.
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah, yeah," Maddie shifted her eye back and forth, "figuratively."
Ivy decided to circle back to that later, and changed the subject, "Maddie's dubiousness aside, I think we just need to make them make up, or at the very least make them realize that they still like each other and should just go back to being girlfriends."
"Ah don't know 'bout that, Ivy. As much as Ah think they might want to, Ah also think they haven't gotten over everythin' that happened at Newtopia," said Hop Pop.
Sprig grimaced, remembering all the things that happened. Not just Sasha's betrayal, but also finding out that Marcy was tricking Anne this whole time and was even the one responsible for getting the two of them stuck in Amphibia. Although, that one he had mixed feelings about, since without Marcy doing that, he would've never met Anne. But he also never forgot how sad Anne looked when she found out the truth. Sprig unconsciously patted his jacket pocket, where the poison dart Sasha gave him rested and waited. Sasha meant it as a "just in case" weapon, something to stop her if she ever went down a dark road.
"I'm pretty sure they've acknowledged all that, and from what I've seen, are willing to move past it," said Mrs. Croaker. "But the longer they keep this up, the more it's just going to fester into something. Worst of all…all of us will have to keep watching this sick back and forth of 'will they, won't they'?! It's drivin' everyone crazy!"
On that, they all agreed. At this point, they were going to start a bidding war inside of the camp.
"Think we should do another date setup like last time with Anne and Marcy?" Toadie asked.
"You mean the same one that almost set the town on fire, again," said Loggle.
"Yeah, no. If there's one thing I have learned, it's messing with other people's dates doesn't go the way you want it to," said Sprig.
"Trust him on this, he speaks from experience," Ivy, Maddie, and Polly stated at the same time.
Croaker slammed her fist on the table as she said, "Then the heck with subtly, we need to go for the direct approach!"
"Well, I think–" Sprig started.
"Tie 'em up," Croaker ordered.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, Polly produced some rope, and Ivy and Maddie were flanking either side of him.
"W-What are you doing?!" Sprig asked.
"Don't struggle, Sprig," Polly warned.
"This is for your own good," Maddie assured.
Sprig looked to his girlfriend with pleading eyes, and said, "Ivy, you too…!"
"…Forgive me, Sprig."
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Hop Pop rolled his eyes as he watched the three girls begin to jump his grandson and hogtie him. "So, what's the plan Mrs. Croaker?"
"Oh, I have an idea. And to that end, I've enlisted some help to pull it off. You can come in," said Croaker.
The door to their private meeting room opened, and everyone turned to see who it was, and out of all of them, Polly and Sprig were shocked when they saw who it was. The person who walked in was a bright red newt, decked out in armor, but had a suave look, with long dreadlocks flowing down his back.
"If has to do with romance, man. Then I'm your newt."
(2 days later…)
"UGH! Where the hell is it?!" Sasha groaned in frustration.
Maddie walked by Sasha's room, seeing the teen commander tearing up her room in search of something.
"What's up, Sasha? Lose something?" Maddie asked.
"Yes! My journal! I had it here under my mattress and now it's gone!" Sasha complained.
Maddie hummed as she rubbed her chin in contemplation, "Huh…I wonder."
Sasha stopped her search and looked at Maddie expectantly. "Wonder what?"
"It's probably nothing, but I think I saw Sprig running out of your room for some reason," said Maddie.
"WHAT!" Sasha stood up and growled. "That little twerp! I thought we had an understanding! You know what, deal's off! I'm telling Anne everything! Where was the last time you saw either of them?!"
"I think I saw them around the main training area, take tunnel one-oh-five, it'll be the fastest way," Maddie informed.
"Thanks!"
Sasha dashed out of the room with all due haste, and when she passed by Maddie, the goth frog girl grinned.
"Sorry for name dropping you, Sprig, but this is for their own good."
"It's been way too long since we had a Frog Kata lesson," said Anne.
Ivy was walking alongside Anne as they headed to the main training area, coming from a different direction than normal.
"I know, I missed our sparring time," said Ivy.
"Although…you sure it's okay I'm in my regular clothes? I should probably change to my work out clothes instead," Anne suggested.
"Nah, besides, you'll be wearing that during the battles anyway. Better to fight in an outfit you'll be in and know its limitations beforehand, right?"
Anne thought about it for a moment and said, "Well, I guess you're right." Her eyes went down to her pleated purple skirt and blushed a bit.
I mean, I don't want to flash anyone. But then again, none of them seem to care, plus, it'll just be the three of us, just girls.
As Anne thought this, she noticed that the tunnel was getting unusually darker the further they went in. "Uh, Ivy, something wrong with the mushrooms around here? It's dark."
"Huh? Guess they need replacing." Ivy reached into her pocket and took out a mushroom light. She gave it a tap and illuminated the inside. "There we go."
"Eh, still not enough to see," said Anne.
"Then just follow me, I'll get us there," said Ivy.
Anne shrugged and proceeded to follow Ivy.
"Ugh, bad enough I gotta hunt down that little twerp, but now the lights in this damn tunnel are out. Note to self: put in a work order for the lights to be replaced," said Sasha as she walked down the darkened tunnel.
Sasha had conjured a fireball into her right hand to grant her some light as she continued walking down the tunnel, determined to find Sprig, but more so to find Anne and nip this problem in the bud once and for all.
Seriously, I thought giving him the dart would help him to understand that I'm not that person anymore, or at the very least give him some peace of mind. Guess that was wasted effort, Sasha thought.
After a minute of walking, Sasha finally entered the training hall, but now it too was pitch-black dark.
"What the heck?" Sasha then spotted a light in the distance, but she couldn't make out who it was. "Hey, what's going–?"
Suddenly, the tunnel behind her slammed shut, and from what she heard, there was an echo that indicated another door had slammed shut. Several mushroom lights started to light up the entire training hall, but alongside them were crystals that added a sparkling glow. Once lit up, Sasha was able to see a lot more of where she was at. Somehow, she was standing on a makeshift stage, with a staircase that led to the training grounds below. On the other side she could see another quickly erected stage, and standing on it was Anne and Ivy.
"Anne?!" Sasha exclaimed as she snuffed out her fireball.
"Sasha?!" Anne's voice echoed.
Suddenly, a microphone went off, drawing both girls' attention to the center of the training grounds. A bit further to the side was a band that consisted of many of the Wartwood frogs, but at the head of the band was a newt that Anne recognized from Newtopia.
"Sebastian!" Anne exclaimed.
"Good to see ya again, Anne. I 'eard that ya found another love, but that ya both are having a 'ard time expressin' that love for each other," said Sebastian.
Sasha and Anne glanced at each other from across the way, both blushing when they heard the newt say this.
"So, for the sake of your love – and everybody in this base – it's time for ya both to express it, here and now!" Sebastian announced.
Just then, Maddie poofed into existence near Sasha, startling the blonde. The goth frog girl set up a microphone stand and then handed Sasha a sheet of paper. Sasha looked across the way and saw that Ivy was doing the exact same thing. The commander of the resistance looked at the sheet of paper and blushed harder when she realized what was written on it.
"T-T-This is the song I wrote in my journal! H-How did–?!"
"Sorry, Sash. Sprig had nothing to do with it. I took it. And Anne has the same paper as well, but her parts are highlighted in blue, so, I think you both know what to do," said Maddie.
Before Sasha could give protest Maddie threw down a curse pouch and poofed away. She looked across the hall and saw that Anne seemed to have just had a similar conversation with Ivy before Maddie appeared next to Ivy and poofed the both of them away. Sasha gulped, and Anne looked just as nervous. Sebastian turned to his band and began to direct them.
Anne looked at Sasha from where she stood, she looked so nervous, and so embarrassed at the same time. The Thai teen looked at the song and then back at Sasha and realized something.
Did…Did Sasha write this song? Anne thought.
The Thai teen started to hear the music, and it reminded her of that night back in Newtopia with Marcy. Her heart ached a bit upon remembering that night, but at the same time, those were also some happy memories. And that's when Anne stepped up to the microphone and closed her eyes.
(Anne) " Na, na, na, na~
Na, na, na, na~
Yeah~
You are the music in me~ "
Sasha stopped her panicking just as a spotlight shined on Anne, she could hear her voice echoing across the training hall and carried to her ears.
(Anne) " You know the words once upon a time
Make you listen
There's a reason~ "
Anne opened her eyes and looked directly across to Sasha.
(Anne) " When you dream
There's a chance you'll find
A little laughter
Or happy ever after~ "
Sasha steeled herself, Anne was willing to put herself out there, how could she not respond with anything less. The young teen walked up to her microphone, throwing off her cape and headband as a spotlight shined on her as well, and sang along with Anne.
(Sasha & Anne) " Your harmony
To the melody~
Is echoing inside my head~ "
Anne smiled as she sang, " A single voice~ "
Sasha smiled back and responded, " Single voice~ "
(Anne) " Above the noise~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " And Like a common thread~ "
Sasha made a motion as if she was tugging on something. " Hmm you're pullin' me~ "
The music began to kick up a bit, and as it did, the nerves that Sasha and Anne were feeling started to melt away as they got more into the song.
(Anne) " When I hear my favorite song
I know that we belong~ "
(Sasha) " Oh, you are the music in me
Yeah it's living in all of us~ "
(Anne) " And it's brought us here because~
(Sasha) " Because–! "
(Sasha & Anne) " You are the music in me~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " Na, na, na, na~ "
(Sasha) " Oh~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " Na, na, na, na~ "
(Sasha) " Yeah, yeah, yeah~ "
(Anne) " Na, na, na, na~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " You are the music in me~! "
The lights in the training hall began to shine at different intervals, and three lights shined on the staircases near the stages, as if directing the two girls.
Anne started heading down the steps as she sang, " It's like I knew you before we met~ "
Sasha began stepping down with Anne she responded, " Before we met~ "
(Anne) "Can't explain~ "
(Sasha) " Oh-ho~ "
(Anne) " There's no name for it~ "
(Anne) " No name for it~ "
Anne and Sasha were now standing on the ground and more spotlights began to shine down, creating a direct path towards the center. The girls followed the path laid out for them as they sang to each other.
(Sasha & Anne) " I'm saying words I never said~ "
(Sasha) " And it was easy~ "
(Anne) " So easy~ "
Sasha threw away the piece of paper and pointed to Anne as they continued to draw closer, " 'Cause you see the real me~ "
Anne nodded, " I see you~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " As I am~
You understand~
And that's more than I've ever known, oh~ "
The two girls met at the center of the hall, looking at each other with a spark in their eyes, as if they were able to speak the words in their hearts.
(Anne) " To hear your voice~ "
(Sasha) " Hear your voice~ "
(Anne) " Above the noise~ "
(Sasha) " Oh-oh~! "
(Sasha & Anne) " I know
I'm not alone~ "
Anne tossed the paper as she reached out with her hand towards Sasha, " Oh you're singing to me~! "
Sasha took ahold of that hand and sang " Oh yeah~! "
The two girls began to dance in the center of the training hall, getting lost in the music as the band increased the tempo.
(Sasha & Anne) " When I hear my favorite song
I know that we belong~ "
(Sasha) " Yeah oh~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " You are the music in me~!
It's living in all of us
And it's brought us here because~
You are the music in me~! "
The spotlights disappeared as the crystals began to release sparkling light throughout the training hall. More frogs appeared next to the band and began singing a chorus along with the two teens as they danced together, holding and spinning the other around. Sparks of electricity and flaming embers began to manifest around them as their eyes turned azure and magenta.
(Sasha & Anne) " Together we're gonna sing
Yeah~
We've got the power to sing~! "
Sasha and Anne held each other at arm's length, while keeping their hands together and looking directly at each other.
(Sasha) " What we feel~! "
(Anne) " What we feel~! "
(Sasha) " Connected and real~ "
(Anne) " Can't keep it~! "
(Sasha & Anne) " All inside
Ohh Yeah~~~! "
(Sasha & Anne) " Na, na, na, na
Oh yeah
Na, na, na, na~
Oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah~
Na, na, na, na
You are the music in me~! "
Anne and Sasha let go as they danced across from each other, still maintaining their eye contact as their respective elements flared around them.
(Sasha & Anne) " Na, na, na, na
Oh yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah~
Na, na, na, na
Oh, yeah~
Na, na, na, na
You are the music in me~! "
The two girls met back in the center, holding each other as they danced together once again. All the while, singing to each other, making their hearts resonate.
(Chorus) " When I hear my favorite song~! "
(Sasha) " Favorite song~ "
(Chorus) " I know that we belong~! "
(Anne) " We belong~ "
(Sasha & Anne) " You are the music in me~! "
(Chorus & Sasha) " Yeah! It's living in all of us
It's brought us here because~! "
(Anne) " Here because~ "
(Sasha & Anne & Chorus) " You are the music in me~!
Na, na, na, na
Oh yeah
Na, na, na, na
Oh, yeah
Na, na, na, na~ "
Anne and Sasha twirled each other around before coming together in an embrace and sang out loud, " YOU ARE THE MUSIC IN ME~~~~~! "
As the music slowly wound down, Sasha brought her forehead close and gently pressed it against Anne's as she sang, " Yeah~ "
The others held their breath as they watched the two girls still embracing, Sprig was bound and gagged off to the side, being watched by Polly, but still within viewing range of the goings on.
"Did you write the song, Sash?" Anne asked.
"I…I did. I wanted to sing it to you one day. It was going to be my way of apology and telling you how much you mean to me. But after you said you wanted to start over as friends, I decided to put it on mothballs until the time was right that I could sing it to you," Sasha explained.
"Sash…do you…do you want to get back together?" Anne asked, timidly.
Sasha tilted her head back so that she could look Anne in the eyes. The blonde teen steeled her nerves yet again and said, "I want to, Anne. I'm…I'm trying so hard not to push you, not to make you rush back into my arms or me into yours. I…I know I've done things in the past, I was a toxic person, controlling, manipulative, I didn't deserve your love or your friendship. When you said you hated me, when I saw the aftermath of all my decisions and actions, I understood then that I was not worthy of you."
Sasha removed her right hand from Anne's hip and gently caressed the left side of Anne's face.
"When I came here, and defended Wartwood, I decided then that I would become someone worthy of you. Not just your love, but also your friendship. I thought I would be content with just having you at my side again, but…my heart just keeps wanting to be more. I'm sorry, Anne…"
Anne removed her right hand and cupped the left side of Sasha's face as well, making Sasha's eyes widen.
"Truth is, Sash, I've been trying to keep my feelings in check, too. Honestly, I wasn't any better. I've always taken the easy way, the path of least resistance. It became way easier to just follow your lead than to do my own thing, if anything, we messed each other up. I let myself get pushed around, and that in turn just made you lean more into your toxic behavior," said Anne.
"Stop it, Anne. It's not your fault," said Sasha.
"It's both our faults, Sasha. I've come to realize that."
Sasha lowered her head, it was true. They were best friends, but they only seemed to bring the worst out in each other. Not allowing the other to grow as a person and become just a collective.
"But we're not the same girls we were seven months ago, Sasha."
The blonde teen raised her head a bit and saw a smiling Anne.
"You've become a dependable, strong, and capable leader. Someone who has earned the trust of others, not through manipulation or false promises, but through action and compassion. And me? I've learned how to become a stronger person, not just physically, but mentally. I know now what it means to be a friend, and to grow as a person. And that's how I can tell you're not the same Sasha Waybright I fought in Newtopia. You're different, the best version of yourself," Anne explained.
Sasha's eyes began to water, her heart was moved by Anne's words, and she felt lame for crying in front of her ex-girlfriend, but she didn't care right now.
"A-And you're definitely not the pushover or easygoing Anne I knew back on Earth. You're strong, you're dependable, you are the best version of yourself, Anne Boonchuy," Sasha responded.
Everyone was on pins and needles, waiting for the moment, waiting for the moment that would finally put an end to this will-they-won't-they tension that's been plaguing the base and its soldiers.
"Are you sure want to have me as girlfriend, again?" Sasha asked.
"Only if you're okay with me being your girlfriend again," Anne replied.
"I am, I really am, Anne Savisa Boonchuy," said Sasha.
Anne blushed as she said, "Wow, we're busting out middle names. Alright. Then I…I'd like to be girlfriends again, Sasha Elizabeth Waybright."
Sebastian was gripping his stick so hard that it snapped in two, no longer able to stand it as he yelled, "JUST KISS THE GIRL ALREADY, MAN!"
And kiss they did, Sasha leaned forward and gently placed her lips against Anne's. The Thai teen moved her hands up and draped them around Sasha's broad shoulders and leaned into the kiss. At that moment, the entire training hall erupted into loud cheers of both relief and excitement. But the two girls just ignored the peanut gallery and focused on this moment between them.
Polly smiled and nodded her head, happy to see this brought to a close.
Ivy and Maddie walked up to Sprig, with the former taking out the gag in his mouth.
"Sorry, Sprig," said Ivy.
"Traitors," Sprig remarked.
"C'mon, Sprig, even you can't deny just how happy those two look right now," said Maddie.
Sprig returned his gaze to the two teens at the center of training grounds. The two of them had separated from their kiss and were smiling and giggling as they looked into each other's eyes. As Sprig watched them closely, he noticed something. It was hard to put into words, but…there was a spark in their eyes. Like something new had been born, risen from the ashes and made anew. Sprig felt the defiance leave his body, he couldn't deny it at this point. There was a change, and it was something good.
"Sprig?" Ivy asked.
The pink frog child then answered, "I'll…allow it. You can untie me, I'm done."
Polly shrugged and motioned to R/C Frobo. The robotic head on wheels came up and used its laser eyes to swiftly cut Sprig free, allowing him to stand up. Ivy moved closer to him and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.
"What was that for?" Sprig asked.
"I just felt like it, is all," Ivy answered.
Sprig blushed but then kissed her back as he replied, "I felt like it, too."
Ivy and Sprig looked at Maddie, the goth frog girl looked at the couple as if they were expecting something.
"Yeah, I'm not kissing either of you two," said Maddie.
"Never said you had to, Maddie," said Ivy in a teasing tone.
"S-Shut up!" Maddie retorted with a blush.
Sprig glanced between the two girls and asked, "What's happening?"
Polly sighed as she said, "Clueless."
A/N: "You are the music in me" - High School Musical 2