The Bridge on the River Frog

Far away from Wartwood, Anne, Sasha, Jacob, and Hop Pop looked at the mountain pass that connected the Valley with the world outside, a pass that according to earlier previsions should have cleared out by now.

Yet, a large wall of ice, the image of a frozen giant centipede visible inside, still obstructed the pass, ruining whatever hope the humans had to leave the Valley.

"Well, kids," Hop Pop spoke, looking at the three of them, "I don't want to say, "I told you so-"

"Yes, you do." Was Anne's reply.

"Okay, you're right: I told you so." The old frog chuckled, before resuming a somber tone, "Still going to be another couple of weeks before that snowpack melts."

"But we have been here for two months already!" Anne groaned.

"Stupid ice, stupid snow, stupid late thaw!" Sasha grumbled, walking to the ice and instinctively kicking at it, "Why must this be the only way to leave the Valley?"

"Are you sure we can't do anything to speed up clearing the pass, HP?" Jacob suddenly had an idea. "I mean, ice is frozen water: how about we try to melt it?"

"Don't call me HP!" The Plantar householder grumbled back, "Anyway, if the pass is entirely blocked by snow and ice, it's no use trying to melt it by force. It wouldn't be worth it, both in time and burned wood."

"Then how about I use some of my gunpowder to-"

"Jacob, no!" Both girls shouted at the same time, "Seriously, what if you end up collapsing the pass and blocking it forever?"

"Yeah, dude. The last thing we need is for you to screw up so bad that we're stuck trapped in the Valley!"

"Hey! I was just trying to come up with a solution!" Jacob replied defensively, "If you two have a better idea, I'm all ears!"

"How about we wait for Amelia to return?" Hop Pop quickly seized the chance once again to be "the adult" of the situation, "Maybe she had more luck."

"Oh, there she is!" Anne pointed to something over there, the others quickly following her eyes as they noticed some small, buzzing dot approaching from their right. Soon, the dot grew in size, and the buzzing became louder, quickly taking the shape of a giant white dragonfly with red eyes and wings, ridden by a human girl in samurai attire.

"Landing!" Amelia happily announced, her hand scratching the back of the dragonfly. "Akitsu, Bessie may be the queen of the road, but you're sure the Empress of the Sky!"

"Brum! Bri! Bru-bram!"

"Amelia!" Anne was the quickest to approach her, "Any progress? Did you manage to find the other side of the pass?!"

"I tried, but these mountains are all tall and gloomy, it was difficult to find a way among them. Plus, they're cold, and cold really bothers Akitsu."

"Bru-bra!"

Sasha grumbled again, but this time, with a more resigned expression, "I guess we really have no other choice than to wait for the snow and ice to melt. Anything else you've seen?"

"Oh, yeah, there is one thing I did notice! I saw there is an inn called "Dandy Lion" not far from here: how about going there and taking a break before returning?"

"Absolutely not!" Hop Pop immediately disagreed. "We aren't spending coppers going to an inn if it's not necessary!"

"Oh, come on, boomer," Sasha protested, "You don't even have to pay: we all have our money now!" She, Anne, and Jacob all showed a small bag each.

"It's not just about money, Sasha. We already spent too much time coming to check the pass, and we have to return to Wartwood as soon as we can. I bet Marcy and the others are already at that building site for that bridge of yours."

"Guys, you know I'm not a big fan of manual work, but Hop Pop's right." Anne sighed, "We did promise to Mar-Mar and the others we will be there today, remember?"

"I remember, Anne." Amelia shrugged, looking one last time in the direction where the inn she saw was, "That's a pity: I really wanted to see what their house specialty was…oh well, I guess we will find out another time!"

The other humans (plus Hop Pop) jumped aboard Akitsu, Jacob the first one behind Amelia, Anne behind him, and Sasha the next-to-last before Hop Pop. Once everyone was aboard, Amelia patted her pet dragonfly and personal air transport, the large bug chirping as her wings began to vibrate and move at high speed once again, before rising from the ground and up into the sky.

"Woo-hoo!" Amelia shouted as the Valley began to become smaller under them. Even Jacob, looking down, couldn't help but feel wonder: having a mount in a fantasy setting was a useful asset, but having a flying mount was leagues better. Among the nice differences, Akitsu could move much faster than Bessie could, and she would be uninfluenced by the nature of the ground or issues like a log on the road or unstable soil.

"So, HP, how's flying in your opinion?"

"For the love of frog, please stop calling me that!" The old frog protested, but in his heart, he already knew it was a losing battle: no matter how much he hated that moniker, there wasn't anything he could do to make them stop using it. "Anyway, I guess that's quite a…impressive experience, I'd say. I just hope she won't let us down."

"Don't worry, Hop-Poppy!" Amelia smiled, while Hop Pop groaned at yet another unlikable nickname, "Akitsu and I are not indulging in more advanced fly practice until next week. Marcy did promise to make me a proper saddle with a seatbelt and a gliding gear, once the issue with the bridge is over."

"I am still a bit wary about that," Sasha confessed. "I mean, we have no proper knowledge on bridge building: Marbles is the most knowledgeable among us, her Saint James Middle School Young Architects Fellowship and all, but I'm still fearful...do you seriously think we can do it?"

"Hey, we basically fortified all of Wartwood by ourselves, Sash." Jacob quickly pointed out, "Plus, Toadstool did explain to us how important the bridge is…

(…)

"Hopediah Plantar," Toadstool smiled as the old frog, surrounded by his "extended" family, walked into his office, "I'm happy that you've managed to come. I was thinking of sending Toadie to get you all, but it looks like you didn't need it in the end."

"You can save your sweet talk, Toadstool," Hop Pop replied. Once, he would have gladly accepted on the spot an invite from Wartwood's toad mayor, but now, he couldn't help but feel suspicious every time the mayor wanted to speak with his children. Toadstool had surely changed for the better ever since he promised to redeem himself in Wartwood's eyes, yet Hop Pop didn't want to trust him fully. Not yet, at least.

Besides, he was no longer affected by the luxury of money.

"Very well, I'll be more direct. As many of you should remember, the risk of the Toads returning grows greater every day. For this reason, Toadie and I decided to preemptively make contacts with the other villages across the valley who, like us, have…rejected Toad Tower's control."

"You mean there are other towns who decided to stand up and fight, instead of silently submitting?" The blonde human spoke with undisguised glee. Maybe because, out of sheer empathy, she liked to see people standing up for what was right and not submitting to the bullies.

"Indeed. After seeing how Wartwood managed to free itself from the chains of toad's oppression and how Grime didn't hurry to crush us, all the villages of the Valley followed our example and threw out their tax collectors. Nevertheless, they all know what is at stake when the toads return and for this reason, the new mayor of Bog Bottom sent me a letter proposing a partnership. In short, they're willing to help us as long as we are going to help them."

"You mean an alliance?" Marcy's eyes were shining, and so were Jacob's and Amelia's. The story of many people banding together against a common foe, cooperating and helping each other, was a concept all of them knew very well.

"Yes! So far, Bog Bottom was the most proactive, and made us the following deal: if the Wartwood Militia is willing to protect it as well, they can furnish us with processed metals and other things we need in the event of a toad attack; moreover, Bog Bottom hosts a trading harbor and joining them would bring new economic prosperity to Wartwood and its inhabitants."

Hop Pop's eyes began to shine as well. With the crops growing in number, thanks to Marcy's continuous upgrades to the farm, the idea of selling more of his vegetables started to sound much more realistic than ever.

"But?" Amelia raised an eyebrow, realizing that there was something more that Toadstool hadn't told them yet.

"But," the mayor continued, "There is an issue. Our connection with Bog Bottom so far has been…hectic, even on our best days. Frogs attempting to go from Wartwood to Bog Bottom or reverse would find themselves risking their lives and stocks, and thus, neither city can actively help the other…unless we do something on that regard."

"Let me guess, you want to enlist our help, don't you?" Jacob rolled his eyes, realizing that Toadstool's speech was just prepping them for some unknown tasks. "What can we do to secure this alliance?"

"I was hoping you would ask," Toadstool smiled, opening a map of the valley and showing them the land separating Wartwood from Bog Bottom, Toad Tower on the other end. "As you can see, the main obstacle on the path to connect both cities is the Frog River, which runs from north-west to south-south-east from this point. For frogs venturing alone, it's not a big issue, but as you can imagine-"

"-It's not as easy for merchants or travelers." Anne nodded. "And you need something stable to connect both sides of the road."

"Indeed, what I'm asking you, is to help us build a bridge to make it easier to move between our cities. I don't know how much experience you do have-"

"I can help!" Marcy suddenly squeaked, gaining everyone's attention, "I can design the blueprint for the bridge, to make it sturdy and strong enough to last for many years!"

"Mar-mar," Anne asked, "Since when do you know how to build a bridge?"

"I'm the President of the Saint James Middle School Young Architects Fellowship; don't you know Anna-Banana?"

"Marbles," Sasha spoke again, even if unheard by her friend, "Do you remember you're the president AND only member of said club?"

"Mars, you know how to build a bridge?"

"Sure I do, Jacob! I can start some sketches here and-"

"A bridge?" Suddenly James walked forward, a strange light in his eyes, looking at Toadstool. "You want us to…build a bridge…over a river?"

"Huh, yeah?"

"Like Alec Guinness?"

"Huh, who is Alec Guinness?" Hop Pop asked, looking at the humans with a puzzled expression.

"It's the name of an actor from our universe, Hop Pop!" James replied, a growing enthusiasm pouring from him with every word. "And he was the main character of one of my favorite movies ever, Bridge on the River Kwai!"

James didn't notice it, but as soon as he nominated the Kwai River, Anne shuttered.

"It's my whole life that I waited for such an occasion!" The British boy continued with a voice full of glee, "I'm going to prepare everything I'll need!"

"So," Jacob asked, once James had left the room, "Putting aside any similarity with earth-made movies, how do we build a bridge? Marcy may know how, but I never built one before."

"Come on guys," Sasha tried to cheer them up, "we did all that farm work already! As long as we know what to do, we can do this!"

"You won't be alone." Toadstool announced, surprising the humans, "Several frogs will help you, as long as you can properly direct them. The bridge-building will start tomorrow if you accept it."

"I'll make sure to prepare a detailed project by then!" Marcy smiled with a prideful look.

"Hey!" Amelia suggested, raising her hand, "Since we are going out of Wartwood, how about we take Akitsu for a trip and we go to check that mountain pass?"

"Good idea, Amelia!"

"Why?" Hop Pop pointed out, "Did you hear what I told you last time? We are going to have a late thaw, so the pass is probably still blocked."

"Don't be such a pessimist," Anne smiled, trying to cheer up herself and him at the same time. "I'm sure the situation is not that bad…"

(…)

"…of course, no one listened to me, so we had to come here and waste a lot of time!" Hop Pop finished his grumbling, Akitsu and Amelia sharing nonplussed expressions.

"Better safe than sorry, no?" Jacob replied, "Plus, with how fast Akitsu is flying, it won't take too long. If we had taken Bessie, we would have needed a whole day to return to the farm."

"Look, there!" Sasha pointed out, as the forest and farmland under them led to a narrow road among the trees, ending on a large river. There, on the bank of the great river that separated Bog Bottom from Wartwood, a certain dark-haired girl was already waiting for them, the blueprints for the bridge already stretched out on a makeshift foldable table, Polly and Sprig at her side

"Guys!" Marcy smiled, seeing Akitsu land and her friends join her. "So…any news about the pass?"

"Looks like Hop Pop had been right on that one," Sasha conceded, the old frog assuming a smugly "told-you-so" expression, "The pass is still blocked by ice, so we have no better option than to wait for it to clear."

"Oh, I guess that's bad," Marcy replied, unsure if feeling elated or sad about the news. So many things had changed since the day they arrived here, she didn't know anymore.

"So…" Jacob started to look over the girls' blueprints, "Are we really going to do this? Do you think we can build this bridge here?"

"Well, not exactly here!" Marcy pointed at the large sandy bank in front of them, "Of all the places we could choose to build a bridge, we couldn't pick a worse location. There's no bottom."

"No bottom?" Both Sprig and Polly asked, fascinated by her words. In response, Marcy took a small batch of the sand, showing them how crumbly it was.

"It's too soft! We could drive the pile logs for months, and they wouldn't hold. This means that even if we manage to build the bridge, it would crumble at the first flood."

"Then," Sasha asked, "Where should we build it?"

Marcy smiled, pointing to a point behind Sasha. "There, across those narrows. Not only the bridge would have to be shorter, and this means less work and less risk of making mistakes, but above all, we would have solid bedrock on both banks. That means we could secure the main piers safely."

"And how are we going to build the bridge?" Anne puzzled, "I mean unless you have somehow made concrete as well-"

"There is no need for concrete, Anna-Banana. Previously, Sprig and I inspected the area, and we found some trees in this forest, very similar to elms. There have been bridges on Earth, made with elm piles that lasted for years…"

Sasha listened with renowned interest as Marcy kept describing in detail how they would start placing the foundation for the bridge, how they would make it so there was no risk for any previous work to be suddenly lost and having to be redone, a small tab showing how many days they would have to work and how much work they would have to do each day before the project was finished.

It was then that Amelia noticed something was missing. Rather, someone.

"Hey!" the Samurai girl pointed, looking around, "Where's James?"

"He was gathering all available manpower back into Wartwood." Marcy began to explain, "Toadstool promised us there would have been others to help us, and James offered to escort them to the work site as soon as they could. Of course, it's quite a distance by foot, so I don't know when he will-"

Marcy's words were suddenly cut, as Jacob raised a hand, and made a sign for everyone to listen. As they did, they realized a sound, approaching from afar, of many people marching and whistling at the same time.

"What the-"

"James, you fool," Anne shrugged as the whistle grew stronger, and so did the sound of marching feet. Until James and the frogs marching behind him appeared in their line of sight.

The British boy was now wearing a khaki jacket and trousers, a hat resembling a military officer one, and he held a baton in his left hand. The frogs who were following him were all marching in coordination, and they all whistled together the same song that James was whistling out of his lips, called the "Colonel Bogey March".

In short, a perfect reply, with James playing the role of Colonel Nicholson and the frogs being the roles of his troops, in the beginning and most famous scene of the Bridge on the River Kwai movie.

"I have to give it to James: when he wants, he can look quite English!"

"Where in the frog did he even find those clothes?"

"And he taught them the whistle?"

James marched forward, stopping once he was almost in front of the others, the frogs moved into a line and kept marching on the spot for a few more minutes before the whistle ended, and with that, the march.

"Colonel James Tyler Blueingham and troops," James saluted "reporting for duty!

"James!" The others called him out. "You're not a colonel! You're not even an enlisted soldier yet!"

"And the frog was with the whistle and the march?"

"Sorry, guys, but this is so amazing! Build a bridge over a river in the middle of a dangerous forest, as Alec Guinness did in the movie!"

"James," Anne raised an eyebrow, "not to pop your fantasy…but was the uniform really necessary?"

"Of course it is!" James replied with a prideful expression, "With this uniform on me, I feel like I could conquer the whole of Burma alone."

"Ugh!" Anne replied, her hand over her face.

"Ok, people, let's get moving!" Marcy announced, "James, Jacob, we need to gather the wood to build the bridge while I check the blueprints one last time. Can you do that?"

"Sure thing!" James smiled, turning to face his "troops", "Come on, frogs. Everyone, get to your designed location; those among you who haven't a proper role yet, follow me! Let's get some wood!"

"Huh, guys?" Sasha raised an eyebrow, as James and a puzzled Jacob walked to the forest, followed by several frogs with axes and saws, "I understand that James is a kind and helpful person, but…doesn't he look a little too enthusiastic today?"

"I guess he's happy to roleplay his favorite movie." Amelia replied, "Don't worry: I am sure he will return to his usual self once the novelty of the thing wears off…"

"Timber!" Jacob announced as another tree, his base chopped by the boy's repeated effort, began to fall and crash to the ground, the frogs quickly rushing to safety before returning to cut the tree trunk into smaller pieces. The human, his face red with sweat, took a second to regain breath and considered walking back to the camp and pouring some water over his forehead when he noticed something odd among them.

That was Sprig, walking among the other working frogs with a worried expression, some new shiny pin over his hat, shame all over his face.

"Hey, Sprig!" Jacob called out, walking toward him, "What's wrong? Everything okay, little pal?"

"Yes, Jacob." The young frog-boy replied, scratching the back of his head "Why? Do I look like I'm having issues?"

"Well, you surely look uneasy, bro. Did something happen? Have you seen James?"

"He went back to the river not too long ago. Said he needed to check how the work was coming with the girls. Oh, he also promoted me!"

"Promoted you?"

In response, Sprig showed the human teen the shiny pin. "He said that, since he needed to go, someone had to watch over the others and help direct their work. So, he gave me this and told me I was now a lieutenant. Is that a bad thing?"

"Bad? Nah, actually…it's good. That means James recognizes your skills and wants to reward you." Even if we are not part of an army, so this promotion in fact amounts to nothing.

"But then, why instead of rewarding me, is punishing me?"

"Punishing? Why don't you like being a lieutenant?"

"Actually, I don't even know what a lieutenant is supposed to be, but the fact is…I feel guilty that everyone is working hard, while I can only stand by and watch."

"Who says you have to stand and watch?" Jacob laughed, giving the young frog a gentle slap on his back, "If you want to help someone, how about helping me? I could use a partner."

"Thank you, Jacob, but…I can't. James told me that I am an officer, and officers are not supposed to work."

"What? The human replied with concern. Suddenly, he started to recall the plot of the movie that Marcy had described to him earlier, and the dots started to connect on his head.

Frog, I guess James was so forward with Sprig that he even told him that "officers don't work" part.

"Sprig, James was not forbidding you to help. What he meant probably was that an officer can't be forced to work unless he actually wants to."

"Wait, really?" Sprig's face flourished back with happiness, now that the moral dilemma he had faced was now solved.

"Indeed. Plus, I don't think anyone is going to refute your help if you really want to. Hey, everyone!" The boy called out, his loud voice enough to gather the attention of all the frogs, "Do you mind if Sprig wants to help?"

"Are you kidding? Come and join us, lad!"

"No issue at all: feel free to help."

"We could need some help here!"

As Sprig jumped away, happy of being able to help and no more feeling guilty about staying idle while everyone worked that hard, Jacob smiled, before his mind turned back to James. When he arrived earlier dressed as a British officer of the Colonial Army, he had been amused, even exchanging a couple of jokes with Amelia. Yet, now, he couldn't help but feel worried about the whole issue.

Sure, there was nothing wrong with living your own fantasies for a little while, but…

…what if James was getting too much in his fantasies, and he could no longer distinguish them from reality?

(…)

"So, we'll stabilize the pillars for the bridge with baskets filled with stones, while we will add some smaller pillars in a curved shape to add on the stability of the construction and help unload the bridge's weight with a lintel system-"

"Anne! Guys!"

"Amelia, what's happening?"

"We do not know, but when James returned from the forest, he suddenly went on criticizing the work we were doing."

"He's speaking harsh words, and acts like nothing we do is good enough for him!" Polly added, "Something's gotten into him."

"I'll go deal with him," Sasha jumped on her feet, "I'll give him a piece of my mind."

"I'm coming with you, Sash." Anne nodded.

As the two girls reached the British boy, they were quick to realize that there was a strange light in his eyes.

"Come on, people!" James said, earning more than a scornful glare, "You know you can do better than this!"

"James, what are you doing?" Sasha called out, "Your job is not to harass the frogs helping us!"

"I'm not harassing anyone, Sash! I'm giving them proper guidance, just like any officer would do with his own soldiers."

"They're not soldiers, they're people!" Anne called him out, "They're not here because someone ordered them to, they're here because Toadstool asked them to help us! Why are you so rigid with them?"

"Anne, seriously, you disappoint me. Would you rather let this work fall behind schedule and accumulate delay after delay? Would you prefer to see them fall victim to disorganization and idleness? Would you have it said that Wartwood's frogs could not do a proper job? Don't you realize how important it is to prove to them, to us, to anyone else how the frogs of Wartwood are strong, both in body and in spirit?"

"So, you're mistreating them to show them how strong they are? James, what the frog are you thinking?

"Take a good look, Anne. One day, we will return to our world and leave Amphibia behind us. When that happens, I hope that the people who use this bridge in years to come will remember how it was built, who built it, and how many hardships they beat in order to build it. For it to be an eternal memory of what frogs can do, with proper leadership and guidance. As British soldiers remained British soldiers even in captivity, in a prison in the middle of Burma's jungle. so Wartwood frogs will be an example to countless generations to come."

"James," Sasha interjected, "I know the idea of building a bridge on a river sounds very similar to that movie of yours, but…don't you think you're taking it a little too extreme? This is not your movie, this is reality!"

"And even if I understand your idea of giving them a high standard that everyone else will look for," Anne added in agreement, "this is not the good way to get into it! Seriously, dude, you're acting like a professor from my old school!"

"Maybe that's what is necessary, Anne. Plus, your below-average test scores tell me you really could have listened to them a little more!"

"Hey!" Sasha replied in anger, as that was clearly a low blow. Meanwhile, Anne shuttered, trying to come up with a good comeback.

"You…you-"

"I'm doing this for their own good, Boonchuy. I suppose if you had been born in Burma and you had seen the Kwai River with your eyes, you would understand how much a tragedy helped those soldiers temper their own minds, body, and souls."

And having said that, the boy walked away, leaving Sasha still fizzing over his attitude, while Anne stood still, as all words of his last sentence cut through her like a hot knife through the butter…

(…)

It was early morning on the bank of the river. The construction site of the bridge stood silently, the pale light of the Sun emerging from the horizon as everyone still lay asleep in their tents. The main tents, forming a circle around the campfire, were the six humans' ones, while the frog workers' tents were detached from them, lying on the side of the road. A couple more campfires and spells Marcy had set up contributed to keeping large bugs and other predator creatures afar, and the last two watches had gone to sleep, taking some time to enjoy sleep as well before another working day started.

Unfortunately for them, someone was already awake, and now was going to cruelly cut off their remaining sleep time.

"Wake up, you sleepyheads!" James shouted from the outside, playing with a set of bagpipes (where he had gotten hold of them, no one could ever understand) British Army redcoat-style, "We have a bridge to work on, and a road two towns are waiting for us to connect!"

"What's going on?" Amelia grumbled as she jerked off her sleeping back and peeked out of the tent, her brain still half-asleep. The work-day on the bridge, yesterday, had been even harsher than they had imagined and, while they had managed to settle five pairs of pillars for the starting part of the bridge, they had worn down their bodies to a point that when they all went to sleep (in the middle of the night, no less), she hurried to her bag and quickly fell asleep as soon as she lied down, hoping for a long restorative sleep. "Who's playing the bagpipes at this time?"

"It's James!" Marcy pointed out, the less tired of them, "I guess he knows how to play them?"

"Cute," Sasha grumbled, her mood already ruined by the brutal awakening and feeling yet another headache incoming, "But if he doesn't stop, I'm going to punch him."

"James!" Another voice called out from outside, making Anne, Jacob, and Sasha grittier their teeth.

"Huh-oh: it looks like he woke up Polly."

"That's not a good thing!"

As the day passed and the building project continued, the bridge over the river that separated Wartwood from Bog bottom began to take shape. By the end of the third day, the humans had finally managed to lay down all the pillars they needed to build the bridge up to the middle of the river and began to lay down the main path while, on the river banks, they started assembling the support structure that they would later add to give final stability to the whole of it. As the work proceeded, many new issues and problems were found, forcing the humans and their friends to face and address each one of them:

(…)

"Marcy, there is an issue with the whole upper structure of the bridge"

"What kind of issue, Amelia?"

"Look," the young samurai showed Marcy some pieces of paper, "Loggle says that he needs some precise calculations to know how long to make each piece-"

"Here!" Marcy replied, giving back the paper with some added notes, "These should be very helpful."

"Marcy, did you basically solve a bunch of complex calculus that neither Loggle nor anyone else had been able to solve in the blink of an eye."

"Amelia, you do remember that I was one of the best students at school?"

"Teacher's pet!"

(…)

"Come on, come on!" Jacob grumbled as he and a group of frogs struggled to pull the rope to place one of the main pillars of the bridge. Yet, the wood was very heavy, and soon one of the frogs lost his grip, quickly imitated by the others.

"No!" The boy grumbled, he and the few remaining struggled to keep the heavy wood from crashing back into the river. He knew that, if he let the wood fall down, their work for the day would have been seriously compromised.

In the best of outcomes, the two previous days of work would have to be scrapped and redone.

"Jacob!" A voice called out, and suddenly, a blonde human rushed to his side, grabbing onto the rope and pulling. Suddenly the heavy pillar didn't feel as heavy as before, and pull after pull, centimeter after centimeter, the pillar returned to its proper place and was finally fixed in the right position.

"It's-it's done." Sasha panted, dropping onto the ground as she felt her own legs and arms sore due to the effort.

"Thanks for the save, Sash." Jacob smiled at her, giving the blonde-haired girl a thumbs up. "You're really a lifesaver."

"Hey, you weren't so bad too, Viking troublemaker."

"Thank you, Queen bee."

(…)

"Here, guys!" Anne walked among the tired frogs, giving each of them a cold drink she and Stumpy made, "You all work hard enough so let's take a drink instead!"

"Thank you, Anne!" Sprig welcomed, taking one of the drinks and starting to slurp it loudly. As soon as he tasted it, the drink's flavor spread all over his mouth, kicking away for the moment the tiredness of work and the heat of the day.

"Wow, it's good!" Polly exclaimed, throwing away the straw and dropping the remaining content of the cup in her greedy mouth, swallowing it whole. "Anne, what was this drink called again?"

"Nam Manao," Anne smiled in response. "It's basically a Thai version of common lemonade, made with lime, sugar, and water. Nothing better to drink on hot days, or after hard, tiring work under the sun."

"Did your mother teach it too?"

"Uhm, yeah Sprig." The girl looked aside, the frog's sudden question reawakening her inner turmoil. "She used to make me when I was…younger."

"Anne, are you ok?" Polly raised an eyebrow with a puzzled look, "Something is bothering you, isn't it?"

"No, no!" The girl lied, forcing herself to put on a happy, neutral expression, "I'm fine. It's just…I am thinking when this bridge will be over…"

Sprig nodded, quickly accepting her answer. However, Polly didn't, mentally realizing that there was something that Anne was not telling them…

(…)

"Careful, now!" Marcy warned everyone, pointing to the large support structure piece they assembled. "This piece has to be placed in THIS exact spot: too much to the left or to the right, and the irregular disposition will weaken the bridge, rather than strengthen it."

"But how can we place it?" Jacob pointed out, giving voice to the question everyone mentally asked, "I mean, this sure looks heavy, and even by working altogether, we cannot be sure to place it without compromising the stability. I mean, unless we could fly-"

"We can do it!" Amelia jumped, looking back at Akitsu who was lying in a clearing behind them, lazily taking pleasure in the warm kiss of the sun over her exoskeleton and wings, "If Akitsu and I carry it just over the bridge, we just need a couple of you to secure it and weld it to the rest of the structure."

"Huh, Amelia?" Anne raised her hand, "Not to pop your enthusiasm, but…are you sure you can do it? No offense meant, but you're just started flying with Akitsu, and your control is still…bearable at best."

"Oh, what do you think?" Amelia replied, her grin showing that she had received the offense and taken it fully, "Let me show then, I'm sure you'll be surprised!"

(…)

Anne was surprised in the end, after seeing the white dragonfly and her driver placing the piece after some nerve-wracking moments, thus ensuring a good end for that day's work. And so, little by little, every piece added one after another, the bridge began to take its final shape, the wooden corridor held by the pillars connecting each bank and large enough to allow two snails to move at the same time and in opposite directions.

And yet, even as the construction of the bridge came close to the end, there was still one issue that was bothering everyone.

That was James, and his hyper-fixation on reenacting the Kwai River movie at any cost, no matter how absurd his requests were starting to sound. Or, how much his companions started to complain louder and louder at his weirdness.

"Look guys," Sasha said, mixing the red fruit tea Felicia had given to her and adding some sugar to it. "I know that I promised to be the best version of myself from now on, and that includes using different solutions from being aggressive and all. Yet, if James wakes me up again with that bagpipe of his…I'm going to make him eat it!"

"Not if I beat you at it!" Amelia grumbled in turn, "It was cute the first day, but being woken up every day military school style, makes it grow old very fast! I need my beauty sleep!"

I wonder if this is how they all see me when I talk about Japan, the samurai girl wondered for a second, sipping on the Nom Yen (Pink Milk Tea) Anne had made specifically for her, Wow. Maybe this IS how they see me everyday? As an obnoxious fool who pretends to live some fantasy…Naaaah! No way can I be this bad when I try to show off my Japanese cultural knowledge.

"I cannot recognize my bro anymore!" Jacob pouted down, looking dejected, "The one I could feel my connection to. I know we didn't even know each other before arriving here, and yet…he was like my brother from another mother!"

"Well, technically he is your brother." Polly pointed out, leaning from Amelia's hair, "Everyone's brother since Hop Pop adopted you all."

"Thank you for reminding us, Polly," Jacob looked up, his face turning sympathetic. "Still, the point still stands: ever since this whole thing started, James had become obnoxious!"

"Anne, what do you think of all of this?" Marcy asked, looking to her right. Her friend didn't reply, looking at the small campfire they had been using to warm up their drinks, her silence quickly gaining everyone's attention.

"Anne, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, there is nothing wrong!"

"Anne!" Sasha called out, "Please, don't insult our intelligence. Ever since we started the whole project and James got into that charade of his, you've been like this. You try to hide it from us, but you're clearly gloomy. Plus, I did notice that every time James makes some of his movie references, you look even worse. Boonchuy…is James hurting you?"

"What? No! He never tried to hurt me!"

"I do not mean directly, Boonchuy: as both you and I know, even words can hurt. And you can hurt someone even without realizing it."

"Everyone at attention!" A voice called out, and the last human of the group walked in, Jacob, Sasha, and Amelia exchanging a facepalming groan. How long would this charade continue?

"James," Marcy pouted as the boy walked among them. "So, did your inspection end? Anything you want to tell us?"

"Indeed! Boys, I know that the end is in sight, but this is no excuse to slack off!"

"Slack off?!" Sasha almost yelled. We were breaking our bones on this froggish bridge while you were just walking around complaining about everything, and now that we are taking a break, you came here to criticize? James, if I was my old self…

"Yes! Seriously, guys, I have seen how you have secured that support structure! This is not how they did it in the movie!"

"The support structure is to strengthen the bridge and make it more resistant to the river's flood and other issues," Marcy replied with an irked look. "It needs to be efficient, not to be like the one in the movie!"

"Oh, yeah? And what do you know?"

"She's our best available architecture expert, AND the president of Saint James Middle School Young Architects Fellowship!" Jacob jumped back on his feet, glaring back at James, "You have forgotten already?"

"I haven't Jacob," James replied, his voice changing back to the dreaded Colonial Officer tone of voice he had grown accustomed to using in the last few days. "Nevertheless, in the spirit of the movie and Colonel Nicholson's character, I think the work is not properly shared among everyone.

That is because of you, everyone thought at the same time.

"Come on, guys! I did all that I could in order to support and encourage you: I even learned how to play the movie's music with my bagpipers! I called it The Kwai River British Ballad-"

"…Khwae Noi" Anne said in a calm tone, yet her voice was cold as the ice still blocking the pass out to the Valley.

"I'm sorry, what?" James asked, not seeing the anger lingering in Anne's features and words.

"The river's correct name is Khwae Noi, you…you arrogant fool!" She yelled, Sprig and Marcy gasping while Sasha and Amelia took a step back cautiously. Sasha in particular felt her own blood run cold as memories and flashbacks of "that" day resurfaced in her mind.

"Wha-"

"I know you wanted to roleplay that stupid movie," Anne moved toward James, pointing her finger in his chest with an accusative look, "and this is why I decided to keep my mouth shut and not spoil your fantasy, but- I can't stay silent anymore! You can barely grasp the facts you claim to understand!"

"Hey!" James protested, but Anne was having none of it.

"Do you even know that the movie is not supposed to be an example?!" Anne roared in anger, even Jacob hiding behind Polly to protect himself. "Do you really understand what the movie talks about? What your Colonel Nicholson is? He's not the hero, he's the antagonist! He is the one forcing his own troops to build a bridge that the enemy is planning to use, even forcing the sick and wounded to work to their death just so the bridge will be ready in time!"

"Now, listen-"

"Oh, and by the way? You're right, I don't know about the Burma jungle. That's because the Khwae Noi River is in Thailand, and I even saw it once with my own eyes!"

"What?" James gasped, unable to process the furious verbal assault Anne was giving on him. Billions of emotions rushed through his mind, making him unable to react: he felt angry at Anne for calling him out, yet he also felt shame that his friend revealed to have been hurt by his own behavior. Then, he felt incredulity when Anne told him the Kwai River was in Thailand and not in Burma, as he believed, and then…he felt a grip on his heart, as the girl in front of him stopped talking, but still looked at him with angry, unforgiving eyes.

"Anne-" Sprig said, only for Anne to raise her hand to signal him not to come closer.

"I'm…I'm sorry for my little outburst," Anne said, turning around and facing the forest. "I think I need some time to clear up my mind and calm myself a little. Please, keep going without me. I'll…I'll return once I feel better."

"Anne!" Amelia called out, but to no use, as the other girl kept walking until she was already disappearing behind the trees.

James could not say anything, couldn't move, only stand there and watch as every word that Anne said to him cut through his heart. He could see the pain in the girl as she revealed how much his inexact knowledge had hurt her, how much she struggled to not say anything and let him play his fantasy…

…frog, I became a jerk, didn't I? The boy realized just a second before he could hear a hand grabbing his shoulder.

"James," Jacob said with a stern expression, "I think you and I should have a little talk…"

(…)

"Anna-Banana?" Marcy yelled, trying to locate her friend, "You here? Anna-Banana?!"

"I'm here, Mar-Mar!" Anne grumbled, revealing her hiding place just behind the bark of a fallen tree log, "I'm just…not ready to go back. Not now."

"I know that," Marcy quietly said, sitting down to her left. "I just…I wanted to be sure you were safe. Sasha also wanted to come, but…I suggested her not to. She was very worried about you."

"I'm fine, Marbles. I just need some time to digest everything that happened. And…I guess I have to apologize to you for my little outburst."

"Not at all." Marcy shook her head, her hand grabbing Anne's. "I guess, it's good you let out what you were thinking. And James was quite insensitive toward you."

"Actually, that was not the real reason why I was so angry at him."

"Oh?" Marcy raised her head in alarm, "And…what was it, if you can say?"

"Because," Anne sighed, the memories of the past flashing in front of her eyes, "when mom brought me to Thailand, when I was little, to visit some relatives we had there, we stopped one day to go and see the Sai Yok National Park. It was there that I got to meet some cousins and relatives of mine living there, and…whenever I thought back to those days, I was happy. Until now."

"Why?"

"Because I miss them!" Anne admitted, tears leaking out of her eyes, "I miss my parents, my everyday life, even my school! I miss Earth and everything we left behind. And every time James nominated that river, and he reminded me of that day, how happy I was …he made me feel sadder, thinking about my family and that I miss them with all my heart."

Marcy could feel tears forming in her eyes as well, seeing how harshly Anne was managing the separation from her parents. When she found the box and decided to talk about it with her friends, she was angry with her own parents and surely wouldn't have bothered being left alone. Yet, as she saw Anne's suffering, she felt something forming inside her as well.

Marcy thought back to her mom and her father, to how life was with them: they were never actively malicious towards her, yet they were cold. So occupied with their respective careers to give her attention, too focused on their works to see how much she wanted them to be present for her…how she considered Anne and Sasha her family in their place.

How she felt betrayed, and hurt, when her father told her they would move away from California, away from her school and her friends, going to someplace in Massachusetts just because he received a better job offer. How she ended up running away from home when they told her she would have to leave behind the two people she cared the most in the world, not even bothering to warn her earlier.

Yet…the more she thought back at it, the more guilty Marcy felt. For kidnapping her friends. For taking away Jacob, Amelia, and James with them. For trapping them in another world, filled with giant predators, with no clear way to even return to their world.

For uprooting them, like her parents wanted to do with her, just because she thought they would have appreciated what she did. For…

Frog, Marcy thought in horror as realization fell all over her, I did to my friends…what my parents wanted to do to me. I'm no better than my parents.

"Anne?" Another voice called out.

"Sprig!" Anne lightened up a bit, seeing her best frog friend arriving at that moment "You came to check on me too?"

"Yes, Anne." The young frog hugged her, Marcy joining them a few seconds later, "I was so worried when you left, and James was quite a jerk with you."

"He wasn't being a jerk," Anne replied. "At least, that was not his intention. I guess he was so caught up in roleplaying that fantasy of his that he didn't even realize that he was hurting me."

"He was hurting all of us! He gave me this pin saying I was one of his officers, yet he acted all cold and unfriendly! How can someone treat their friend's life like some kind of game?"

ALERT! ALERT! NOPE! NOPE! ABORT! ABORT!

"Hehehehe!" Marcy laughed nervously, looking aside "You're right: who would ever do that to their best friends?"

They can never know…

"That doesn't mean I'm not going to give him a piece of my mind when we go back-"

"Too late for that, Anne. Sasha and Amelia beat you on that."

"What?" Anne asked, with a sudden alarm, "What did they do?"

"Maybe it's better if you come and see with your own eyes…"

(…)

"James?" Anne called out, walking closer to the small iron box, perfectly resembling the movie one where Nicholson had been trapped for several days after trying to stand up to Saito. The fact that another Englishman was now trapped inside made the whole thing feel even more sardonic.

"Anne?" A weak voice responded from the inside, "You're back. Have you come to mock me for my own predicament?"

"Believe me, I feel tempted to do so!" The girl replied, "Do you have any idea how long I wanted to call you out, every time you nominated Burma?"

"I…I guess have no excuse. Sure, I didn't know that the Kai River-"

"Khwae Noi."

"-Khwae Noi River was in Thailand, yet…I guess I would have found out if I just tried to learn instead of simply basing my own knowledge on that movie."

"Tell me, how did you come to like it?"

"To tell the truth," the boy sighed, his back leaning on the metal border of the box, "it was more my father's favorite movie."

Anne gasped, looking back at the box with a surprised expression. Of course, James couldn't see her, thus continued his narration:

"One night, my dad was watching the movie in the living room of our old house. I couldn't sleep, so I went to the bathroom, but when I tried to return to my bed, I heard that whistle, and I saw those men marching together, and even if they were defeated, they looked so heroic and cool. I remember sitting on the couch, and when my father noticed me, instead of telling my mother or making me go back to bed…he smiled and allowed me to keep watching it until Mom found out and chastised both of us. I guess…it was a happy memory of mine, just like one you may have had with your family."

James sighed again, the usually cheerful boy's voice growing sadder. "I know this doesn't justify my earlier behavior, especially considering how much you were hurt, but…I miss my family too, Anne. I wish I could see them again, hear their voices, and even just have the chance to tell them that I'm fine and I'm planning to return, but I can't. We can't do anything but survive, and hope that we may find something that will tell us how we can go back home…"

James looked down, waiting for Anne to walk away and leave him alone in his anguish until he heard a sound like a latch from the outside, the door of the box where he was imprisoned opening all of a sudden.

"Anne?"

"Nicholson was left in that box for several weeks, and it was a miracle he didn't die. I for one don't think what you have done warrants such harsh and disproportionate punishment. While I'm not ready to forgive you already, I see no reason to keep you trapped in there."

"Thank you, Boonchuy." The boy smiled; his body numb for the time he was forced to spend in such limited space. "Frog, I lost all my interest into playing Nicholson."

"At least you didn't end up betraying your own country out of misplaced pride." The Thai-American girl replied in kind, "Nor you had to destroy the bridge before getting killed."

"Frog no! We worked so hard on that-" James stopped, his eyes pointing at Anne. "How-how-"

"I may have not seen the movie, but I have read the novel it was based on." The girl revealed, making signs to follow her. "Come on, angrez. Let's go back to the camp!"

"Angrez?"

"That's how British were called in the past, wasn't it? My mom even used it once."

"Is there a word used in Eastern South-East to indicate British people?"

"What can I say? You guys basically went everywhere."

"I guess I can't refute that."

(Meanwhile, very, very far from Wartwood:)

"Ah, Fens. I'm pleased to see you have come."

"I do not get summoned by anyone who isn't Captain Grime," the female toad warrior spit back, clearly unhappy of being there, "Especially by some freakish, hideous creature like yourself!"

Aiden smiled, working on suppressing his anger as hundreds of scenarios of Fens getting beaten and killed in the most gruesome and painful ways possible floundered into his mind. Not yet, not yet.

"Maybe," the human replied in a cold tone. "However, since I am Captain Grime's newest lieutenant, direct subordinate and number two, you are bound to treat my orders and requests like those from Grime's."

"That's the reason why I haven't killed you already." Fens grumbled, noticing the two giant mechanical soldiers moving around the tower's basement, gathering wooden crates at every corner. "What are they doing?"

"Simply gathering some supplies that we will need for our upcoming offensive."

"Do you mean, when we will march all over the Valley to crush the rebellion and put back those frogs in their place."

"Indeed. The reason why the Captain asked me to speak with you today, is because he trust you enough to consider you one of the best soldiers he has left. And this is why-"

Then, one of the mecha-soldiers dropped one of the crates with too much strength, the wood breaking a little and revealing some of its content.

That is, mushrooms of blue color, covered with images of skulls. Mushroom of untold destructive power, that everyone in Amphibia knew.

"What?" Fens took a step back as her eyes recognized the boomshrooms, and she realized the crates were filled to the brink with those destructive items. "How-what the frog are you doing?"

"Fens-"

"No, I won't listen to your lies anymore!" The toad warrior declared, grabbing her pike and pointing it at Aiden. "I knew Captain Grime was wrong to accept something like you among us! I knew you were bound to bring us trouble! Once the Captain knows…"

Her dramatic speech, however, was cut short as she felt something strong block her retreat path, and she turned around to see one of the mecha soldiers blocking the passage, its emotionless gaze looking right through her soul. Then, its arm moved, the giant figure's punch hitting the toad in the face and sending her on the floor, her mouth bleeding as she realized she had now lost even more teeth.

"Fens, Fens, Fens." Aiden chuckled, secretly happy that he now had an excuse to stop pretending, "You really are a brainless brute, just like Bog and Mire. Have you ever wondered why I told you to meet in this place? Somewhere isolated, where there would be no witness of our little dialogue?"

"Captain Grime! Bog! Someone! The Lieutenant is a traitor!"

"It's no use to yell. I have to admit I am a bit surprised myself you fell for this little trick of mine, but after all…you can't expect that much cunning from animals."

"Animals?" Fens yelled back, getting back on her feet, preparing for a battle. The odds were against her, but that didn't mean she wanted to give up.

"Yes, animals!" Aiden retorted, his usually calm face filling with anger, "Do you ever wonder why Newtopia keeps employing toads as his soldiers? Because you're just brutes, good with muscles but unable to do anything but blindly follow the orders they give to you. You're their lap dogs!"

"Die!" Fens roared, launching herself forward, planning to stick her pike in that creature…

…only to be stopped by the human's sword.

"Wha-" Fens replied in shock, before Aiden counterattacked, her sword hitting her flank and sending her back on the floor.

"This is marvelously showcased by the way you fight: you let yourself be controlled by anger."

Fens got back on her feet and attacked again, trying to brute force an opening.

"Anger is a powerful emotion…"

Fens groaned as Aiden evaded every stab of hers, before hitting her with a slash.

"…but it often leads to errors!"

The human's punch collided with the toad's jaw, sending other teeth on the floor-

"And neither frogs nor newts are any better!"

He kicked Fen on the groin, the distraction giving him an opening to force the toad into a disadvantageous position.

"You are mere crawlers of the mud, and yet you dare to act like intelligent beings?"

Another slash hit Fens on her forehead, the blood dripping all over her eyes and obstructing her view.

"You are just a mockery of everything humans do. Of everything Man represents!"

A powerful blow hit the toad on both sides of her head, destroying her inner equilibrium and further disorienting her.

"You're nothing…"

Fens struggled to resist, even with her sight and other senses dulled from the fight, still holding on her pike.

"…but animals!"

Fens yelled in pain, as she felt the cold metal cut through her flesh and bone, dropping on her knees as she realized that creature had sliced her right arm, her left one desperately trying to stop the bleeding.

"Your society, your culture, everything you've ever built is nothing but a mockery to Man!"

Aiden's sword cut again, this time slicing through one of her legs, making her unable to stand on her feet.

"Why?" Fens struggled to say, bleeding on the floor as Aiden stepped on her chest. "Why?"

"Do you know the reason why I decided to join you?" Aiden said, his voice cooling down as malice replaced fury. "I know what you saw in Wartwood. I know what you did. I know what you attempted to do. How you hurt one of my brethren, how you were planning to kill and eat them."

Fens' mind spun, he realized he knew things that he shouldn't have, only those that were there would know. The next question she asked, in her mind, was: how could he know about that?

"Your friend Mire told me everything that happened on that day." Aiden smiled evilly, anticipating her question. "He had guts, I have to admit it: after all, I was the one that spilled most of them."

Fens gasped in horror, as she finally started to connect the dots. Mire had disappeared a couple of days earlier, with Grime accusing him of deserting and sending patrols trying to look out for him. Fens never thought Mire would be one to try to run, but her simplistic mind accepted the Captain's explanation, refusing to question further.

Until now.

Suddenly, everything made sense: the mysterious sickness spreading among the toads, some of them feeling like they had been poisoned after eating at the mess hall; the captain rules becoming harsher and harsher as time passed; the soldier mysteriously disappearing and believed to have deserted and run away…that wasn't a coincidence. That was enemy action, aimed to destroy the bonds and the effectiveness of the Toad Army, so it would collapse on itself.

"I knew you would return to Wartwood, sooner or later. And it was my intention to join you to help you…and make sure you and the frogs destroy yourselves."

Fens' horror grew as she finally could see the truth of what was going on: in Wartwood, those creatures had fomented the locals to rebel, while he joined them promising to help them quell the rebellion, taking advantage of the unruliness of the troops to become Grime's lieutenant to manipulate him like a sock puppet. They were working together, to put frogs and toads against each other, so they would kill each other before they would take on the weakened winners.

"In my world there is a saying, an eye for an eye. You broke the arm of one of them, so I guess it's just right that I take one of yours."

Aiden kicked Fens' sliced arm away, one of his mecha soldiers raising his heavy feet before squashing it. Seeing it, Fens glared, the pain of the lost limb barely less excruciating than facing the realization she and the Captain have been played like puppets.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure the captain will be informed of your disappearance. I know he will be hurt that another one of the warriors he trusted the most decided to run away like a coward, but… he won't be hurt as he will be when I'm be done with him."

"You-you frogging-"

"Yet, do you know what's the reason why I hate you the most, Fens? It's not the fact you act all so mighty and proud, even while you should grovel in the presence of a real intelligent being."

He kicked her head, more blood dripping from her mouth and forehead.

"It's not the fact you are nothing more than a brute, a warrior without honor nor emotions."

He kicked her again, some cracking sound being heard.

"It's not the fact you dared to break a human's arm, an action that alone would mean you would have to grovel for a quick death!"

Another kick, this time even stronger than before, leaving only one of her eyes still intact.

"But you…" Aiden seethed; his words filled with hate as his boot raised once more. "You dared to hurt my wives, the maidens I personally choose to stand by my side and give new blood to my new dynasty!"

He hit her again, kicking her furiously, squashing her head until the toad stopped moving. Stopped breathing, whatever was left of her cranium dripping on the floor and on Aiden's boot.

"Get rid of this dead animal," Aiden ordered, his two mechanicals soldiers moving. "Destroy the body, so no one will ever find it, and lock the basement's entrance. I'll go write the letter she has left to the Captain…"