The group was forced to walk all the way to the top of Toad Tower, where Hop Pop's execution was to take place. "Caught these prisoners trying to escape, Grime," said Sasha.
"Dude, are you crazy?" exclaimed Anne.
"Shh. I'm trying to get us home."
"No, you're not," snapped Johan. "You're about to execute a frog who didn't do anything wrong!"
"Well, if it means getting us out of this horror show world, so be it!"
"Very impressive, Sasha," said Grime. "Always playing Flipwart when everyone else is playing Bog Jump." The humans gave him confused looks. "Well, see, Flipwart and Bog Jump are games, but Flipwart, of course, is far more complicated and..." He slapped himself in the face. "I'M TRYING TO SAY YOU'RE SMART!"
"Oh," said Sasha. "Thanks, Grime-sy. What can I say? Just how I do. Up top." The two of them high-fived, though it was a little awkward. Apparently, Grime hadn't mastered it yet.
"Hold on," shouted Johan. "Doesn't Hop Pop get at least a fair trial or something?"
Grime burst out laughing. "Trial?! Did you hear that? He asked for a trial!" All the toads laughed. "Sorry, JoJo. There are no trials for traitors."
"Why you..." Before Johan could approach him, Toxic Avenger appeared and grabbed onto his shoulder.
"Don't even try it," warned Grime. "Truth be told, I wanted you to be the one to end up in there," he said as he pointed to the Venus fly trap. "The only reason you're even still alive is because Sasha stuck her neck out for you. DON'T MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND."
"Sasha, please! There has to be another way!" Anne pleaded.
"There is no other way, creature," growled Grime. "Our very way of life is at stake. I don't expect an outsider like you to understand. Seize the traitor, Hopediah Plantar!"
A pair of toads grabbed Hop Pop and lifted him up in the air. "No! Get your hands off me!" Sprig and Polly tried to stop them only to be swatted aside. "Kids!"
"No!" shouted Anne. "RIPPLE OVERDRIVE!" She sent a powerful beam of Ripple energy at the toads, sending them flying. Then she grabbed a toad's sword.
"Hey! That's mine!"
"RIPPLE METAL SILVER OVERDRIVE!" Ripple energy charged into the sword and she used it on Grime, who let out a scream as his armor exploded. This caused his Stand to let go of Johan and he made a smirk.
"You toads may have your numbers and your pointy spears, but I'm the one..." He pulled out his pistol. "...WHO BROGHT A GUN!" BANG! BANG! BANG! He shot three toads in the faces, the only part of the body that wasn't protected by armor.
Spurred on by what they were seeing, the rest of the citizens of Wartwood took up arms. The Plantars charged up their Ripple. Ivy, Felicia, Sheriff Leatherleaf, Ram Bamboo, Joan Jett summoned their Stands. Wally and Sadie grabbed whatever wasn't nailed down and used them as weapons. Everyone was backing up Anne and Johan.
"In retrospect, we really should have tied them up," said a toad soldier.
"ENOUGH!" Sasha's voice echoed. "Anne, JoJo, what are you doing? Are you really gonna risk your lives for these talking frogs? We don't even belong here. Don't you wanna get back home? See your families?"
"Yeah, but—" Anne said hesitantly.
"Then put your sword down now. End. Of. Discussion."
Johan immediately saw the girl's confidence beginning to wane as she lowered her sword. "Anne," Johan said. "Don't do it! Remember what I told you back at the lake! Are you going to be a doormat for the rest of your life, letting her walk all over you, or are you going to stand up for yourself for once in your life? You're not that girl anymore, Anne! Stand up and fight back!"
"Stay out of this, JoJo," snapped Sasha. "This doesn't concern you!" Before she could attack Johan, a mud ball was flung right in her face. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
It was Sprig who was the culprit. "He's right! For someone who's Anne's best friend, you sure don't know her very well. She's brave! She's smart! And most of all, she's not gonna be pushed around by a bully like you!"
Sasha wiped the mud off and pulled out her pink heron sword. "I think I've had enough of you, squeaky toy." BANG! "AAAHHH!" She let out a scream and grabbed her cheek.
Johan looked at Anne, who was now holding the pistol. "Wh...When did you take my gun?!"
Sasha quickly got over the pain and lowered her hand, revealing a scar just below her right eye. She shouted at Anne with fury, "Anne, what are you doing!?"
Anne responded in kind, "Something I should have done a long time ago: Standing up TO YOU!" Sasha gasped. Anne turned to smile at Johan and Sprig. "Thanks for believing in me, guys."
Sprig smiled back and nodded. "SprAnne against the world."
"And JoAnne against the world," said Johan.
Sasha let out a growl and summoned Slash, but instead of going after Sprig, the Stand went after Anne instead. Johan saw this and immediately summoned DARE, who grabbed the Stand's rapier with its bare hands, causing both it and Johan's hands to bleed. "Attacking someone who can't even see an attack coming? I never expected you to sink so low, Sasha," he growled as DARE punched Slash in the face, making it and Sasha stumble.
Grime chuckled, making Sasha snarl at him, "What are you laughing at?"
"Looks like you've got some rebellious seeds of your own. You've given me plenty of advice. Now let me give you some. Stamp this out. Make both her and JoJo yield. Fail, and nothing will ever be the same."
"Not gonna happen," growled Sasha. "And I know who I'm gonna beat first. The guy who turned Anne against me. You, JoJo!" Slash appeared behind her and pointed the rapier at him.
"Really, Sasha," snarked Johan as DARE appeared behind him. "You're gonna kill me just because I told Anne to stand up to you?"
"Not kill you, JoJo, I don't wanna face your dad's wrath when I get home. Just beat you within an inch of your life!"
"This should be fun. My friends!" Grime called out as he jumped on a rock. "Instead of a messy free-for-all, I have a splendid idea. How about we settle this the toad-fashioned way?" He snapped his fingers and the guards surrounded Sasha and Johan, forming a ring. "Looks like you'll be getting that trial after all, JoJo! TRIAL BY COMBAT! If your champion win, you all go home, no harm, no foul. But if our champion wins, well..." He gestured to the Venus fly trap. "...baby's hungry."
"JoJo," said Ivy. "You don't have to do this. You're not even that great at sword fighting!"
"I know," Johan said as he took out the harpe. "But something tells me I don't have a choice."
Johan and Sasha circled each other, the atmosphere intense. Then they stopped and face each other, glaring. All was silent, then... "BEGIN!" shouted Grime.
Sasha let out a shout as she lunged at Johan, attacking her with the pink heron sword. Johan dodged and blocked the attacks then locked blades with her. "You turned her against me, JoJo!"
"I helped her stand up to you, Sasha," growled Johan. "You did the 'turn against me' thing ALL BY YOUR SELF! MUDA!" Suddenly, he grabbed Sasha's sword by the blade and slammed the crossguard into her chest. She let out a gurgling sound as the wind was knocked out of her.
The frogs gasped. "Did you see that," exclaimed Ivy.
"JoJo grabbed the sword by the blade and he's using it like a hammer!" exclaimed Sprig.
In the German school of swordsmanship, Mordhau, alternatively Mordstreich or Mordschlag (Ger., lit., "murder-stroke" or "murder-strike" or "murder-blow"), is a half-sword technique of holding the sword inverted, with both hands gripping the blade, and hitting the opponent with the pommel or crossguard. This technique allows the swordsman to essentially use the sword as a mace or hammer. The Mordhau is mainly used in armoured combat, although it can be used to surprise an opponent in close quarters.
Johan struck Sasha again, this time using the pommel on her head. She fell to the ground, blood starting to drip down the side of her head. Shockingly, she still managed to get back up and glare at him as blood dripped down over her eyes.
"Okay, that's just scary," said Polly.
"I'm done playing games, JoJo," snarled Sasha as she summoned Slash. "MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI!"
Johan tried to dodge the sword, but no matter how fast he tried, the Stand kept stabbing into his body and every time he tried to block it with DARE, Slash disappeared and reappeared at a different angle and stabbed him again. Finally, he fell to the ground on his hands and feet. He looked like bloody Swiss cheese at this point.
"JOJO!" shouted Anne and Ivy.
Sasha laughed. "You couldn't beat me back home," she said as she picked up her sword. "What makes you think you can beat me now?"
Johan used the harpe to push himself back up. He glared at her as blood dribbled down his chin. "You're right," he gurgled. "I can't beat you...because I was fighting you all wrong."
"All wrong?"
"All this time, I thought your Stand was teleporting, but I was wrong. It moves so fast, my eyesight can't keep up with it. The problem is..." He paused as he let DARE appear and press its hands into his head, causing his eyes to glow. "...that's also your Stand's weakness. It's just like a tiger beetle. Like the tiger beetle, Slash moves so fast, its eyes can't keep up with its speed, which is why it has to stop between intervals to see what it's doing."
Sasha made a look of surprise, then frowned. "Yeah, so what?"
"But now thanks to DARE, my eyesight and hearing have been enhanced so that now I can keep up with Slash's movements. Like so!" He charged at Sasha again and Slash prepared to stab him again, but to Sasha's shock, he dodged the attack. Slash tried to attack from behind, but DARE appeared and punched it in the face. At the same time, Sasha felt the punch and let out a yell of pain. Then Johan appeared to have slashed the air with the harpe. She felt herself and chuckled.
"You missed."
"Wanna bet?"
Something gold landed next to her foot. It took her a few seconds to realize what it was as she felt the back of her head. "YOU CUT OFF MY PONYTAIL! YOU BASTARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TOOK FOR ME TO GROW THAT?!"
"Gotcha." With him close enough and with Sasha distracted, Johan had DARE pummel her.
"MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA, MUDA!"
Sasha landed on her back, slid across the tower floor until she came to a stop at one of the stone posts, knocking her on the head.
He won. Sasha was down. The frogs cheered. Johan panted a few times, then collapsed to the ground. "JOJO!" Anne ran up to him and helped him up.
"Did...I win?" he asked. "My eyes are covered in blood so I can't really see."
Anne smiled. "You won. Alright, big guy," she said to Grime. "Johan won. We're free, right?"
"Yeah, I don't think so." The toad suddenly grabbed Hop Pop with his tongue and held him over the Venus fly trap. "Pretty cool, huh? This ends now."
"You...had no intention of letting us go, did you," growled Johan.
"Oh, come on, what did you expect, JoJo?" roared Grime. "You and this old frog disrupted the balance that had been placed on Amphibia for a thousand years! Consider this your punishment!"
Johan should have expected this guy to never play fair. Well, neither was he. He was going to use the forbidden technique. "Anne, Ivy, Sprig, everyone else from Wartwood. Close your eyes."
"Uh, why?" asked Anne.
Ivy knew right away what he was talking about. "Anne, trust me. Do it. This isn't going to be pretty."
All the frogs and Anne did so. "Closing your eyes so you don't see it coming?" chuckled Grime.
DARE appeared and began to take off the dome helmet and
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The next thing Sasha, Grime and the rest of the toads knew, they were all lying on the ground, groaning in absolute agony. "Wh-What was that?" asked Braddock.
"Can't...talk," moaned Percy. "Everything hurts."
Grime slowly got up. "It happened...when DARE took off the helmet."
"That's right," said Johan, who was holding Hop Pop safely in his arms while DARE put the helmet back on. "It's DARE's secret weapon. To make a long story short, when the helmet is removed, he fires a laser that enhances the senses of anyone who sees it to superhuman levels, slowing their sense of time to a crawl. The good thing is I can turn it off any time I want to." He let out an exhale as he set Hop Pop down. "I killed Mr. Bufo with this technique. Currently, his body is dead, but his mind hasn't caught up with it. I hope that fucker is still screaming."
He approached Grime and gave him a kick. "We're done here. I'm taking Hop Pop and the rest of the citizens of Wartwood and taking them back home. You will not follow us. You will not come after us again."
Grime's fist clenched as he looked up at him. "You think this is the over? All you've done is delay the inevitable. The Toad Army will have its revenge and Wartwood will burn!"
Johan scoffed and turned to leave. "You think you can just walk away, JoJo?!" screamed Sasha. "GET BACK HERE! I'M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!"
"But I'm finished with you," said Johan with finality. "You're not worth it. You never were."
When Sasha heard that, something snapped inside of her. She let out grunts of anger and hate. Her teeth clenched. Her hands curled into fists. Then, something strange happened. Her irises began to glow pink and pink sparks started to fly from her. She let out a scream of rage and a column of pink light shot out of her body.
Everyone recoiled from the light, and when it dimmed down, they saw it. Sasha was standing there with glowing pink eyes and her hair was like pink fire.
"Uh, is this a normal human thing?" asked Sprig.
"No..." said Anne, looking on with shock. "No, it's not..."
"S-Sasha...how are you..." Before he could finish his sentence, Sasha flew, actually FLEW, toward him at breakneck speed and slammed her fist up into his chin. The uppercut sent him flying into the sky and Sasha flew up to him. Slash appeared behind her, and it too was glowing with pink fire. It then began stabbing Johan's body with the rapier, and this time, he had no way to defend himself.
"MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI, MURI! MUUUUUURRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIII!"
Sasha slammed Johan's body into the ground, causing the whole tower to shake. She then began punching him repeatedly. "NOW AM I WORTH IT?!" She kicked him in the stomach, sliding him across the floor. "HOW ABOUT NOW?!" She slammed her fist into the side of his head. "YOU DO NOT GET TO DECIDE HOW MUCH I AM WORTH!"
Watching Johan get beat up, unable to defend himself, Anne felt anger and hatred like never before. Her eyes started to glow blue...
Sasha raised her sword, ready to kill the boy, when... "RIPPLE OVERDRIVE!" A blast of Ripple energy sent the sword flying out of her hands. Something stood between her and Johan. It was Anne, her eyes and hair glowing like blue fire and the branches and leaves in her hair swayed like grass in the wind.
"What?!"
POW!
A Ripple fueled punch sent Sasha flying off the tower. Then Anne turned her attention to Johan. She let out an exhaled and breathed pure Ripple energy into his body, healing his wounds and cleaning the blood off him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Anne..."
"Stay down, JoJo," she said, her voice suddenly gaining an echo.
"What's going on?!" exclaimed Ivy. "Why are Anne and Sasha all...glowy?"
"I...I don't know," said Felicia with all honesty.
"Do you see that," said Hop Pop. "Her Ripple has been amplified!"
"ANNE BOONCHUUUUUUUYYYYYY!" Sasha screamed off in the distance. In an instant, Sasha was flying back toward the tower and landed in it, causing the tower to shake again, only more violently. She panted heavily as she stood up and glared at Anne with absolute hatred. "What are you doing, Anne?! You're defending him after he humiliated me?! Why?! Why are you defending him?! Why are you defending these slimy little frogs, Anne?! They don't matter!"
Anne picked up the harpe. "They're not just frogs. THEY'RE MY FRIENDS!" She charged up the Ripple energy and it flowed into the harpe.
Then, Anne and Sasha began their fight. It was pretty hard to even keep track of the fighting, it looked like two balls of light, pink and blue, clashing and bashing into each other. It was hard to tell who was winning. And then, it was over. The glow stopped, and both girls turned back to normal as they collapsed to the ground, totally drained.
"Anne!" screamed the frogs. The Plantars ran up to her side and checked her.
"Anne, say something," exclaimed Sprig.
She groaned and mumbled, "This is for you, King Ghidorah!"
"She's gone brain damaged!"
"No," said Johan. "I think she's fine. Right, Anne?"
Anne got up and muttered, "Sure. I can take it."
Suddenly, the whole tower began to shake again. "Oh, again?!" snapped Polly.
Explosions went off in the sewers and in the tower's base. Anne glared at Wally. "Wally, did you plant boom shrooms when I told you not to?!"
"Wait, what did you say?!" exclaimed Johan.
"What? I thought we agreed," said Wally. Then he realized something. "Wait, could you not tell I was winking? Ah, curse you, one eye!"
The floor started to crumble. "THE WHOLE DAMN TOWER'S COMING APART!" shouted Johan. "EVERYONE GET OUT!"
The toads agreed with him and they ran off. Except Grime he shouted, "Hold ranks! Where are you going, you cowards?" The floor collapsed beneath him and he fell.
"Oh, well," said Hop Pop. "I never liked that guy." He ran to the hatch and opened it. "Everyone! Come on, get off the roof, quick!"
Sasha got back up, but the tower started to tip over. "ANNE! JOJO!" she screamed as the ground gave way.
"SASHA!" Anne screamed. She ran over to the edge and grabbed onto one hand while Johan grabbed onto Anne's legs. "I've got you, Sash. You're gonna be okay—" Suddenly, they felt their bodies start to slide forward.
"I think that's everyone," said Hop Pop. Then he and the Plantars saw the humans start to lose their grip on each other.
"Anne!" screamed Sprig. "JoJo!"
"Can't... hold on... much longer," strained Johan. He started to slide forward, only to be grabbed by Sprig, who who was grabbed by Hop Pop, who was grabbed by Polly. Using their Ripple, the Plantars kept their feet planted in the ground.
Anne said to the blonde girl, "Hey, hey. Look at me, look at me. Everything's gonna be totally fine. Just hang on!"
Johan started to grit his teeth. "Pull her up now, Anne! My fingers are slipping!"
Then Polly saw something even worse: the ground beneath them was starting to give way. "Uh, guys? I think we have a situation!"
Anne and Sasha locked eyes with each other. Tears started to roll down Sasha's cheeks as she said, "Hey, Anne?"
"No," said Johan, realizing what she was going to do. "Don't do it!"
"Maybe you're better off without me."
And then she let go. "NOOOO!" screamed Anne.
As she plummeted to the ground, she was suddenly caught by Grime, who used his knife to slide down the tower's wall.
Down below, as the toads and frogs ran away, Sadie was having trouble keeping up. "Curse these old legs."
Suddenly, Mayor Toadstool grabbed all the frogs and carried them over his head. "Hi, Mrs. Croaker," said Wally cheerfully.
"Mayor Toadstool?"
The mayor said, "That's right! I'm saving you! If y'all die, who'll I embezzle money from? Huh?"
"SHUT UP AND RUN!" Sadie said as she whacked the mayor like a horse with her cane.
The tower stopped crumbling thank goodness. Anne and Johan looked down to see Grime holding Sasha safely in his arms, but unconscious. He looked up at them, gave them a glare and a growl that nonverbally promised vengeance before he walked into the forest with what was left of his army.
"Anne, are you okay?" asked Sprig.
"Oh, yeah. Never felt be—"
Johan looked at Anne, and noticing her body was shaking. "Anne, I want you to cry."
"Wh-Why would I want to c-c-cry? I-I-I'm perfectly f..."
Johan's tears started to leak out. "So you can have someone to cry with."
"I told you, I'm not gonna..." It was too much. Anne held Johan close and began sobbing. Johan hugged her back and began to silently cry with her. The Plantars did the one thing they could do to help: hug them.
The citizens of Wartwood hitched a ride on the party barge and rode all the way home. By the time they got back, it was already morning. "Whoa, girl. Easy now," Sadie said to the spider driving it. "All right, everybody, we're home."
The citizens exited the barge, groaning in pain and agony. "Two parties in one night," groaned Wally before he fell flat on his face.
"Think you could carry me again, sir?"
"Never again, Toadie. Never again," replied the mayor.
Right now, everyone needed some TLC.
Meanwhile, the Plantars, the Sundews, Anne and Johan sat at the water fountain's edge. The whole experience drained them entirely, emotionally and physically.
"I know that was hard for you, kids," said Hop Pop. "Thank you, you know, for everything."
Anne smiled warmly. "Passione is not just a gang, Hop Pop. It's a family. I'd never let anyone hurt you."
"Damn straight," said Ivy. "Ci sosterremo a vicenda. Sempre."
"Ivy, language," said Felicia. "But yes, we'll always be there for each other."
Johan smiled and nodded. "Sempre." Then he groaned in pain and clutched his stomach. "Damn. Even though my body's been healed, I can still feel the pain from Slash's attack. Just, what the hell was that, Anne? Why were you and Sasha glowing like that?"
"Yeah, Anne," said Polly. "That was so cool! Can you do it again?"
Anne looked at her hands. She tried to recreate what happened back at the tower, but nothing happened. "You know what? I am so tired right now. I just want to relax for the whole day and not think of...anything, really."
"That goes for me, too," said Johan.
"So, you guys wanna get breakfast and come up with some kind of plan to get Anne and JoJo home?" asked Sprig.
"It's gonna be dangerous," said Hop Pop. "Perilous even."
"Understatement!" shouted Polly.
"Well, whatever happens next, one thing's for sure," said Anne as she pulled Johan, the Plantars and the Sundews into a group hug. "If we're together, I know we'll be all right."
"Huggin' a little tight there, Anne," grunted Hop Pop.
"Yeah, I can't breathe right now," said Felicia. "You can let go, now."
"No. Just a little while longer, now."
In his office, Valentine was looking at the music box placed on his desk. He tapped on the three colorless gems. "The stones were flickering, just a little bit. The bearers of the stones have unlocked their powers." He stood up as he glanced at the mural again. "The prophecy is coming to fruition. You girls may have placed yourselves at the head of the table, but I have taken the first napkin before anyone else. Amphibia's fate is now mine to command."
To Be Continued...