Yeah this one's shorter than usual, but it's longer than it would've been if I talked it on to the end of chapter 26 like I originally intended, so…
Enjoy!
"Ughhhhh…" a scarlet-colored toad grumbled. "I can't believe we've been down here for nine years! When will our eternal torment end!"
"The hell are you talking about?" replied a beige toad named Jerry. "It's been like nine days. Maybe ten, or eleven tops."
"You don't know that!" the scarlet toad yelled. "Can't you see that time has no meaning anymore! There's no windows, no timepieces, no regular food rations, nothing to indicate when it is outside! The whole world could end and we'd still be stuck here! There's no escape from the dark pit!"
"I guess those are valid points, but Jerry's right." said a yellow toad. "Saying we've been here for years is a wild exaggeration."
Jerry nodded. "Exactly. Right now, we should be glad the torturing guys disappeared."
"If by glad, you mean freaking the fuck out because those rations aren't coming anymore, then sure," said a magenta toad.
"Yeah…" said Percy quietly from the darkest corner of the room. "They realized we're too worthless to torture. It's easier to just let us starve to death in the cold darkness instead.
"Hey!" Jerry protested. "First off, rude. Secondly, don't say that kind of stuff. A defeatist attitude never helped anyone."
"Yeah, it's not your fault Bog's a huge asshole." Braddock leaned over and gave her partner a hug. "We're gonna get through this. I'm not sure how, but we will."
"Maybe we can dig underneath here and tunnel our way outside," suggested one toad.
"That's assuming we have the energy to do that in the first place," said the magenta toad.
Just then, all the prisoners heard distant voices and footsteps descending toward them.
"Ugh, someone's coming…" the scarlet toad whined again. "The torture begins again!"
"I knew this respite wouldn't last…" Percy muttered.
Everybody braced for what was about to come, but stopped when they noticed something was different than usual.
"I don't think that's Bog coming," said Braddock. "No one's spitting insults at us."
"But Bog always shows up for these," Jerry pointed out. "Who else would be rushing down here?"
The prisoners waited a bit longer and the voices became more distinct.
"When's the last time anyone cleaned down here? It's disgusting!"
"This pit is literally underneath the sewers. Someone could die of exhaustion before this place is clean."
"You could at least try, brother."
Everyone gasped.
"That's Captain Grime!" exclaimed Percy. "And his sister!"
"What am I supposed to do now?" said the scarlet toad. "Wailing about our hopelessness was my thing."
"Really? You're complaining about that?" said Jerry. "You need to prioritize better, man."
From outside the pit, Grime tried to open the door but couldn't.
"They must've locked it before they left," said Beatrix.
"But this door didn't use to have a lock!" said Grime, worried.
"And it won't again in about five seconds. Ha!" She slashed the lock with her sword and broke the chain into two pieces. "Try it now."
Grime carefully opened the door. "It's alright, everyone! We're here to rescue— oh wow, this is worse than we thought."
"Don't just stand there!" Beatrix opened the door further and witnessed the grisly sight her brother saw. "Ooh, this is bad."
The thirty or so prisoners were all malnourished, covered in infected scarred wounds, and honestly just looked half-dead.
"Get food and medical supplies ready upstairs! As much as possible!" Beatrix yelled up the passageway to the pit.
"Got it!" a distant voice yelled back.
"C'mon everyone." Grime walked forward with a friendly demeanor. "Let's get you out of this horrid place."
"Captain! Oh captain, my captain!" Percy slowly crawled over toward Grime.
"At ease, Percy. Seriously." Grime was pretty uncomfortable. Even in his crueler days he's never had anyone kowtow to him in such a manner.
"But we failed you!" Percy wailed. "You had so much faith in us to keep things in shape and we fucked it up so bad!"
"Percy's pretty overwhelmed right now," said Braddock as she joined Percy in bowing to Grime. "But please don't punish us too severely! I don't know how much more we can take!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out." Grime kneeled down to be on equal footing with the two corporals. "You two didn't fail at all. I failed you."
"What…?" That really threw the duo for a loop.
"I could've stopped this problem before it even had time to begin," said Grime. "I shouldn't have encouraged cruelty in young toads. We shouldn't have done that, right Beatrix?"
"Uhh… yes." She awkwardly knelt down best to her brother. "Us captains should've been more supportive and less accusatory to our subordinates. No, not subordinates. Our friends."
"Exactly," said Grime. "Otherwise Bog might still be alive. Or maybe he was always evil, who knows?"
"Bog's dead?" asked Jerry.
"There's no reason why he wouldn't be," said Beatrix. "He was already bleeding to death before he was fired into heron territory."
"Most of his army survived, though," Grime added. "They're being imprisoned here right as we speak."
"So they're not coming down to this shithole?" asked Braddock.
Grime rapidly shook his head. "Goodness no, they're going in the normal cells. I'm gonna seal this place up permanently."
"Is that an excuse to not clean it?" said Beatrix.
"Maybe." Grime got up and helped Percy and Braddock to their feet. "Now seriously, let's get you all out of here."
The Toad Captains led the prisoners upstairs where they received the care they desperately needed. The humans and the Plantars regaled them all with stories of their adventures across Amphibia, and Grime even fetched some of Percy's band equipment for an impromptu concert featuring Sprig's fiddle. Recovery wouldn't be instant, but all was well again in the South Tower.
The new golden age of Amphibia had truly begun.
Now I can get back to Luz's Journey (if I have time lol).