Anne's Journal, September 14th. So, I can't go to school today because the material the building is made out of will cause the school to crumble so we're going to have a few weeks off. But unfortunately my Mom wants to treat this time off like it was a school day and insisted that me and Sasha go to the museum to do some studying! Uh! Mom needs to make vacations less fun! I was going to study some more frog species! Something I noticed more about Sasha is that she appears to be training for something. When I arrive to be a study buddy, she is always on the backyard practicing combat with her swords. But not just that, Grime appears to be on an intense workout routine. I got a look at his list. Morning push ups, six eggs for breakfast, a five hours jog, egg sandwich for lunch without the bread, pull ups with dumbbells tied around the ankles, omelette for dinner and sleep sit ups. Don't know how that works. They're being rather secretive with what they're telling me and I intend to find out. Anyway, tried skateboarding, didn't go well due to my broken arm; I tried doing the Plantar hunting dance to see if it would work on Earth creatures, got a broken nose for hitting my head on hard concrete; And I even tried to sew like Hunter; Somehow got my arm sewn into my bed. Anyway, we're at the museum with Grime and Gus to learn about Earth history.

In the California Museum, Anne, Sasha and the disguised Gus and Grime were busy admiring the exhibits they had on display. Grime was admiring the skeleton of a triceratops, imagining what it would be like to ride one; Sasha was looking at a wax figurine of Joan of Arc; Gus was very excited about all the displays of buckets throughout history; While Anne was staring at a cave painting.

The painting itself looked to have a drawing of a bunch of early humans surrounding what looked to be Hunter holding a bone.

This baffled Anne as she raised a brow in confusion. "Uh….." She turned to face a passing Dr Jan. "Hey Dr Jan, what can you tell me of this?"

"Well dear, that is one of the earliest examples of ancient aliens in history." Dr Jan replied. "Some say this is also one of the earliest examples of handheld weaponry."

"Huh." Anne remarked before taking a picture. "I wonder if Dipper knows about this?"

Meanwhile, Gus was continually smiling at the buckets on display. "Oh my Titan! I am learning so much about buckets!"

Grime walked up to Gus with a huge smile. "It's just a bucket."

"Human buckets Grime!" Gus exclaimed with excitement. "Human buckets! How can you not be excited for this?! They used it for so much! Carrying water, sand and even used in wishing wells! And Anne said there was no magic in the Human Realm! Our wishing wells are just scams designed to entrap you."

"We have wishing wells in my world." Grime said. "But they're mainly used for taking baths in."

"Still better than our wells." Gus remarked.

Grime chuckled. "I suppose so." He gave his surrogate son a soft smile. He wasn't so sure how long he had left till he wouldn't be able to see Gus again due to Death. But he was mainly scared of how the young boy would react to when he found out that he was the one who started the chain of events that lead to the end of the Boiling Isles. Would he be upset? Would he hate him? Would he be understandable?

"You seem worried." Gus remarked. "Is something wrong?"

He gave the boy a warm smile that eventually vanished. "Gus…I…Need to tell you something."

"It's okay Grime, I know you ate that bucket of chicken." Gus said. "But I'll let you in on a little secret, I didn't throw the bucket out. I'm keeping it."

Grime sighed. "No Gus, it's not that. I just….I just….I….I….I….I…."

"Hey Grime!" Sasha exclaimed. "Take a look at what I found!"

"Coming Sasha!" Grime exclaimed. "I'll be back Gus!" He ran off while Gus watched on with sadness on his face.

When Grime arrived, he saw that Sasha was looking at some ancient art looked to be from the Mongolian era. "Oh Sasha, thank you for distracting me. What are we looking at?"

"Some Mongolian artist painted what looked to be Genghis Khan eating a burger." Sasha explained. "Which is wrong because burgers weren't invented for another 600 hundred years. Maybe Louis Lassen stole the idea."

"Or maybe…." Grime pointed to the next picture which showed Hunter and Willow dressed as Mongolians.

"What were they even doing?" Sasha asked.

"I don't know." Grime sighed as he looked back at Gus. "How do I tell him Sasha?"

"About what you did?" Sasha asked. "Grime, I'm sure Gus will be understanding. What do you think is going to happen?"

"Well, he hates me forever." Grime said. "And then I end up as toad legs in France!"

"Frog legs." Sasha said. "A common delicacy there is frog legs."

"Well, he is going to hate me forever anyway." Grime sighed. "Maybe I do deserve it. Death."

Sasha narrowed her eyes at her surrogate father. "No! No! Grime, do not say that!"

"But it's true Sasha!" Grime exclaimed. "I don't think I deserve to live with this guilt."

"Grime, just tell Gus." Sasha said. "Maybe you'll find a newfound appreciation of life if you do."

Grime sighed. "I wish."

Meanwhile, Anne was looking at an old timey photograph of LA and saw a picture of Hunter and Willow standing with famous movie star Humphrey Boggart on the set of the classic movie Marrakesh.

"What?" Anne reacted.

Then Gus approached Anne. "Hey Anne, is Grime okay?"

"I don't know." Anne replied. "Why?"

"He's hiding something." Gus replied. "And I think he's scared he'll ruin our relationship."

"What did he even do?" Anne asked.

"Something terrible." Gus replied. "But it's definitely sensitive to him and I don't wish to pry."

"Now that you mention it, he does seem down while Sasha appears to be on high alert." Anne said while an obnoxious ticking was heard. "Man, I wish I was learning about frogs right now. I wanna become a herpetologist. I just learnt that breeding involves the male attaching himself to the back of the female by grasping her under the forelegs, where he stays until she lays her eggs. As the females lay spawn the males fertilise-"

"Anne." Gus interjected.

"Come on Gus, I know it's disgusting but this is….Hey what's that ticking?" Anne asked.

Grime began to panic as soon as he heard the ticking and quickly began to hyperventilate. "It's time! It's time!"

"Grime!"

"Sash!" Grime exclaimed. "He's arrived! He's here!"

"Grime!" Sasha exclaimed. "It's not him!"

"What?"

"Yeah, it's that old timey clock that's on display." She pointed out an old timey clock nearby that was ticking loudly.

Grime gave a sigh of relief. "That's a relief."

"Not for long." Said a sinister voice.

Grime and Sasha turned to the right to see the man coming from one of the exhibits with his scythe in hand that he spun.

Anne and Gus stared at the man in fear. "Who is that?" Anne asked.

"I was about to claim your soul, Boonchuy." He said. "But then that guardian had to get in the way."

He continued walking towards Grime just as Anne was trying to figure out what he meant. Gus on the other hand, was quick.

"Oh my Titan!" Gus exclaimed. "It's the Grim Reaper."

Anne gasped. "You mean, Death?! What's he doing here?!"

Grime stared at Death in fear as he approached him. "Are you ready Grimothy?" He chuckled. "Oh wait, no one's ever ready. So let's make this quick, I have souls to claim."

"Grime, why is he after you?" Gus asked.

"Oh because he wished for me." He replied. "All because he's scared of how you'll react when you find out the truth."

"Grime, what truth?" Gus asked.

"Gus….If I told you, you'll just hate me!" Grime said.

"And because of that terrible truth, I have now come for him." Death explained. "And I have you seven months Grime and you have shown no improvement. You still wish for me, so here I am."

Grime raised his fists high. "Well come on then, take me."

Death grinned. "Okay, this shall be fun." Death raised his scythe high while Anne and Gus instantly panicked and began running towards Death. But unfortunately, his scythe was close to Grime which meant his death was imminent.

Until, it was stopped by a sword. But not just any sword, a sword from Sasha. Death turned to face the girl whom was narrowing her eyes at him.

Anne and Gus arrived. "Sasha?" Anne reacted. "How did you…."

"I had its in the back of my shirt." Sasha replied.

"Wait, that sword is long." Grime remarked. "How the heck did you….Unless you were holding the tip by clenching your…"

"That's not important!" Sasha exclaimed. "Run!"

Grime, Anne and Gus ran toward one of the exhibits nearby while Sasha and Death began their duel. "Why don't you take me instead?" Sasha asked.

"Because it's not your time." Death replied. "But, I admire your bravery. You're willing to fight me of all people to protect your friend."

"I fought worse." Sasha retorted before she and Death began their duel. They deflected each of their respective hits while Death looked confused.

"You're fighting Death. How am I inferior than someone like Andrias or Belos?" Death asked. "That doesn't make sense, you know." They deflected their respective hits again.

He kicked Sasha in the chest, causing her to slide backwards on the floor. "It was just a good follow up quote."

She charged towards Death and performed an air kick straight towards his chest. But unfortunately, it did nothing as he just stood there like nothing happened.

"Good or not, it still doesn't make sense because I am Death!" He grabbed Sasha's sword by its blade and tossed it aside.

She tried engaging him in a fistfight but that only caused her defeat as Death grabbed her by the wrist and then tossed her toward the wall, knocking her out.

Death smiled as he spun his scythe. "Grime! Grime! Come out, come out, come out wherever you are." He walked toward the exhibit Grime, Gus and Anne were hiding.

He looked around the exhibit and saw so many wax statues of famous historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Genghis Khan and Stanley Kubrick.

"Kubrick! You know, I remember when I claimed his soul. Poor guy was having some terrible recurring nightmares caused by Bill Cipher." Death explained. "Do you have nightmares Grime?" He sniffed the air. "Come on Grime, what do you fear?"

Meanwhile, Grime, Anne and Gus were hiding behind a cart and catching their breaths. "Have they got Sasha?" Anne asked.

"I'm praying that Sasha was knocked out." Grime said.

"Death won't kill a child, right?" Gus asked while Anne and Grime gave him a hard glare.

"Gus….He's Death." Anne said. "The Death! Holy crap! I thought Andrias was tough and now, we're dealing with Death. He's essentially the most powerful being in the multiverse."

"We can stop him right?" Gus asked.

"We can only delay him." Grime said. "But unfortunately, he'll spot us soon."

"Don't worry Grime, we'll protect you no matter what." Anne said.

"No, I won't even sacrifice you to Death." Grime said. "Not even Gus."

Then, Darryl showed up. "Hey Anne, wanna hear my new song?"

"Darryl!" Anne exclaimed. "I don't want to hear your new copyrighted song!"

Grime just narrowed his eyes at Darryl. "Actually, I can make an exception."

Death continued to search for Grime as he sniffed the air. "I can smell you! You are so close! So close! So close! So close!"

"Take him instead!" He turned to where Grime screamed and saw Darryl standing with his limbs tied up. "Take him instead! He's a weird pervert!" The toad captain ran while Death just gave a deadpan stare.

He walked toward the tied up teenage boy, whom was shaking with fear. "Please, don't take me! I'm not ready to die!"

"I can't." Death said with disgust. "You are Darryl Royaltit, the second most hideous and evil creature in existence."

Darryl sighed sadly. "Oh man, that really…Wait, second? What's number one?"

Death then heard the sound of an owl hooting and panicked. He turned and saw what looked like an animatronic owl. "Come out and fight, Grime!"

"Hey Death!" He turned and saw Anne standing by the swords which were encased in glass display. "Why don't you pick on a zombie." She tried smashing the glass with her elbow but it didn't do anything. "Ow! Okay, that is some tough glass." She the tried punching but not a crack. "Ow! Son of a frog!" She tried kicking but that caused her to fall on her rear. "Okay, you wanna be tricky?!" She ran out of the exhibit and returned a few seconds later with a chair. She tossed it at the glass but it only caused it to bounce back and hit her in the face, causing a nosebleed. "How do everyone in the movies make it easy?!"

She then ran off and returned with a towel that she wrapped around her fist to prevent bleeding. "Okay, okay." She punched the glass which caused it to shatter. But in the process, her hand began to bled due to her skin being pierced by the glass. "Ow!" She dropped to her knees and began crying in pain. "Ow! This hurts like a mother frogger!"

Death just shrugged his shoulders. "Well that was easier than I thought." He ran to find Grime all while Anne groaned in pain.

Darryl just stood in place looking unsure of what to do. "So….Now what?"

"Why don't you just leave me to bleed to death?!" Anne sarcastically suggested.

Meanwhile, Death was in prehistoric exhibit looking at all the model dinosaurs on display. "You know, I remember when I collected the souls of these creatures." He said. "But, I also collected the soul of a witch who ended up stranded in time. Now, where are you Grime? Come out, I can smell you."

"I'm over here, sucker!" He turned to see Grime mooning him. "Come and claim my soul. Claim it from my ass!" He began giggling like a mischievous child while Death began to make chase. "You think I can't catch you?! I will catch you?!"

From behind a giant triceratops, Gus and Grime are revealed to be hiding behind it while Gus was projecting an image of Grime.

"Okay, that should keep him distracted." Gus said.

"I'm not even gonna comment about how you replicated my butt so perfectly or why you needed to but…Least it's working." The toad commented.

"Okay Grime, listen, I just wanna know, why is Death after you?" Gus asked.

"Well Gus….You see, I don't appreciate life because as you know, us toads have multiple lives but I never valued any of them so now Death is after me and I need a magic star to renew my lives."

Gus folded his arms looking unconvinced. "Grime, that's not true. Believe me I know it's not true."

"Okay, I brought a puzzle box that tore my skin apart and through the absorption of blood I regained-"

"Not it."

"I took a flight and I saw a premonition-"

"Witch dung."

"I-"

"Not likely."

"Oh come on!" Grime exclaimed. "Look, if I told you the truth, you'll just hate me. You'll hate me for what I did. For what me, Lilith and Raine did. It will be enough to make me seem like the worst person in the multiverse."

But Gus gave the toad Captain a smile. "Grime, I know I'll forgive you. Believe me."

His warm smile made Grime a little less scared to confess to Gus and he sighed. "Me, Lilith and Raine went back in time to find Phillip to find a way back to the Human Realm to help Anne, Sasha, Luz and the others with their Amphibia problem. But it was at that moment, we found out that Phillip was Belos and we helped him find the Collector which set off the chain of events that lead to the Covens, that lead to the multiple Hunters, that lead to his reign, that lead to the Day of Unity. It was me Gus…" Tears began to fall from his eyes. "…I started off the chain of events. So I understand why you hate me."

But instead of being angry, Gus just wrapped Grime in a hug causing the toad captain some surprise. "Grime, I already knew."

"What?" The surprised Grime reacted.

"When I looked into Belos' mind on the battle of the bridge, I saw everything." Gus explained. "His first memory, his relationship with Evelyn, killing Caleb, creating Hunter and seeing how he manipulated you."

Grime was in disbelief. "But I caused all this to happen!" He argued. "The Day of Unity was my fault!"

"Maybe." Gus said. "But, you wanted to help and you were willing to do anything to do so. That's why I forgave you."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"It seemed very sensitive." Gus replied. "And I didn't wish to pressure you into revealing it."

"But all it caused me was grief and a reason not to live." Grime said.

"But why is Death after you?" Gus asked.

"Well, due to my want to die, Death decided he'd speed up the process and take my soul." Grime explained. "And you know, I didn't want to die. So Death gave me a deal. If I didn't improve my feelings on my life in seven months, then he will retrieve my soul. But, you know, I failed."

Gus looked afraid for his toad father figure. "I assume you still feel guilt?"

Grime shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, after I told you….I don't know anymore. It feels like, I…Feel a tad better knowing that you forgive me."

"That means…" Gus' eyes widen just as Death showed up from the side.

"Hello." Grime and Gus screamed and began to scoot backwards in terror. "You wouldn't believe how easy it was to deal with those girls. You know Grime, with all the times you failed to accept me, you remind me of someone. Malsacc. I mean, the amount of times he should have died! Stabbed in the back, crashed into a tree, blown up, hit by an airplane, shot, stabbed in the eye, crushed yet he refused to die. It pissed me off until I finally claimed his soul. Don't do the same for me, Grime."

Grime confidently stood up and spread out his arms. "Then do it, take my soul."

Death was surprised at first but then grinned. "Very well. I love the ones that feel inclined to accept their fate." He raised his scythe high in the air while Grime closed his eyes to accept his fate. Gus on the other hand looked afraid for Grime. He could do something, but he was afraid of what Death was capable of.

Death grinned sinisterly before screaming and bringing the scythe down. But to everyone's shock, especially Death's, the scythe landed in front of Grime and not on him.

Grime opened his eyes and stared at the scythe in shock. "Uh…."

Death looked frustrated and annoyed before exhaling like he was accepting this reality. "You smell different. You want to live. Deep down. I sense no longing for me." Sasha and the bleeding Anne, arrived with their respective swords out.

"Leave him alone, Death!" Sasha demanded.

"My hand might be bloody, but that doesn't mean I can't kick your ass."

"Let it go, Boonchuy." Death said. "Grime is no longer on my list. I've seen how he dies."

"How do I die?" Grime asked.

"Peacefully." Death began to walk away. "I'm done with you. Enjoy what lives you have left. All of you." As soon as he approached the exit he stopped for a moment. "Oh and when you arrive in the Demon Realm, I will claim your light. No matter what." He continued to walk away before vanishing into thin air.

Once he was gone, everyone gave a sigh of relief. "Did we beat Death?" Anne asked.

"No, we just delayed him." Grime said. "We'll never beat him. But, we have time before he takes us."

"He'll have to wait 78 for me." Anne said.

"What?!" Grime, Gus and Sasha exclaimed.

"I'll explain later, because I need the hospital." Anne said before collapsing due to her bloody hand.

After dropping Anne off to remove the glass from her hand and get her stitches, Sasha and Grime were sitting in her bedroom just discussing things.

"So, you realising Gus forgave you made you stop wishing for death?" Sasha asked.

"Exactly." Grime replied with a smile. "Least I think so."

"But what about everyone else?" Sasha asked. "They might hate you."

"Yes a part of me is worried about that." Grime said. "But, a part of me is confident that maybe they'll be as forgiving as Gus. I hope."

Sasha nudged his shoulder. "Glad you're okay, big guy. I was not ready to lose you."

"Me neither." Grime sighed. "I still need to see Amphibia. So I can go back to doing what I do best. Conquering and leading!" Sasha looked surprised before Grime laughed. "Nah, I'll probably just design a democracy with Lady Olivia and Yunan."

Sasha laughed. "Almost got me!" They suddenly heard the sound of a loud clang before they heard a scream.

"Grime! Could you help me lift the car off my foot?! I need your strength!" Mr Waybright yelled outside.

Grime exhaled. "Okay. I'll be back Sasha. I want to watch Die Difficulty With a Vengeance." He walked out of the room leaving Sasha alone.

She was scared of losing her surrogate father today. But knowing he is okay and is going to die another day, made her a tad relieved. She touched her locket but accidentally opened it, causing the shard to fall on the carpet.

"Oh frog!" Sasha exclaimed. "Thank goodness this is carpet." But when she went to pick up the shard her irises turned red and was suddenly seeing visions.

There was a vision of her in a Halloween costume of a blue and red suit with a cape and a red skirt with 'hope' sewn on the chest; Anne going crazy while showing a board of what was titled 'My vision;' reuniting with Hunter and Willow; Flying to Gravesfield while trying to comfort a terrified Grime whom appeared to be still scared of flying; Reuniting with Marcy; Comforting a sad Vee; Finding some strange puzzle box with Amtiy; Hunter looking to be possessed by some kind of black goo; The possessed Hunter with Flapjack in his hand; Golden lights floating in the night sky; The portal to the Demon Realm emitting from an archway; Belos entering it; The Owl House ransacked; Fighting a three eyed witch with Amity, Grime and some witch boy; Seeing Luz holding a staff; Fighting Luz with Amity, Anne, Marcy, Dipper, Pacifica, Grime, Gus, Willow and Hunter; Trapped in a room with puppets; Before seeing Luz disappear in a ball of light right in front of her.

As soon as the vision ended, she dropped the shard in shock as she began panting in fear. "What was that?!"

She looked up and saw Death in front of her. "Your future. I told you I would claim your light." In that moment, Sasha figured what he meant. He meant light as in Luz Noceda.

"That was just a vision!" Sasha exclaimed. "It can't be true. Belos is dead!"

"Oh really?" Death chuckled. "If you say so. On November 1st, I will claim a soul." He disappeared in a fog of smoke while Sasha just sat in the middle of her floor looking scared and worried. That vision couldn't be true. It couldn't, right?