Hi everyone. This is my very first fanfiction that I posted on AO3 almost a year ago. (In general, I would always recommend reading the story there, if only for better formatting options: AO3/works/36830089). Since I know there are people who deliberately don't want to use AO3, I decided to publish 'A Lost Owl' here as well.
If you wanna know when a new chapter is coming, feel free to check out my DeviantArt: denNes0
So have fun reading
"And this is where I've been living"
"Hoopa de boopa!"
Sasha has just abducted Anne from the apology banquet the toads have held for all the residents of Wartwood, for so often taking too many taxes from them, for occasionally looting the village, or, for the fact that the toads in general have never really behaved kindly towards the frogs so far.
Well, until now anyway. In the big main hall of Toad Tower, all the frogs were gathered to celebrate extensively, to dance, to dine and to have fun. There are rows of tables that cross the entire room, completely full of deliciously steaming food.
Shortly after the banquet was officially opened, jointly by Sasha and Captain Grime, Grime left rather quickly. Sasha herself didn't want to stay on site too long either, so she took the opportunity to show Anne around the tower a bit, especially her own room.
Anne and Sasha are now standing in front of the open double doors leading to Sasha's residence within the tower. Residence because, to be classified merely as a room, there should not be so many annexes and adjoining rooms. It is basically an apartment in its own right.
Full of pride and with a touch of swagger, Sasha now stands in the doorway, presenting the interior, while Anne is still completely overwhelmed, standing rooted to the ground.
A huge room, probably the most noble and luxuriously furnished Anne has ever seen in her time in Amphibia, with the possible exception of Mayor Toadstool's residence: A huge bed all to herself, filled with oversized stuffed animals and curtains of velvet around the edges. She has her own closet, which could supply all of Wartwood with clothes. A small library of her own, of which Sasha probably hasn't even touched a single book of. Yet she also has her own desk, made of polished granite, the table sockets modeled after various toads. And speaking of statues scattered throughout the room, there are several statues of Sasha herself, showing her in various situations. One shows her doing a skateboard trick, another in her uniform, merely standing gracefully. And for Anne, the highlight so far: a balcony overlooking the entire valley. Although everything is already dark at the moment, isolated sources of light can still be made out in the distance.
"So, what do you think?", Sasha asks in anticipation.
"Sash... I live in a basement..."
"You already mentioned that... Wait, lemme throw in something more.", Sasha smirks before turning to the still open door to her room.
"Yo Brunton!", she calls out, snapping her fingers. A toad in a white uniform and chef's hat steps into her room.
"Oui, Commander?", he asks in a clearly fake french accent.
"Bring us the usual", Sasha orders and the toad disappears right back.
Anne looks at Sasha with a questioning look. She herself just grins back diabolically.
Less than a minute later, the same toad comes back, only this time carrying a large table over his head. He places it in the middle of the room before leaving again without a word.
The two best friends spend the next twenty minutes telling stories about their time in Amphibia. Sasha also casually mentions that she knows where Anne's second shoe is. Well, rather, where it was. Grime had once held it up to her as proof that there would be other humans while she was still his prisoner. Fortunately, Anne is quite happy, even without her other shoe.
When the cook re-enters Sasha's room again shortly after, Anne can't believe her eyes.
"Hot dogs? Pancakes? Pizza? You've got to be kidding me... ", Anne claims incredulously. Sasha merely grins at Anne's utter joy.
"Whoa, you've got ketchup?", Anne asks in disbelief, just before the memory of her first encounter with a tomato plant flashes back into her mind. "I just realized; I've been eating nothing but bugs for a month..."
"Anything else, Commander?", the cook asks after serving the entire table filled with food.
"Run the hot water, please. For the shower", Sasha orders before turning directly to Anne. "Sorry girl, but you need it badly".
"Hot... water? Shower?", Anne's questions make Sasha's smile gradually turn into concern.
"Girl, how did you survive out there for the last month?"
"I slept in a cave for the first week", Anne answers, with her mouth full, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Sasha merely responds with a plain "Bruh..."
While Anne enjoys a hot shower and Sasha helps herself to the lavish buffet in her room, the Wartwood frogs all enjoy their banquet. Well, all except for Sprig.
"Uh, hey, Hop Pop? Something's wrong here", he whispers to him overcautiously.
The frogs all seem to be celebrating exuberantly and completely carefree, but the toads on the other hand... They seem completely disinterested... and nervous.
"Not right, yeah, sure.", his grandfather replies, who seems to be completely absorbed in something else right now and pays no attention at all to his grandson. Instead, he hands him an empty plate. "Here, Sprig. Load up on crab legs... These babies go fast..."
"No, I'm serious. Don't the toads seem a little... on edge?"
"Eh", my Hop Pop dismissively, "they have a military culture. I'm not surprised they don't know how to loosen up"
Sprig rolls his eyes audibly, "Ah, forget it! I'm going to go find Anne."
"Good idea. She can help carrying more crab legs", Hop Pop states. However, Sprig was already out of earshot by then.
In fact, he is already approaching one of the rather nervous looking toad soldiers who is guarding one of the hall's doors. He is already inwardly preparing himself to have to use his innocent voice.
"Hey pal, I'm just gonna go for a walk, get some fresh air", Sprig says.
"No! Sorry.", he replies, "You frogs aren't allowed to leave this room", he explains further. Clearly visible beads of sweat form on his forehead and Sprig decides to dig deeper.
"We are not allowed to leave? Why is that?", he asks. The sweat production on the toad's forehead only intensifies. Individual drops are already falling to the ground and he begins to tremble slightly.
"Uh... I've said too much. Please just return to the party and remain calm."
"Remain calm", Sprig repeats, "You got it, buddy", Sprig adds in a reassuring tone, knowing exactly what he's going to do next.
Sprig walks leisurely back to the celebrating crowd and climbs onto a table. Smiling, he extends an thumbs up to the toad he was talking to a moment ago. The toad does the same and seems to have visibly calmed down.
However, before he is able to continue his plan of warning the other frogs that they are not guests, but prisoners, the entire hall suddenly begins to shake wildly, just before out of nowhere, a bright light appears just in front of the large gate that leads to the courtyard.
All the light sources in the room die out as a visible blast wave quickly spreads from the light throughout the room, eliminating one light source after another. Even more bizarre: No one could feel it. All the torches had gone out, as had the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Only the softly pulsating white light hovers above the floor, with no discernible source, flooding the room.
Everyone in the room stopped talking and the room filled with an ominous silence. No one dared to speak. Or to move. Everyone just looked toward the light.
But… nothing is happening.
Eventually the tension became too much for the toad Sprig had just been talking to. He opens the door behind him and runs up the long spiral staircase to Sasha's rooms.
Once there, he knocks twice on her door before ultimately just entering.
"Uh, Lieutenant Sasha?", he asks, drenched in sweat.
"Didn't I say I didn't want to be interrupted?", Sasha asks in an annoyed tone.
"Y-Yes, Lieutenant. E-except for emergencies", he recites.
"And what is the emergency?", Sasha asks sternly. Anne had just joined them from the bathroom after her shower, looking back and forth between them questioningly, but without saying anything.
"Something has appeared in the main hall. You better take a look at it. It's um... it's pretty creepy", he stutters.
"What is it exactly?", Sasha demands.
"Light.", he replies.
"Light? Seriously?"
"A-And the ground was shaking...", he adds.
"Fine... Anne, you wait here. I won't be long", Sasha says as she and the toad leave her room, closing the doors behind them.
'Oh Sash...you should know better than anyone that I can't just wait here... ', Anne whispers to herself.
She opens Sasha's door and looks into the staircase, before ultimately sneaking down the same stairs Sasha just took.
Just as Sasha and the guard arrive in the main hall, she immediately catches sight of the mentioned light, while the guard fearfully hides immediately behind her.
"What the...?", she asks to herself in confusion, before turning her attention back to the guard. "You said the ground was shaking, right?", he nods at that. "I hadn't noticed anything", she mutters to herself as Anne suddenly entered the room as well.
"Whoa..."
"Anne? I told you to wait in my room."
"As if you really expected me to wait patiently in your room while my friends might be in danger...", Anne replies in an unusually serious tone.
Suddenly, everyone hears a very loud but muffled thud coming from the light, like something quite heavy has hit the tower. Everyone in the room flinches.
Anne quickly scans the room looking for her family when Sasha suddenly begins to yell loudly, "All toads! Surround the light!"
Hesitantly and frightened, the toads surround the light with their spears and swords drawn. Everyone is waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, a voice. Very deep and deafeningly loud.
"What's wrong, human? I thought you wanted to fight."
Anne and Sasha look at each other worriedly. What did the voice want from her or Sasha?
Suddenly it flickers.
"Get ready to fight!", Sasha yells. "It's an attack!"
But before anyone could react, something shot out of the light at an enormously high speed, and hit the opposite wall of the hall, not far away from Hop Pop.
"ANNE!", he shouts urgently.
Immediately Anne dashed off and jumps over one of the tables to his direction. That thing might have hit him...
It wasn't a thing. Hop Pop is standing in front of a person, a human, who is trying with all their might to stay on all fours, but yet collapsing.
It's another human girl. She stretched out her hand towards the light
"Need... to... go... back...", she says with the last of her strength before losing consciousness. Anne doesn't believe what she is seeing in front of her right now.
"I don't believe it... It-it's a h-human... SASHA!", Anne shouts with all her might. Sasha runs up to her, while Anne checks for a pulse on the unknown girl's neck.
The girl seemed to be about the same age as Anne and Sasha. She is wearing a dark blue cape, a blue and white striped shirt, gray shorts over dark gray leggings and white but dirty sneakers. In addition, she is holding a wooden stick with an owl-like figure on one end with a tight grip in one of her hands.
"She seems to have had a hard time, judging from all the bruises on her", Sasha observes as she points a sword directly at the unknown girl, which she took from one of the guards.
While Sasha's observation is not wrong, it is far from the truth. The girl has many bleeding flesh wounds all over her body, quite a few broken limbs, and a big laceration on her head. Nobody could tell anymore which of the injuries were from before or during the impact on the wall.
"Put that thing away, Sasha. That girl needs help!", Anne demands.
"I can help"
A small frog with white hair and only one eye, not covered by it, suddenly emerges from the crowd of onlookers that has formed around the girls. It's Maddie, the strange girl which Anne once forcibly engaged Sprig to in exchange for pizza dough.
"I always have some healing potions with me. Turn her around so she can drink it"
Anne, already kneeling next to the injured girl, grabs her by her bleeding arms, turns her around and straightens her up before Maddie holds the potion to her mouth and slowly pours its contents.
Once the potion has been emptied, Maddie turns to Anne and Sasha, who in turn still has the sword outstretched, and says "This will stabilize her, but we need to take her back to Wartwood for proper treatment."
"No way", Sasha objects, though a bit unsettled. "She- she attacked the tower. She needs to stay here."
"Sash... look at her. Does she really seem like a threat?", Anne inquires. Sasha lowers her sword and carefully bends over the girl, seeing a few of her wounds already beginning to close, though very slowly.
"Besides, I doubt you have anything like an infirmary here... They probably just let all their injured toads die."
While Sasha is thinking of a suitable answer to keep the girl there and use her for possible information gathering and the collective attention of everyone present in the room is focused on the four girls, no one noticed that the floating light had dissipated in the meantime and the original illumination had reignited on its own.
Suddenly, Grime enters the main hall, announcing himself with the noise of a door loudly slamming open.
"Lieutenant?", he asks expectantly. Sasha then turns around and walks to him, handing the sword back to toad on the way to her, whom she has taken it from.
"What's going on down here?", he demands to know.
"Another human has appeared here out of nowhere. Badly injured, no immediate danger", Sasha reports.
"Is this that Marcy girl you were telling me about?"
"Umm no. I have no idea who she is."
"Any recommendations?", Grime inquires.
"Anne and the Frogs would like to take her to Wartwood for better treatment than we can provide."
"What if we just kept her here? For some interrogation...", Grime asks in a whisper, evoking unpleasant memories in Sasha of her own time in captivity.
"Possibly succumb to her injuries rather quickly. And that's before we could even start an interrogation."
"So, we're supposed to let her go, do I understand that correctly?!", Grime asks Sasha for confirmation with an undertone she doesn't like at all. Sasha nods to which Grime sighs.
"You do realize that we wanted to make a statement here today... If we let the frogs go now, we can forget about that. An opportunity like this may never come up ever again."
"Don't worry. I'm sure there will definitely be more opportunities to prove the obvious superiority of toads over these puny frogs, once and for all." Despite Sasha's attempt at flattery, Grime wrinkles his nose and growls.
"Fine", he decides reluctantly, "they may leave. But you personally take responsibility for any consequences that occur. And I hope you know what you're doing."
"Alright.", Sasha confirms and Grime leaves the hall again, only this time clearly trying to suppress his anger at this failure of their plan. At least in front of the frogs, in front of whom he has to keep at least the appearance that there are no superior goals that might be the real reason for their attendance.
Shortly after Grime left, Sasha climbs onto one of the long tables behind her. "Alright guys, the party's over", Sasha calls out, "We're going to bring you home now."
There were many disappointed sounds coming from some of the frogs, and as they head towards the main gate, Sasha is able to pick up a few isolated comments:
"That was a great party"
"That the toads are doing something nice for once, maybe this is the start of something neat"
"Mom, can we get crab legs at home? That creepy old man took them all for himself"
Once a large chunk of the frogs has passed Sasha and left the main hall, she jumps off the table and heads back to Anne and Maddie, who are still kneeling by the injured girl.
"Wow, Sash... I'm so glad you changed your mind after all. Didn't think you'd care so much...", Anne said, "Just too bad our girls' night is ruined now."
"Don't worry about it", Sasha tries to cheer up her best friend, "we can try another time. Besides, this girl could actually help us find a way back home. If she survives, that is..."
"Yeah, you're right... You know, if you want you could come visit me in Wartwood sometime and we'll have another girls' night", Anne suggests, getting increasingly enthusiastic.
"Love to", Sasha replies equally excitedly and the two friends engage in a hug. Both girls remain in that position until they eventually hear someone clear their throat. They look down at Maddie.
"Could you guys maybe help carry her to one of the wagons? I'm not weak, but you humans are really heavy..."
The two friends giggle at that. Anne bends down to lift the girl by her legs when Sasha suddenly stops her.
"Wait, I have a better idea", she says, whistling into the now-empty hall, and several toad soldiers appear immediately in front of her, saluting.
"I need a stretcher. Use it to load the injured human into the golden carriage", Sasha orders in a tone not unfamiliar to Anne.
"Dang girl, I still can't believe they have to take orders from you...", Anne comments, seemingly impressed.
"I know, right? I have my own army- well, actually it's Grime's army. But they obey me", Sasha brags.
"Heh. I understand very well why you like it here. You have everything you ever wanted."
The conversation between the two girls is unceremoniously interrupted when the toads unexpectedly start hacking loudly at a table with axes, making a makeshift stretcher. Sasha and Anne move aside a bit while the toads load the girl onto that very stretcher.
"You're right, I like it here a lot. But I miss you too. And Marcy... Wouldn't you maybe like it better if you just stayed here?", Sasha asks softly. Anne smiles.
"You know I can't. This is your life. Not mine. My life... my family is just climbing into the golden carriage...", Anne says contentedly while peering outside. "And don't worry. We'll find Marcy. And a way home. Together."
Sasha pulls Anne into a hug again before the two girls also leave the main hall, and head to the same golden carriage that Anne and the Plantars arrived in at the tower earlier.
Sasha reaches the carriage first and wants to check if the toads have loaded the other human girl safely enough, when she suddenly sees Maddie sitting in it unexpectedly.
"Why are you in there?", Sasha asks roughly.
"I'm responsible for keeping my patient stable", Maddie explains.
"Your patient?", Sasha is skeptical.
"Unless someone else has the necessary skills to heal and care for this girl, she is and will remain my patient", Maddie said with unwavering confidence in her abilities.
"Fine, whatever", Sasha says ultimately before turning to Anne, who is standing next to her.
"Hey Anne, a hug goodbye?", she asks expectantly with a sad smile on her face, holding her arms open. Anne is only too happy to oblige, and they both hug for the last time for the evening.
"Thank you soo much for all of this. That was by far the best reunion party I could have hoped for, even if it ended so abruptly...", Anne sounds so incredibly happy that Sasha couldn't help but smile, even if her heart is just cracking under the weight of the truth.
"I'm going to miss you so much", Anne continues, "And I hope you'll remember my invitation", before joining Maddie, the unknown girl, and the Plantars in the carriage. Sprig, sitting right next to the open door, had overheard the last part of the conversation and couldn't help but worry before Anne sat down next to him, and they all finally make their way to Wartwood. On their way home.
As the wagons with the frogs gradually disappear on the horizon, Sasha is still standing at the main gate, before she is eventually ready to face what is now awaiting her. And it's not going to be pretty.
She turns around, closes the large gate behind her, and lets herself slide to the ground at that gate, sighing. Many of the toads have already started cleaning up while others are eating the food that hasn't been finished. And Sasha remembers that Grime probably wants to talk to her.
With that, she gets up from the floor and walks up the long staircase to Grime's command room, where he merely looks in the direction where the frogs disappeared. Expressionless.
"Heeey Grimseey...", she announces her arrival, hoping that Grime won't be too angry. Unfortunately, this hope is quickly dashed.
"My dear Lieutenant...", Grime begins rather calmly.
'Yup, he's definitely pissed,' Sasha thinks to herself at that moment.
"What happened down there? Our plan was foolproof", he asks in frustration.
"Well, generally speaking, everything was going great at first. At least until some strange light appeared in the main hall. Completely without any apparent origin. And all the other lights in the hall went out, it was quite creepy. There were strange noises coming from the light, and I had instructed the soldiers to surround the light when suddenly this human girl came shooting out of there and slammed into a wall. Oh, and there was this creepy voice saying something about a human and a fight and-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!", Grime yells suddenly. "Today was our chance to make an example of that old frog. All this effort for NOTHING!"
"Oh Grimsey... You might like to hear that I already have an idea of how we can get to him again...", Sasha teases him with a smirk on her face.
"I'm all ears", Grime replies, seemingly a bit calmer.
"Anne invited me to Wartwood to thank me for the party today. And while I'm there, why don't I grab the old frog and bring him over so you can finish things up? What do you think?" Internally, Sasha is very proud of herself right now for being able to save her own skin with this idea she just came up with.
"No...", Grime said after a short time of consideration and with a diabolical grin. "I don't want you to bring him here. I don't want him to just die either, I want his death to send a message, that no frog will ever rise against us ever again. If we kill him here, no one will know..."
'I don't know if I like where this is going', Sasha thinks to herself.
"I want you to travel to Wartwood and accept Anne's invitation. Then when you get there, YOU are going to kill the old frog."
"Oh no no nononono...", Sasha says anxiously.
"And to top it off, you will drag his corpse to the center of the village, and present it there for everyone to see.", Grime continues. Sasha, on the other hand, is completely speechless and just stares at him in utter horror.
"How could you ask such a thing of me- That was never the plan", she argues.
"Right, because the old frog was supposed to be dead by now", Grime counter-argues. "Besides, let me remind you of our deal: as long as that frog is alive, I won't help you send you and your friends back home to your world."
Sasha is speechless. 'Does he... Is he trying to blackmail me?'
"I will not betray Anne!", Sasha yells, to which Grime sighs.
"Let me put it this way then: You accept the invitation, travel to Wartwood, kill the old frog and display his corpse, OR I'll have my army overrun that tiny village and have everyone killed without exceptions. Even your friend Anne..."
This is the first time Sasha has seen Grime so fundamentally evil. And what's worse, his threat seems to actually work on her. But since she doesn't want to show any weakness in front of him, she finally just answers dryly: "Okay, fine. I'll do it... But now I'm going to bed".
"Good night, Lieutenant", Grime says with a self-satisfied tone. Sasha remains silent as she leaves the command room, heading back to her own space.
She slams her room doors behind her, falls face first onto her bed and begins to cry hard.
'How dare he give me such a cruel choice? I don't want to- no, I can't betray Anne... She would never forgive me should she find out...
Huh... 'should'... Of course she would find out... Maybe I'm lucky and Grime isn't that serious about it, but I'm not that convinced. I don't want to betray Anne, nor do I want to live with the knowledge that she will die if I don't follow Grime's order...'
"Sooo, guys... How did you like the party?", Anne asks expectantly, just shortly after the carriage has left Toad Tower. Hop Pop is the first to speak up
"Can't. Talk... Soo. Many. Crab. Legs...", he says, feeling as if he feels the biggest burst is in the making.
"Hehe", Anne giggles, "How about you, Polly?"
"Urgh... Can't talk either... Too full", Polly replies shortly before letting out a massive belch.
"That's my girl", Anne said proudly. "Sprig?"
Unlike the others, Sprig thinks about it a little longer.
"Say, didn't the whole thing seem a little... weird to you? Like a trap?", he asks questioningly.
"No.", Anne, Polly and Hop Pop say in unison.
"I do, Sprig.", Maddie says, to Sprig's surprise.
"YOU believe me? You?"
"Why are you so surprised?", she asks in irritation, "All those restricted areas and uber-nervous toads were already pretty suspicious... However, I don't have the slightest idea why they would make such an effort, just to let us go again in the end."
"Maybe they actually wanted to apologize for their behavior all those years of terror?!", Hop Pop says half conscious, whereupon everyone burst into raucous laughter.
"That was a good one, HP", Anne comments as after several minutes, the hearty laughter died down again and everyone turns back to their own thoughts. Suddenly, Anne believes she sees movement from the human girl lying on the floor between the two facing benches.
"Eda... noo...", she whispers barely audible from the girl who's still far from consciousness.
"Did you hear that?", Anne asks the others.
"Hear what?", Sprig asks.
"The girl said something... She said 'Eda'…", Anne explains. Sprig merely shrugs his shoulders.
"Oh, I just remembered something else", Anne begins, "When she wakes up, I think it would be better if I'm the first one to talk to her. I have no idea how she would react to you guys."
"Probably not much different than you...", Maddie guesses.
"That's exactly my point", Anne says in shame, "Before Sprig found me, I attacked everything that moved"
"Oh... yeah. That makes sense"
"Yeah... I think I should close my eyes for a while. Wake me up when we are back in Wartwood, yeah?"