The Owl and The Frog

by ChampionElCid

AU: What if instead of going to her regular school Luz Noceda attended St. James School? What if she were to meet and become friends with a group of girls there? What if that group of girls proceeded to have adventures together not just in the human world, but across other worlds as well? Crossover of Owl House and Amphibia. Have now changed the rating to Teen

54. Chapter 53: The New Resistance

So, this chapter ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be, which is probably why it took so long to write. But there was a lot that I wanted to put in this chapter and wanted to make sure that all that was important got in. This is the last time we'll see Sasha and the Resistance until Anne and Luz return in the next arc.

I wanted to give a shout-out to Marzek, as she helped to set up a Discord for this fic. Yes, "The Owl and the Frog" now has a Discord! There's a link to it on my DA profile, or you can search for it. (It is the name of the fic.) So feel free to join and meet up with other fans, chat with me, and get some behind-the-scenes glimpses into how this all works. I would love to see you there! I also want to thank Marzek for giving me a suggestion about Sal's last name. She gave it to me through Discord.

I also wanted to give a shout-out to whoever made the WMG prediction of having a second fight with the Cloak-bot on the TV Tropes page. I'll admit that wasn't something I was originally planning, but after reading that suggestion, I thought about it and decided to include it in this chapter cause it sounded cool! This is the first time I've taken a suggestion from the WMG section and put it in the fic (the other ones that were true were ones I was going to do anyway), so again, thanks to whoever made that prediction! Wanted to make sure and give you credit for that.

But anyway, on with the show!

Chapter 53: The New Resistance

---

The toad soldiers of the Southern Tower looked nervously at the sky as the king's castle floated overhead. Many of them had been unwilling witnesses to the castle's destructive potential and had seen it destroy the other towers. Although they knew that none of them had been involved in the rebellion against the King, they worried that Andrias wouldn't care and would take revenge on them, anyway. Bog stood out at the top of the tower, looking through his telescope, not saying anything. Eventually, another toad in armor wearing a helm came up to him.

"There hasn't been any activity from the castle," said the toad. "No one knows why it's here or what Andrias wants."

"Well, we can't exactly fly up to him," said Bog, "so until he sends someone here, I guess we just have to wait."

"The toads are getting restless, though," said the toad. "We're not sure what we should be doing right now."

"Listen, Mire," said Bog, finally identifying the other toad, "I'm in charge now! Last I heard from Jacinda, we're supposed to wait for further orders from the King himself, so that's what we're gonna do."

No sooner had Bog said this than suddenly, a strange object flew down from the castle to the top of the tower where he was standing. Bog wasn't sure what it was, though it looked familiar. He couldn't quite remember where he had seen it before. As it came closer, he could see it was a large, metallic, frog-looking thing. It hovered in front of him before projecting something out of its eye. The image from its eye came into focus to reveal King Andrias.

"What's new, Bog?" he asked in a jovial tone. "Or should I say, Captain Bog, Lord of the Southern Tower? I must say, that's quite a promotion for you!"

Bog was caught off guard by the King's upbeat tone but did his best to respond. "Uh, well, I haven't had much trouble settling in. In fact, I'm glad you're here. We built the new tower and have been waiting for your next instructions for a while now. Do you still need us to collect taxes from the towns?"

"No, we aren't really concerned about taxes any more," said Andrias dismissively. "I don't much have a use for them now that I have better, more efficient means of producing soldiers, like this one." Andrias indicated the frobot.

"This thing is a soldier?" said Bog as he looked over the frobot in amazement.

"Why don't you show him what you can do?" said Andrias to the frobot.

The frobot looked over at a large tree and fired its laser at it. The tree was destroyed in an instant. Bog's eyes lit up at the sight.

"Wow! That thing really packs a punch, don't it?" he said.

"Yes, it certainly does," said Andrias.

"Well, uh, I guess my next question is, what do you need us to do?" asked Bog with some hesitation. "Seems to me like you got no need for enforcers; what with these, uh… What did you say they're called?"

"Robots," clarified Andrias. "And don't be ridiculous Bog. Of course, I still need you."

"But you just said you ain't collecting taxes no more," said Bog, confused.

"I said that I don't need taxes anymore," said Andrias, "but there's no reason you can't still collect them for yourself."

Bog pondered that statement. Andrias continued.

"Right now, I am very busy putting certain plans into motion, so I don't have time to deal with the day-to-day running of the kingdom, but that's where you and your non-traitorous toads come into play."

"Yeah, uh, just want to make it clear I had nothing to do with whatever Grime and the others were planning," said Bog, quickly bringing up his hands in a sign of contrition. He had seen the laser from Andrias's castle fire at each of the other towers in Amphibia, instantly destroying them.

"I know you didn't," said Andrias matter-of-factly, before switching to a much firmer tone. "That's the only reason your tower is still standing."

Bog gulped as he heard that.

"But that's also why I'm here," continued Andrias. "I need some toads I can trust to deal with another different rebellion. I've heard reports of a group of frogs amassing in Wartwood. I need you and your toads to deal with them."

"Okay," said Bog. "And just to be sure, we'll be paid for this, right?"

"No," said Andrias plainly, "but you can feel free to take anything you want from those frogs after you get rid of them. Once you've done that, you have free rein to take whatever you want from Wartwood or any other village in the South. As I said, I may not have a need for taxes, but you can keep collecting them, and now you can keep it all for yourself. Is that agreeable?"

Bog thought for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah, I think we can make that work."

"Good to hear!" replied Andrias. "Oh, and, uh, one more thing. I want you to be on the lookout for something I lost from the castle. I take it you are aware of humans, right?"

Bog thought for a moment before replying. "Humans… Ain't that what Sasha was?"

"Yes, exactly," said Andrias. "The creatures I'm looking for look similar to humans. The big difference is their ears."

The screen changed, and an image of three figures appeared. They did remind Bog of humans, though he noticed how their ears were pointy.

"These creatures escaped from my palace. They were crucial to certain plans I had," explained Andrias. "I don't care what you do with the frogs, but I need these creatures returned UNHARMED." He made sure to emphasize that last part. Bog nodded to show he understood.

"I don't know where they currently are," continued Andrias. "My guess is they're making their way to Wartwood to join up with the frogs there. If you return them to me, I'll make sure and make it worth your while."

"Got it," said Bog.

"Oh, I have something that can help you accomplish this task," said Andrias, clapping his hands. As he did, a figure leaped from the palace. Bog watched as it fell hard. Even though it hit the ground, it didn't seem injured at all. It quickly used its long, lanky arms to climb up the outside of the tower and make its way to the top. It was another robot, though it was different from the one hovering in front of him. This one was sleeker, with claws at the ends of its hands, and it had a more sinister look in its eyes.

"This is Cloak-bot," said Andrias. "He captured the witches the first time and took a bit of beating, but I've fixed him up. You can use him to help if you need it."

"Okay, uh, thanks," said Bog, still taken aback by the robots.

"Good, keep me updated. Andrias out," said Andrias. With that, the screen disappeared, and the robot flew back up to the castle. Bog turned to Mire.

"Assemble the troops!" he commanded.

---

Far away, in another part of Amphibia, Lilly and the witches were slowly making their way to Wartwood. They took care to travel carefully and tried to stay under the trees so that they wouldn't be easily detected. No matter how far they traveled, they could see the king's castle hovering in the sky. They were especially cautious whenever it seemed closer to them. Thankfully, as the group stopped to rest, they could see it was far away from them on the horizon. Alyssa came up to her husband and made a spell circle, bringing it over to his heart.

"Now that our bile isn't being drained anymore, we've started to replenish it," she said as she moved the circle over her husband's heart, healing him. "Still, it will probably take a few days for us to get back into tip-top shape. I want to make sure that all those injections didn't leave any permanent holes in any of our bile sacs."

"I think I feel better," said Vincent, as he felt the healing pulsations inside him. Alyssa moved over to Raine and repeated the motion over their chest.

"Thank you," said Raine as Alyssa healed their bile sac. "I can't wait until we're back to full strength."

"Do you think the King will send another metal abomination after us?" asked Vincent with worry in his voice.

"If he does, hopefully, we'll be in a better position to fight it," said Raine.

"So, where are we headed, Lilly?" asked Alyssa, turning to the frog.

Lilly didn't answer. She found herself looking up at the castle in the sky, her face full of regret.

"Lilly?" repeated Alyssa, coming over to the frog. She placed her hand on Lilly's shoulder, causing the blue frog to be startled.

"Ahh!" exclaimed Lilly.

"Sorry," said Alyssa, bringing up her hands. "I just wanted to ask where we're going."

"Oh, right," said Lilly, snapping herself back to reality. "We're making our way to Wartwood. It's a town in the southern area of Amphibia. My father should be there, along with the rest of the frog army. We fought against the toads to stop them from taking over the city. We should be safe there. Plus, we have to tell my dad what we learned about Andrias."

"Do you honestly think your dad can stop him?" asked Vincent.

"I don't know," answered Lilly, hanging her head, "but we should be safe with him, at least for now."

Lilly looked back up at the sky and the king's castle. The witches looked at each other. They had an idea of what was wrong with her, especially after what had happened the first night when they escaped. The witches remembered how Lilly had that nightmare of something terrible happening to Amity and how she had thrown her sword against the wall in anger and frustration. Raine came over to Lilly and did their best to comfort her.

"Lilly, listen," began Raine. "You had to leave. There was no choice."

Lilly didn't respond, so Raine kept talking.

"Please don't beat yourself up about what happened. You saved us," said Raine. "It's because of you that we're here now."

"I promised I'd save her," whispered Lilly.

This time, it was Raine who was silent. Lilly continued.

"I promised Amity that I'd get her out of there when the time was right, and I failed her. That poor girl was so scared and lonely. The three of you at least had each other, but Amity was separated from you and all by herself."

The witches all looked at her, not sure what to say in response to that. After some time, Lilly spoke again.

"Come on, we have to keep moving," she said in a dispirited voice. The witches followed her as they continued making their way toward Wartwood.

Over the next few days, they continued their journey, stopping for the night and taking care to find a safe space to rest. The three witches talked with each other and Lilly, telling her about their world, their home, and how magic worked. Lilly, in turn, told them about Amphibia and what was happening with the King. Still, she always seemed distracted when she talked. She found herself occasionally glancing up at the castle that floated in the sky. Every time she did, she wondered about Amity and hoped she was okay. Lilly tried her best to stay optimistic, but in the back of her mind, she couldn't let go of the fact that she had failed to rescue the young witch. Raine did their best to assure the frog that she had made the right choice and promised that once they regrouped with her father and explained what had happened, they would come up with some plan to rescue both Amity and Marcy.

The witches were interested in Lilly and her sword. Lilly explained about the sword and how it had granted her magical abilities, and she also told them about Uodeela and her gem. Lilly demonstrated a few elemental spells she had learned. She explained how, while magic did exist in Amphibia, it was much different from what the witches had described magic as being like in their world. Lilly went on to explain how rare it was to find magic users and how the salamanders seemed to vanish with no trace.

"So, the magic in your world consists mainly of potions and curses?" asked Raine, intrigued.

"Yes," answered Lilly. "I had recently learned how to make potions from Uodeela. She also taught us about curses, though only the basics."

"You have curses here too?" asked Alyssa. "Are the curses in your land permanent?"

"They can be. In Amphibia, if you cast a curse on someone, it's permanent, but it can be removed by the caster," answered Lilly.

"Hmmm, interesting," said Raine, stroking their chin.

After many days of travel, the group stopped for the night. They were about to get ready for bed when Raine spotted a fire burning a short distance away. The group decided to investigate, and as they got closer, they saw it was a gathering of different species, though mostly newts. They were gathered around a fire, talking to each other.

"So, anyone know what's going on?" asked one of the group. "Why's the King's castle floating in the sky?"

"No idea," answered another, "but without the King there, Newtopia has fallen into chaos. Some soldiers in the city tried to enforce order, but it didn't work. This time, newts started looting and raiding the city, and a lot of others fled."

"I used to live in Newtopia," said an older frog in the group. "Had my own restaurant, then a small factory that produced my signature sauce. I was living the high life in the city, for sure, but with all the chaos in the city, there's no one buying sauce anymore. Figured it was best to leave."

"I was one of the toughest competitors in the smash and mash derby," said another, a rather large and burly newt. "I got no idea as to what's going on, but I just know it ain't safe for me or my daughter to stay in the city."

"I was a butler for a high-class family in Newtopia," said a green frog in a tattered suit. "I fled during the toad rebellion while my employers hid in a panic room."

"I used to work at the Hemisphere Hotel," said a third, a pink newt wearing a hotel uniform. "A month ago, my biggest concern was how I was going to pay off all my student loans. Now I just wonder how I'm going to live."

"We're all concerned about that," said another. "But hey, at least we've got each other here."

"I just wish I knew what was going on," said the pink newt. "I also wish we had somewhere to be that was a little less… exposed."

"I hear there are a few groups of scavengers that formed," said a newt. "They're composed of all species, but they're little more than bandits."

"I sure hope we don't run into them," said the frog.

"Um, excuse me," called Lilly, deciding to get their attention.

The group all turned toward the voice to see a small blue frog in a silver breastplate with a blue cloak and a sword attached to her belt. She quickly brought her hands together in a show of peace.

"Please, I didn't mean to intrude," said Lilly. "I saw the light from your fire and wanted to see who was there."

The group looked at each other. They didn't feel threatened by the frog and allowed her to approach.

"I hear you want to go someplace safer," continued Lilly. "I know a place we can go if you'd like to join me and my companions."

"Companions?" said a newt. "I only see you."

Lilly motioned for the witches to step forward, and they did so. A few in the group let out a gasp, though some took their appearance in stride.

"Are these those strange creatures I've been hearing so much about?" asked the frog.

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of them. They're called humus," said the large newt. "One of them humus beat me in the smash derby. so they must be pretty tough!"

"Actually, these aren't humans," said Lilly to the group, "though they are also from another world like the humans you've heard of. These are witches from the Demon Realm."

The group whispered to each other as they processed this new information.

"So, where exactly are you headed?" asked the pink newt.

"We're going to Wartwood," answered Lilly. "My father is there, along with a large group of frogs. In fact, they were the ones who fought the toads in Newtopia."

"Really?" said the large, burly newt. "I heard about a group of frogs standing up to the toads. You all must be pretty tough."

"I saw that castle blast out some strange and bizarre weapon. He destroyed the North Tower in one blow!" said the frog in the tattered suit. "How can you hope to stop Andrias when he has technology like that?"

"I don't know," answered Lilly, "but it would still be safer for us all to stay together. Maybe we can think of some way to stop him."

"You said you're heading to Wartwood?" asked the elder frog. "Why, I'm originally from there! Spent most of my young life in that town before moving to the city. I've got an old friend who lives there." The elderly frog stepped forward, offering his hand to Lilly.

"The name's Sal," said the frog, introducing himself. "Sal Ami. It's been forever since I've been back in Wartwood. If that's where you're headed, I'd be honored to join ya!"

"I'm Bella," said the pink newt, stepping forward to introduce herself.

"Jamack," said the green frog.

"I'm Priscilla Paddock," said the large, burly newt. "If you're thinking of fighting against Andrias, you're gonna need someone like me on your side! Oh, and this is my daughter, Pearl."

"Hi!" said a small newt, who was resting on her mother's shoulder.

"So, what's the story with them?" asked Sal, pointing to the witches.

Raine began to explain. "Our story is that your King Andrias has some kind of device that grants him access to other worlds. He used that device to kidnap us from our world."

"We're witches," said Alyssa. "As I understand it, Andrias kidnapped us to learn how we did magic."

"Oh, you can do magic?" said Pearl excitedly. "Let me see, let me see!"

Vincent made a spell circle with his finger. He slammed his hand into the ground and brought up a large rock, letting it float in the air. The group gasped as they saw this. Vincent made another spell circle and pulled another rock from the ground. He held both in his hands for a few seconds before tossing them forward.

"Wow!" exclaimed Pearl. "You're almost as strong as my mom."

Vincent looked offended by that comment, but he took it in stride.

"Well, I suppose staying together would be more beneficial," said Sal. "You all look plenty capable."

The others shook their heads in agreement. They kept talking for a bit longer before getting ready for bed. Before they did, they set up a rotating watch so that someone could keep a lookout for any danger. Lilly volunteered to take the first watch. She kept the fire going, occasionally stoking it to keep it going. Lilly had a lot on her mind and hadn't been sleeping well the past few nights, anyway. She would often volunteer to keep watch over Raine, Vincent, and Alyssa, feeling that they needed sleep more than she did. Again, she found herself staring at the castle in the sky. It was fortunately far away, towards the edge of the horizon, though as she looked into the sky, she saw a figure fly through it. At first, she thought it was a large predator, but it seemed too small. Again, the figure flew over their campsite, and this time it let out a screech. Lilly was sure it was a bird of some kind, yet it looked weird—not like any bird she knew.

Lilly clutched her sword carefully and again looked into the sky. She heard a loud screech that unnerved her, causing her to draw her sword. She heard the screech again and tried to find where it had come from. Finally, a figure dropped out of the sky a few feet away, out of the light of the fire. Lilly pointed her sword at the figure as the figure came closer, and after a few steps, it finally came into the light of the fire and Lilly could see what it was…

---

Emmanuel knocked on the door of the basement. He waited until he eventually heard Sasha tell him to come in. He slowly opened the door and went down. Sasha was sitting at a makeshift desk, working on something.

"How's the mask coming?" he asked casually.

"I think I'm almost done," answered Sasha, as she continued to work on her mask.

Emmanuel paused before saying, "You know when I first heard about you and how you were able to get the Southern Tower running effectively, I have to say, I imagined a fierce and effective leader in my mind. I didn't realize at the time that you were only thirteen."

"You know, I actually might be fourteen by now," said Sasha awkwardly. "I mean, so much time has passed here in Amphibia. I'm pretty sure Luz is fourteen, too."

"Well, the point is that I imagined that you were a lot different. I didn't realize how young you were," said Emmanuel, "and well, one thing about being young is that you're a lot more likely to make mistakes."

Sasha didn't answer and kept working on her project. After a few minutes, Emmanuel spoke again.

"Sometimes, those mistakes can lead to dire consequences and often regret, but regret isn't necessarily bad if you learn something from it."

"I have learned a lot, actually. I learned not to give in to jealousy; I learned that trying to control people only leads to hurting them; and I learned that trusting strange voices in your head can lead to very bad things," said Sasha flatly. She finally turned around from her chair. Emmanuel's eyes focused on the scar on her face. It was the same as the day when she had first gotten it—a thin triangle that started on her cheek and stretched up over her eye, with the point finally ending above her eye. Maddie had tried a few different potions and ointments to remove it, but none of them had worked.

As Sasha turned around, she held up a mask in her hands, one she had been carving at the desk. The mask was in the shape of a heron's face. It looked very much like Uodeela and even had some of her feathers attached to the top of it.

"I think it turned out great," said Sasha. "What do you think?"

Emmanuel looked at the mask before replying, "It looks good, but do you really feel you need it?"

"I don't know if Anne, Luz, and the others will make it back here, but I hope they do," began Sasha. "And if they do, I… I don't want them to see my face, at least not at first."

Sasha brought her hand to her face and rubbed her scar. She could barely feel the difference between her normal skin and the scar, but every time she looked in the mirror, it always stood out. A stark reminder of who she was and what she had done in the past.

"Listen, I know you don't like how it looks, but I think once you tell Anne and the others everything that's happened, they won't hold any ill will against you," said Emmanuel. "I promise that I will tell them how you courageously helped cure Uodeela. I'm sure Luz will forgive you once she hears what you did."

"It's my fault Uodeela was cursed in the first place," said Sasha in a low voice, "and it's my fault Luz was almost killed."

"Sasha…" began Emmanuel, "I know you've done things you aren't proud of, but I've seen you try to make amends for them. Hell, I almost killed Grime, even though Valeriana warned me not to. Imagine if I had. Who knows what would have happened? I'm glad I wasn't able to, and I will freely admit that it was a mistake on my part."

"Yeah, but that's just it," said Sasha. "You were lucky not to have gone through with it. Me? I made my mistakes, and both Anne and Luz saw me at my worst because of that. Maybe I wasn't able to kill Hop Pop, but Anne knew I wanted to, and Luz—" Sasha paused.

"Luz saw me stand there with a smile on my face as Grime and the toads beat Uodeela to death," finished Sasha, a tone of extreme bitterness in her voice as she said that last part.

"And then you helped to cure her," said Emmanuel quickly. "Maybe she's still a bit angry towards you and Grime, but I think as long as you keep showing her how much you've changed, she'll warm up to you, eventually."

At that moment, the door opened and Percy came in.

"Emmanuel," he began, "Uodeela is back, and she brought a group with her."

---

Sasha and Emmanuel looked at each other, wondering who this group could be. The two got up and made their way outside. As Emmanuel looked over the group, one member of it immediately caught his eye.

"Lilly!" he exclaimed, running toward her.

"Dad!" said Lilly, jumping into her father's arms. The two shared a long hug together.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're okay!" said Emmanuel, hugging his daughter tightly.

"It's so good to see you again, Dad," said Lilly. "I have so much to tell you, but first, you have to tell me what happened to Uodeela."

"Well, that's a bit of a story," began Emmanuel, "but the short version is that Gustav and Maddie were able to brew up an elixir to at least partially cure her."

Uodeela made a screech, causing the two to turn towards her. She still bore a somewhat birdlike appearance, but instead of being a giant red heron, Uodeela was smaller and more humanoid. She looked much more like a bird person still covered in red feathers. She still had a beak, wings, eyes, and claws like a heron, but was closer in size to her regular salamander form.

Uodeela screeched again, but almost immediately covered her mouth. She went inside the Plantar house to grab something.

"She can't talk," said Emmanuel. "When she's around us, she makes sure to carry a notepad and pen so she can write down what she wants to say. I guess she forgot to take it with her when she went out to scout around."

"I wasn't sure at first if it was really her," said Lilly, "since she couldn't talk and didn't have a way to write. But I asked her some 'yes or no' questions, and she moved her head, so I was able to communicate with her in that way."

A moment later, the door opened, and Gustav, Maddie, and Uodeela came out of the house. Gustav ran straight towards Lilly.

"You're okay!" he said as the two hugged. "I thought Teach might be able to find you. She's still getting used to her new form, but thankfully, she can still fly with it. Plus, she has the heron's eyes, which lets her see more when she's up in the air."

"Honestly, I'm kind of jealous," said Maddie. "Teach seems to have the best of both worlds. She's got the abilities of the heron but still has her mind, well, aside from the whole not being able to talk thing."

Uodeela again screeched, though this time, as she did, she also wrote something on her notepad. After she finished, she turned it so the others could read it. Sarcasm is a lot harder to convey in written words.

"Oh, by the way, this is Maddie," said Gustav, introducing the frog to Lilly. "She helped me make the elixir that cured Uodeela."

"Pleased to meet you, Maddie," said Lilly, offering her hand. "Gustav and I studied magic with Uodeela."

"Yeah, me too," said Maddie, shaking her hand. "I was her student before the three of you."

"Oh, hey, speaking of the three of us," said Gustav as he realized something, "where's Amara? I thought she might be with you."

"No, she's not," said Lilly sadly. "She's with Luz, Anne, and the Plantars in the human world."

"Sasha said she was with them," said Gustav. "While I didn't think she was lying, it's good to have it confirmed by you. Hope she's okay in the human world."

"There's a lot I need to tell you," said Lilly. "Let's get inside and I'll—"

"I heard Uodeela was back," said a voice from inside, a voice Lilly instantly recognized. As the door opened and Grime came out of it, Lilly's eyes narrowed on him.

"Grime!" exclaimed Lilly, drawing her sword. Grime's face fell as he saw Lilly look at him. Lilly immediately leaped at Grime and attempted to strike him. Grime dodged the attack and put up his hands defensively.

"Whoa, hey! Wait, a minute—" began Grime.

Lilly didn't reply and kept up her attack, trying to strike him again.

"Lilly, stop!" pleaded her father. "Grime is working with us."

"Dad, are you serious?!" asked Lilly in anger. "You're working with Grime?! He killed mom, and you're working with him?!"

"Listen, please," begged Emmanuel. "A lot has happened here, but right now, Grime isn't our enemy."

Uodeela let out a screech and tried to stand in front of Lilly to protect Grime.

"You too, Master?" said Lilly in anger. "You're defending Grime too?"

Uodeela screeched again, forgetting she couldn't talk. Lilly leaped over her and charged at Grime again.

Sasha joined in Grime's defense, trying to stop Lilly from attacking him. "Grime really has changed! Please don't hurt him."

Lilly let out a growl as she heard that, charging again at Grime. Surprisingly, he made no move to fight her and only kept dodging Lilly's attacks. After he dodged another, Lilly brought up her hand and thrust it forward, shooting a stream of water at Grime and knocking him down. Lilly made a motion with her hand and the water around Grime closed in on him, trapping him in a bubble filled with water. Lilly raised her hand and closed it into a fist; the bubble floated off the ground with Grime trapped inside. Grime began desperately trying to escape the bubble, but he couldn't. He was holding his breath but knew that he couldn't forever. At this point, Sasha stepped in front of Lilly.

"STOP, PLEASE!" begged Sasha.

"GRIME KILLED MY MOTHER!" yelled Lilly in a raw, desperate voice, tears streaming down her face as she said that. "It's time he met the same fate!"

"No! Please! I'm begging you, don't hurt him," pleaded Sasha, falling to her knees.

Those words affected Lilly, as they were the same ones she had said when she begged for her mother's life. In her mind, she flashed back to that moment, three years ago, atop Toad Tower. As she looked straight at Sasha, she didn't see Sasha but instead saw an eleven-year-old version of herself staring back at her. Lilly was unnerved by this, but couldn't immediately let go of her hatred. Inside the bubble, Grime's face turned red as he desperately tried to hold his breath. Lilly looked from Grime's struggling face to Sasha's, the girl's face again reminding her of herself.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't hurt him," repeated Sasha to Lilly, tears streaming down her face.

After a few more moments, she finally relented and opened her fist, causing the bubble to break and water to splash everywhere. Grime fell to the ground and let out a huge gasp of air. Sasha came over to him and helped him up; the toad was still struggling to breathe. Lilly fell to her knees and began sobbing.

Uodeela and Emmanuel came over to Lilly and hugged her, trying to calm her down. Grime and Sasha looked at each other and then back at Lilly, neither of them sure of what to say. After regaining her composure and wiping the tears from her face, Lilly walked up to Grime and pointed her sword at him.

"I don't know what's going on or why my dad suddenly trusts you," she said to Grime, "but if you do anything suspicious that makes me think you're going to harm my dad or any other frog, then I will end you! I'm not the same scared little frog who stood by and watched as you shoved my mom off the tower. This is your only warning, Grime!"

"You know, technically, it wasn't me who—" began Grime before being instantly cut off by Sasha.

"Grime, shut up!" said Sasha in a serious voice, her eyes flashing between Grime and Lilly.

Lilly turned to Sasha. "As for you! If you don't want to lose Grime, then you'd better do a good job of making sure Grime really has changed. I'm serious, Sasha. If Grime steps out of line, I will end him! If the only reason he's here is because he cares about you, then I hope that is enough to keep him from doing anything stupid."

Lilly focused her gaze on Sasha before continuing, "I know you betrayed Luz, and I heard Anne say she hates you, so I doubt they'd care if I struck you down for defending Grime."

Those words cut deep to Sasha, who could only manage to turn her face away in shame. She wanted to say something but couldn't manage it. Grime didn't say anything either, though he could tell from Lilly's tone that she was dead serious. He tried to look her in the eyes and give her a reassuring look, but her expression of anger didn't change.

To finally try to defuse the situation, Emmanuel said, "I think we all have a lot of catching up to do. Let's get inside and trade notes so that we're all on the same page."

---

Inside the Planters' living room, the group of Emmanuel, Gustav, Maddie, Sasha, Grime, Lilly, Uodeela, and the witches sat down, all exchanging information about what they'd each been up to since being separated. It took a long time for everyone to say what they needed to say, but finally, it seemed they were all on the same page with the current situation.

"So, Luz really was able to make it home," said Gustav, letting out a sigh of relief. "I hope that for now, she's at least safe."

"I'm sure Anne and the Plantars are looking after her," said Sasha, trying to lift the mood. "I hope they're safe, but I also hope they can find a way back here. I think we could really use Anne's help."

"I mean, of course," said Lilly. "Assuming she can still use those powers, she would be a great boon in our fight against Andrias."

Uodeela let out a screech, causing the others to turn to her. She wrote something down on her notepad before turning it so the others could see it. Luz should have those same powers. In fact, Sasha should as well.

The group turned to Sasha as they read Uodeela's note. Sasha looked down at herself and her hands, not sure what to say.

"I mean, how would I go about activating them?" asked Sasha. Again, Uodeela wrote down on her notepad.

You need to concentrate and develop a connection to Amphibia. Realize how much you care about the creatures in it, and focus on that, wrote Uodeela. She paused for a second before writing again.

Wait, you told me about how Luz fought Beatrix. How did she lose? She should have been able to wipe the floor with her, no problem if she had her powers, wrote Uodeela.

"I've honestly been wondering that myself," said Sasha. "I saw what she could do at Tadpole Pond. I know how strong she was. It's the reason I—" Sasha hesitated before continuing. "It's the reason I wasn't worried about setting her up to fight Beatrix. I thought for sure Luz would at least have a chance at that fight, seeing how strong she was at Tadpole Pond."

"Is there a way to lose those powers?" asked Grime.

Uodeela thought for a moment before writing again. Yes, but I thought if Anne still had hers, there was a chance Luz also did. It doesn't make sense. If the box was recharged, it should mean that none of the girls have access to them, yet Anne can still use them, but Luz can't.

"Is there a chance I still have them?" asked Sasha, hopefully.

We'll have to see, wrote Uodeela. Are you sure you didn't activate them before recharging the gems on the box?"

"No, I didn't," said Sasha plainly.

Uodeela brought her hand to her chin for a bit before writing. If you had, there might be a way to restore them, but if you're sure you haven't, then perhaps not.

Sasha's face fell upon hearing that.

"It's alright, lieutenant," said Grime reassuringly. "You're tough enough without them. Giving you powers would make our fight against Andrias unfair."

Sasha smiled upon hearing Grime say that.

Uodeela, again, showed her notepad. We can try a few exercises later to see if Sasha still has them, but I don't want to get your hopes up.

"So, let's talk about our other guests," said Emmanuel, turning to look at the witches. "First of all, I'm so sorry about what you've been through. I don't think any of us realized how depraved Andrias really was."

"I had heard about how fun he was," said Lilly. "I honestly thought he was just ignorant of how much the frogs were really suffering and hoped that I could convince him to change the system, especially after the frogs basically saved him from the toad rebellion."

"In any case, we're grateful to you for getting us out of that hellhole," said Vincent.

"Of course, without the box, we're basically stuck here with no way to get home," observed Raine.

"We have a way home," said Alyssa with conviction. "We just need to get the box away from Andrias."

"Oh, is that all?" asked Grime in a sarcastic voice.

"Yes, that is," said Emmanuel. "I know right now that it seems Andrias has all the advantages, but we can find a way to beat him. It may take time, but at least for now, he doesn't even know that there is an organized resistance against him. That gives an advantage."

"Honestly, this king sounds a bit like the ruler of our world," said Vincent.

"What's your ruler like?" asked Maddie, intrigued.

"His name is Emperor Belos," said Raine seriously. "He's a witch of unusual power. The thing is, no one really knows that much about him or even what he looks like. Heck, I was even reminded a bit of the Emperor's castle when we were sneaking around Andrias's palace."

"You've been inside the Emperor's castle?" asked Alyssa, intrigued.

"Yes, I have. I'm not sure if I should mention this, but I'm actually trying to become head of the Bard Coven," said Raine. "I was invited to play at the castle. It was my first time inside, and I must say, being in that place is unnerving."

"Hey, wait a sec," said Maddie. "So, is it true that you all can cast magic naturally?"

"Well, yes, we can," answered Alyssa.

"Can you show us?" asked Maddie.

"Sure," answered Alyssa. She made a spell circle with her finger, causing a barrier to appear in front of her. The amphibians and Sasha let out a gasp at seeing this.

"I specialize in healing magic," said Alyssa. "I'm part of the healing coven. We're all about fixing what's wrong with you, but we also use defensive magic like this barrier to help prevent you from being hurt in the first place."

"I'm in the construction coven," said Vincent proudly. "I specialize in controlling the earth. I'd show you, but it's probably better if I were outside with more room to throw rocks around."

"And you can do that just by making a circle?" said Maddie, intrigued.

"Yes, we have a special organ attached to our heart called a bile sac," explained Raine. "It stores magic bile, which is what we use to cast magic. Your king was harvesting that bile from us."

The amphibians and Sasha all gave a look of disgust as they heard that.

"What was he hoping to use it for?" asked Sasha, with worry in her voice.

"We have no idea," said Vincent. After speaking, he began walking around the Plantars' house, putting his hand on the floor.

"That is worrying," said Emmanuel seriously. "Whatever he hopes to gain from this can't be anything good. Didn't you say there was one more witch?"

"Yes, Amity," said Lilly. "He put her through some kind of tests, but never had the newts drain any bile from her. I don't know what they were planning to do, but I'm worried about her. The first night after we escaped, I had a nightmare that something terrible had happened to her."

"You said Marcy is alive, right?" asked Sasha.

"Yes, she is," said Lilly. She paused before adding, "I'm sorry I couldn't get her out."

"I'm just glad to know she's okay," said Sasha. "Don't worry, we'll free her and that other witch too."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," said Vincent, "but did you guys know there are tunnels under here?"

"What?" said Emmanuel with interest.

"It's part of my magic," said Vincent, drawing a spell circle and putting his hand on the floor. "I can use it to sense changes in the ground. There's a whole network of tunnels under here. I wonder what they are for. Also, I wonder where the entrance to them is."

Vincent made another spell circle with his finger and began walking around the Plantars' living room, trying to find the entrance to the tunnels. As he was making circles and walking around, Sasha kept glancing at him. She wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she saw something within the circles Vincent was making. They were so quick, though, that she couldn't get a good look at it. After a few minutes of searching, he stopped at the fireplace, knocking on the wall against it.

"I'm pretty sure the entrance is here," he said, making another spell circle and feeling his way along the wall. After a bit more searching, he finally found the secret button in the center of the picture that hung above the fireplace and pressed it. The bricks around the fireplace began to move, and an entrance opened up, revealing a staircase that descended into the ground. Everyone else in the room was surprised and gathered around the entrance.

"What do you think is down there?" asked Gustav, peering into the entrance.

"Only one way to find out," said Lilly, her eyes lighting up and turning blue. She brought up her hand and summoned an orb of light, stepping down into the tunnel. Vincent followed close behind.

An hour or so later, the two emerged from the tunnels and gave a report to the others. Vincent brushing off some vines and pumpkin guts from his shirt.

"There's uh a giant pumpkin monster in one of those tunnels," he said unfazed, "I think someone made a bad spell trying to control some vegetables." As he said this he pulled out a jar that had what looked like a sapient turnip.

"Whoa let me see!" said Maddie reaching forward to grab the jar.

"There's a spell to bring vegetables to life in the demon realm," said Vincent.

"I have no idea why that spell exists," added Alyssa, sardonically, "it never works the way you want it to."

"Well vegetable monsters weren't all we found," said Lilly, "it looks like there were three different chambers dedicated to uh members of the Plantar family. That the family who lives here right?"

Emmanuel shook his head.

"Well one of those rooms was full of weapons," said Lilly, bringing out a few of them in her arms and laying them out on the floor. This intrigued Emmanuel.

"You know I found a few weapons in one of the rooms of this house," he said casually, "which was a bit disturbing seeing as it looked like it belonged to a tadpole."

"The last chamber was blocked, we couldn't get in at first," said Vincent, "but I cleared the way and that's when we discovered there were more chambers down there. At first, we thought there were only three, but I can sense that there's more for sure. Even though some tunnels are blocked off, I should be able to clear them."

"Some of the chambers looked like they had certain puzzles or traps in them, but I think we can disable them," said Lilly.

"If I cleared out some of the blocked tunnels, there would be a lot more room," said Vincent. He turned to Emmanuel and said, "You might even be able to move your army down there."

"Andrias does have that laser cannon on his castle," said Sasha.

"It would be a lot safer for us to relocate underground, where we'd have more protection from that weapon," advised Grime.

Emmanuel turned to Vincent, Alyssa, and Raine. "Listen, I know right now you're stuck in this world and you want to go home. I want to try to free the frogs from the tyranny of Andrias. I would say that at present, our goals align. If you can help us beat Andrias, then I promise, once we get the box, we will send you home."

The three witches looked at each other before Ranie said, "It is in our best interest. Plus, your daughter saved us from the castle, so if you want my help, I'm in. I assume beating Andrias also includes rescuing Marcy and Amity from him, right?"

"Yes, of course," replied Emmanuel.

"Anything that will get us home and let us see our children again, I'm for," said Alyssa.

Vincent gave a cocky smile before saying, "Heh, you need someone like me on your side. Your rebellion would have no chance without me. Plus, I have to clear out those tunnels for you, so I'm in for sure!"

Alyssa rolled her eyes at her husband's statement but still smiled at him.

"Thank you," replied Emmanuel. "I think having you on our side will most certainly help to turn the tide."

"Well then, let me head down there and see what I can do," said Vincent.

---

As Vincent worked to clear the tunnels, the rest of the group reconvened outside, the others taking in the site around them and talking with some others.

"Man, Wartwood hasn't changed at all since I was last here," said Sal as he looked out over the town.

"Salvador Ammi," said a voice he recognized. He turned around to see Sadie Croaker approach him.

"Thought you said that you were leaving this town behind for good when you left," said Mrs. Croaker.

"Well, you know the old saying. You never really do leave your old town," said Sal. "They say you always take a piece of it with you, and sometimes that piece leads you home when you least expect it. I will say that living in Newtopia has been quite an adventure, though I hear old Hoppy is havin' an adventure himself."

"Well, let's hope it's not as dangerous as some of our past adventures," said Mrs. Croaker with a knowing look at Sal.

"Heh, well, stealing from a thieves guild sure can get the blood pumping," said Sal. "But hey, I got the money I needed for my business, and you got enough to buy your house, though I've always wondered why you never bothered moving to Newtopia? You had more than enough that you could have afforded it."

"Eh, I figured living in Newtopia would do nothing but paint a target on my back," said Mrs. Croaker. "Living in Wartwood was safer. Plus, I had enough money from our little venture that I never had to work again. I got to retire early."

"You know, I think we're the only ones left," said Sal. "Do you know if that's true?"

Mrs. Croaker took a long pause before saying, "Ewan, Marisa, Cormag… They're all gone." She hung her head as she said that.

"The guild found Cormag," continued Mrs. Croaker. "Ewan and Marisa managed to hide and remain undetected until they died of old age. They at least lived a good, long life." Sal hung his own head as he heard that.

"Did Jonah ever find you?" asked Sal in a careful tone.

"Yeah, he did, but I took care of him," said Mrs. Croaker. "I'm pretty sure he's the last one, so I won't have to worry about the guild no more now that he's gone."

"Now all we have to worry about is Andrias," said Sal, in a jovial tone.

"Heh, Andrias ain't nothing on us," said Mrs. Croaker. "We managed that big heist back in the day, so I think we can stop that no good king, even if it is only the two of us."

"Well, here's hoping we can pull off another miracle," said Sal.

---

"Wait a minute. Aren't you Grime?" asked Priscilla as she looked at the toad.

"Yeah, that's me," answered Grime, giving the newt a look.

"I remember you," said Priscilla. "I was just a young newt when I saw you fight in the Coliseum. You were one of the toughest toads ever. I thought they made you Lord of the South for that."

"They did," said Grime proudly. "I ruled over the southern region for five years."

"And then your tower got destroyed, is that right?" asked Priscilla smugly.

"Yes, it did," said Grime reluctantly, "but despite that happening, I'd like to think things have worked out for me. Sasha and I have had quite an adventure, and I wouldn't trade my time with her for anything."

"Hmm, still, I wonder if you're still as strong as you were back then," said Priscilla, looking Grime over. "How's about you and I go a few rounds? Looks like there's gonna be a lot of fighting in our future. May as well see how good we are!"

"Sure, why not?" said Grime.

Priscilla and Grime stared at each other as they got into a fighting stance. After a beat, Priscilla charged at Grime and threw punches at him. A few managed to hit, but Grime was able to block most of them. Grime responded by quickly inflating his chest and pushing Priscilla away from him. She charged again, but Grime shot out his tongue, hitting her right in the face and staggering her. Priscilla powered through and began fighting Grime again. Finally, she used her tail to sweep at Grime's feet, tripping him. Grime fell but quickly picked himself up. He leaped back, trying to put some distance between himself and Priscilla, but she seemed unfazed.

Priscilla got down on all fours and quickly ran towards Grime. The two fought some more, and Grime managed to land some hits on Priscilla. The blows didn't seem to do much damage to her, so Grime leaped up in the air, intending to stomp on her. Priscilla saw what he was trying to do and got out of the way. As Grime landed, she again swiped at him with her tail. This time, though, Grime caught it in his hands before giving her a coy smile. In the next instant, he lifted her up by her tail and swung her around twice before throwing her into a tree. Priscilla crashed hard into it. As she lifted herself, though, it was her turn to smile as she simply grabbed the tree she had slammed into and pulled it up out of the ground. Grime's face fell as he saw what she was doing. Priscilla turned around and swung it at Grime, knocking him away. Before he could get up, Priscilla ran over to him and brought her fist up to his face.

"Had enough?" she asked.

"Yeah, I have, actually," said Grime. "You win. Good fight."

Priscilla relaxed and opened her fist into a hand, helping the toad up. The two smiled.

"You know, I have to say, you still gave me quite a workout," said Priscilla. "I heard you'd gone soft, but I can see by your fighting prowess you've still got it."

"Well, I'm up to spar again," said Grime. "I haven't had a good session like that in a while."

---

"So, tell me more about how magic works in your world!" said Maddie excitedly as she followed Raine.

"I mean, there's not much more to tell," said Raine.

"Right, but how did you even get those magic bile sacs?" asked Maddie.

"We don't know for certain," said Raine, "though most witches believe it's because we evolved on the corpse of the Titan. They think being in its presence is what formed the bile sac. Witches didn't always have it, though."

"Really?" said Maddie, intrigued.

"Before we evolved bile sacs, there was another way witches did magic," explained Raine, "but no one remembers how. It was so long ago, before even the Savage Ages."

"The Savage Ages?" said Maddie, letting out a gasp. "What was that?"

"Supposedly, that was a time when wild magic reigned supreme and caused all sorts of problems and fighting," replied Raine, "then Emperor Belos came along and changed the way we did magic."

"What did he do?" asked Maddie inquisitively.

"He instituted the Coven System," began Raine. They pulled back their sleeve to show their coven brand to the frog. "This brand marks me as a member of the Bard Coven. It makes me only able to perform bard magic."

"What?" said Maddie incredulously. "That doesn't seem right. Why do witches in your world agree with that?"

"Not all witches do," said Raine. "Some refuse to join a coven, but they are considered outlaws. The Emperor makes it a point to track them down and either force them into a coven or petrify them."

"Petrify them? But surely you can cure them, right?" asked Maddie. "I mean, there's this being called the Chicka-lisk in this world. It can turn amphibians to stone, but they can be cured."

"Yes, that reminds me of something," said Raine, scratching their chin. "Someone else told me about this creature and that you are able to cure its form of petrification. They were able to tell me about some ingredients, but I wonder if you can tell me the rest."

"Oh, of course. I'd be happy to help!" said Maddie. "But first, I'm wondering if you can show me some magic."

Raine smiled. "Sure, I'll show you what I can do." With that, they made a spell circle and summoned their violin. They brought it up to their chin.

Raine began playing. They struck their violin and sent out a sharp slash that went forward and cut down a bush in front of them, then they played another melody and made some storm clouds appear around them and Maddie. Maddie looked up, amazed. Finally, Raine brought their fingers to their lips and made a loud whistle, sending a shockwave out in all directions.

"Wow, that's amazing!" said Maddie. "I thought potions and curses were cool, but that doesn't compare to what you can do!"

"And remember, I'm just a bard," said Raine. "There are nine different covens in my world. Other witches have their own specialties and can do different types of magic."

"Is there a coven for potions?" asked Maddie.

"Yes, there is," said Raine.

"That would definitely be my coven," said Maddie.

"Is it true that you were able to cure Uodeela by brewing up an elixir?" asked Raine.

"Well, Gustav helped me, but yeah, we did it together," replied Maddie. "It's funny… He said he got that cure from Amara, but she never told us where she got it."

"Wait, did you say Amara?" asked Raine.

"Yeah, she's a former student of Uodeela's, but she's not here," said Maddie.

Raine stared hard at Maddie, not saying anything in response.

---

Sasha walked through the mostly empty square of Wartwood, watching as many frogs gathered things from their houses and began taking them to the Plantars' house. The idea to move underground had been well received by the populace, and the residents, who were closer to town, had returned to gather their belongings in order to make the move as quick as possible. Sasha had helped in the evacuation effort, and now that it was winding down, she looked out over the town, making sure everyone had what they needed. She was also still thinking about that symbol she had seen inside Vincent's spell circle, or rather, the one she thought she saw, as she wasn't even sure if it was real. She didn't know why she was obsessing over it, but she thought about asking him about it later. Sasha looked over and saw Mayor Toadstool and Toadie walking out of the office with something in their hands.

"Never thought I'd see the day we'd have to use this," said Toadstool, looking at the worn helmet in his hands.

"Have we decided who we're giving it to?" asked Toadie.

"Not yet," said Toadstool, "but I reckon Emmanuel is probably the best candidate."

"What about you, sire?" asked Toadie. "You're the mayor. You should be leading us during this crisis."

"Toadie, I don't know the first thing about leading an army," said Toadstool flatly. "Heck, I barely ran this town effectively."

"Don't be ridiculous, sire. I mean, you did save the town when Toad Tower collapsed," said Toadie. "That's got to be worth something."

"Maybe," said Toadstool, "but trust me, I ain't the one to lead now. I may have fought a bit when I was younger, but Bog was right; I've gotten soft at this job. Got used to all the free kickbacks and fancy living."

Toadie and Toadstool kept walking past Sasha and toward the Plantar house. Sasha watched them go and let out a sigh. She kept walking around the empty square before sitting on the fountain. After a bit, someone came up to her.

"Hey, Sasha," called Gustav.

"Oh, hey, Gus. Ah, sorry, I mean Gustav," said Sasha.

"Actually, it's fine if you call me Gus," said Gustav. "That nickname has kind of grown on me."

"Oh, really?" asked Sasha.

"At first, I didn't like it, but I've thought about it some more and feel it's pretty cool," said Gus. "I've never had anyone call me a nickname before, so I figure it can be something that makes me unique."

"Are you sure you don't mind?" asked Sasha.

"Not at all," answered Gus.

"Well, alright… Gus," said Sasha.

"How's the moving going?" asked Gus

"I think we're doing okay," answered Sasha. "Most of the residents of the town have evacuated. I was just doing a final check to make sure."

Gustav paused before asking, "How about you? How are you doing?"

Sasha took a beat before responding, eventually saying, "Gus, can I ask you something?"

Gustav nodded his head.

"Why did you use the elixir on me?" asked Sasha.

Gustav took a long pause as he considered the question before answering, "Sasha, I wasn't about to just let you die, not when I had the power to do something about it."

"But you saw what happened to me," exclaimed Sasha. "I was possessed by some crazy… I don't even know what it was, to be honest. What if you brought me back, and he was still in control?"

"I suppose that was a risk when I used the elixir on you," said Gustav, "but I felt it was worth it."

"Why?" asked Sasha.

"Sasha," began Gustav, "I know you've done things you aren't proud of, but even so, I remember how you were nice to me. You encouraged me to try training, even when I wasn't good at it. You stood up to Grime on my behalf. Honestly, in some ways, you remind me of Luz."

Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about that, but she eventually smiled.

Gustav continued, "I think I said this before, but being nice suits you better than being aggressive all the time. I don't regret giving you the elixir at all, not after seeing how much you've changed and how you were willing to kill yourself in order to prevent whoever that was from hurting us. You're not the same Sasha from before, and if anyone deserves another chance at life, it's you."

Sasha teared up hearing him say that. After a few moments, she leaned forward and hugged Gus. The toad returned the hug, stroking her back as he did.

As they separated, Sasha spoke, "You know, I never could understand why Anne liked that annoying frog so much. I thought he was just a slimy little pipsqueak, but I think… I think I finally understand why Anne cares about him."

As this was happening, Uodeela landed next to them. She let out a small screech before showing her notepad. Honestly, I feel Gustav is being too nice regarding you, Sasha. I'm still mad at you.

Sasha read the note and gulped. Uodeela wrote some more. But I have to admit that if it weren't for you, I'd likely still be stuck as a mindless heron. So even though you're the reason I was in that state, I am grateful to have my mind back.

"Thanks… I think," said Sasha to Uodeela.

Uodeela did her best to smile before writing again. Still getting used to this new smaller heron form. Not quite as powerful as when I was a huge heron, but I do appreciate being more nimble. I can still fly, though not as long as I could, and my eyes are still more powerful. I still have telescopic vision and can see in the dark. That's how I was able to find Lilly the other night.

"I'm just glad you have your mind back, master," said Gus. "Do you remember anything from when you were stuck as the Red Heron?"

Bits and pieces, but it's all a blur, wrote Uodeela. The last concrete memory I have is the conversation I had with Luz right before I transformed. After that, I think I ate a few toads. I felt a strong surge of anger when I was eating one particular toad, almost as though I wanted to make her suffer.

"Yeah, you ate Fens," said Gus plainly.

Ugghh, I bet she tasted terrible, wrote Uodeela. I think I was also at Newtopia at some point.

"You were," said Sasha. "That was right before all that stuff with Andrias happened."

I see, wrote Uodeela. Still, I'm glad to hear that Luz was able to make it home. I know you'd like for your friends to return, but it would be a lot safer for them if they didn't.

Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about that. While she did agree with what Uodeela said, she also would have given anything to see Anne and Luz again, especially so she could apologize to them for what she had done. So much had happened since that day many months ago in the King's Palace, and while Sasha had done her best to try to keep a handle on things in Amphibia, the fact that she had parted on bad terms with both Anne and Luz weighed heavily on her mind.

"Hey, Teach," began Gustav, "what do you think about those witches and how they can do magic?"

Uodeela cocked her head before writing on her pad. I've seen a lot in my time, but I've never seen anything like them. I'm very concerned about the fact that Andrias had their bile drained and what he intends to do with it, though I am glad they're on our side now.

Uodeela was about to take off before she remembered something, asking Gustav a question. Hey, can you show me the other form of magic you learned?

"Sure," said Gustav. He took the notepad from Uodeela and drew out three different glyphs on three pieces of paper. He tapped them, causing an orb of light to appear, followed by a burst of wind, and then a small splash of water.

Uodeela and Sasha looked at the spells with intrigue before writing. That is certainly fascinating! A way to do magic that doesn't require a gem. I've never heard of anything like this before. And you just found these glyphs?

"Sort of," answered Gustav. "I heard from Maddie and Luz that they found the wind glyph in some leaves. I found the water glyph in a puddle left over from when Lilly was training with magic. I'm not sure where the light glyph came from."

"Hey, uh, do you think I could try something?" asked Sasha.

"Sure," said Gustav. Sasha reached out her hand, asking for the pad and paper.

"I've seen these glyphs do different things," said Sasha. "How do you get it to make something you want?"

"You just have to imagine it in your head," said Gustav. "Before you activate the glyph, think of what you want it to do."

Sasha drew the light glyph on the paper but didn't immediately tap it. Instead, Sasha drew out her sword and brought the paper up to the sword at the point where the blade met the hilt. She paused for a second before tapping the glyph. In the next instant, instead of forming an orb of light, her sword began to glow. The glyph activated and covered her sword in a bright golden glow, making the blade look as though it were made of light! Gustav and Uodeela both let out a gasp!

"Whoa, that's amazing!" exclaimed Gustav.

Sasha took the sword in her hand and swung it a few times. At first, nothing happened, but Sasha eventually concentrated and focused on a fence in front of her. She swung the sword again, and this time, a beam of light shot out of it in the direction she swung. The beam went straight forward into the fence and sliced clean through it. Sasha's face widened into a smile as she saw that. She looked over at Gustav and Uodeela, who were both grinning as well.

---

Bella put down the spear she was training with. She had picked one up from the weapon pile that Lilly had brought up and had started practicing a few moves with it to get herself more familiar with the weapon. She found it similar to using a broom, something she had used a lot of at the hotel. She had decided to take a break from training, and the frog she was practicing with decided to strike

"So, you and Amara were friends?" asked Lilly as she looked into the newt's face.

"Yeah, we'd been hanging out for a few weeks before all that stuff in Newtopia happened," answered Bella. "She told me about you and Gustav. It's nice to finally meet you in person."

"Same," said Lilly, shaking the newt's hand. "I hope she's doing okay in Luz's world."

"Yeah, me too," said Bella, "but I hope she'll find a way back."

"If Luz, Anne, and the others can't make it back on their own, then I suppose our only recourse will be to defeat Andrias ourselves and get control of the box. Then we can go to Luz's world and find them," said Lilly.

"That sounds impossible," said Bella.

"It may seem that way, but we have to try," said Lilly. "In any case, we have to find some way to make it back to the palace. There are still two prisoners in there who need to be rescued."

"You'll find a way to free them," said Bella, trying to assure Lilly. "I know you will."

"Thanks," said Lilly. She looked out over the army that was training in the field.

"I have to say, I'm impressed with how your dad was able to get so many frogs to join his cause," said Bella. "I hope once all this is over, we can do something to make Amphibia a better place for all."

Lilly looked at Bella. "Thank you. I'm glad to hear you say that. It means a lot coming from a newt."

Bella was slightly taken aback by that statement, but replied, "Do you think that everything is fine in Newtopia?"

"I guess?" replied Lilly. "Honestly, I've never been to the city before the Toad Rebellion."

"Then you probably didn't know, but it's not exactly a 'perfect city' as you might think," said Bella.

"Really?" said Lilly.

"Yeah, trust me, the city has plenty of its own problems, not the least of which is student loans. The city may look nice, but only if you're an elite newt," said Bella.

"Elite newt?" said Lilly, confused. "I thought all the newts were elite."

Bella let out a laugh. "Ah, sorry, no, it doesn't work that way. Among newts, there are a few families at the top who control basically everything. Below that are a few more families who have a little less money but are still rich, and after that is basically everyone else. I'd say about 98% of the newts in Newtopia are just regular newts that live regular lives."

"Oh… Really?" said Lilly as she processed this, not sure what to say. Bella seemed to pick up on this.

"I used to work as a bellhop at a hotel in Newtopia," said Bella. "I had to take out loans to go to Newtopia University. I barely made enough to survive and had to move in with my mom to save money."

"Oh, wow, that sounds rough," said Lilly. "It's so weird to hear you say that, 'cause I thought life was easy for newts, especially in the city."

"I suppose it can be a bit easier if you're a newt," admitted Bella. "The thing is… well, how do I explain this? Those elite newts I told you about try to get it into the heads of other newts that they are the superior species. Even if most newts don't have a lot of money, the elite newts still tell them, 'You're still better than the frogs and the toads. It doesn't matter that you don't have money, and many of you work jobs you hate. You're still naturally smarter and stronger than either of the other two species.'"

"Whoa, that's… I don't know what to say to that," said Lilly in a heavy voice.

"The ironic part is that some newts get swept up in that idea and think that just because they're newts, they truly are superior to other species. The whole thing is so manipulative!" said Bella, a hint of anger in her voice. "I've seen so many newts who are poor and work minimum-wage jobs shout and complain that the reason they're poor is because of the frogs and toads."

"Why do they blame them?" asked Lilly.

"Because elite newts tell them that's whose fault it is," said Bella, "and they don't bother to think about or investigate that statement themselves. The fact that all those taxes Newtopia collects don't really go to help regular families never seems to cross their minds. Instead, they think of the elites as better than them and feel they should be worshipped and adored. They accept whatever the elites tell them as true."

"Dang, I had no idea," said Lilly. She paused before adding, "It's so weird. Usually, I get defensive over people thinking all frogs are peasants, and well, I just assumed all newts were elites, so I guess I made an incorrect assumption about you. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Bella casually. "I'm just glad that we may finally have a chance to change the system. For so long, I've felt so trapped and beaten down just going through the daily grind, but now I can be part of a resistance to help change things."

"We're glad to have you," said Lilly, "and I'm glad to have another newt friend."

"Oh, hey, so you knew Amara pretty well, right?" asked Bella.

"Yeah, I'd say so," said Lilly.

"Cool, so, uh, just wondering…" began Bella in a nonchalant tone. "You wouldn't happen to know if she's seeing anyone, would you?"

"Not that I'm aware of," answered Lilly. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," said Bella quickly.

---

Vincent moved another chunk of Earth out of the way, creating another path. He made another spell circle and formed some of the dirt into a pillar, placing it near the wall of the main room.

"Got to make sure we reinforce these tunnels so they don't collapse," he said.

"I found another room," said Alyssa, as she returned from another tunnel.

"I think we have enough space in the main room," said Vincent. "Now we just need to work on making a network of tunnels under the town."

"I can't thank you enough for doing this," said Emmanuel. "I wish I could give you something more than just the promise of returning home."

"Well, you are trying to overthrow Andrias," said Alyssa. "Perhaps you can let us have the first crack at him. Give us a chance to pay him back for all he's done to us."

"I'd be fine with that," said Vincent as he moved more dirt around, "but honestly, getting home is good enough. I hope our children aren't too worried about us."

"I'm sure your kids will be happy to see you again," said Emmanuel. "How old are they?"

"They're both fourteen," said Alyssa. "They just started at Hexside. We left them with my dad before we set off on our little journey, though we had no idea we'd be gone so long. My father must also be worried about me."

"Your dad is a good man," said Vincent. "I'm sure he'll look after them until we return. We'll owe him big time, for sure. I suppose I could do some work on the farm for him."

"Oh? You have a farm?" said Emmanuel, intrigued.

"Well, it's my dad's," replied Alyssa. "I lived there growing up. It was very nice and peaceful, and getting up to watch the sunrise was always a treat. We grew all manner of fruits and vegetables and even raised a few griffons for their eggs."

"Most frogs in the valley are farmers," said Emmanuel. "I know quite a few of them. Farming is such a big part of the valley's way of life, though it's also hard work."

Vincent was about to reply before he looked up. After a beat, he ran over to a lower part of the tunnel and made a spell circle, putting his hand up to the ceiling. He began to get nervous as the seconds ticked by. Alyssa and Emmanuel looked at each other, concerned.

"Dear, is something wrong?" asked Alyssa.

"Something is coming," said Vincent nervously. "I can feel it in the ground. A large group is marching toward the town."

"What sort of large group could be coming?" asked Alyssa.

"Oh, no…" said Emmanuel breathlessly as he realized what it likely was. "We have to assemble the troops!"

---

"Alright, troops, you know the drill," proclaimed Bog to the toads, who were assembled just outside of Wartwood. "Kill the frogs and take what we want. Andrias has assured me that Luz isn't here anymore, so we won't have to worry about her."

The toads let out a cheer at that.

"Cloak-bot has gone ahead to find those specimens the King wants. Once he's given word that he has them, we can march in without worrying about accidentally killing them," said Bog.

He was about to continue when his troops suddenly cowered in fear, all of them looking up at the sky.

"What's going on?" asked Bog.

"Sorry, I thought I saw a large bird in the sky," said one toad.

"I thought it was the Red Heron," said another. "It sure looked like her."

Bog turned around and did indeed see something flying in the sky. He didn't get a good look at it before it flew away back toward the town.

"That was no heron," said Bog dismissively. "It was much too small. Probably a sparrow or hummingbird."

"But it was red!" said another toad fearfully.

"Then maybe it was a cardinal," growled Bog. "Enough lollygagging. We attack as soon as Cloak-bot gets back with the prisoners."

---

Vincent, Alyssa, and Emmanuel raced out of the Plantars' house. Emmanuel went to find the frog army, while Vincent and Alyssa ran towards the town. Wartwood had just come into view when Vincent felt something grab him, though he couldn't see what it was. Vincent made a spell circle and lifted some mud from the ground. He quickly threw it at where he thought his foe was covering, revealing the same Cloak-bot that had captured them the first time. Alyssa let out a scream as she saw that horrible figure again. Vincent made another spell circle and threw a boulder at the robot, striking it and making it drop him. He stumbled over to his wife, the Cloak-bot following.

The Cloak-bot raised its arm and slashed at the two, only for Alyssa to bring up a magic shield just in time. It slashed again, but couldn't break through the magical barrier. It was about to try a third time before a slash of air hit it, causing it to stumble and turn around. Raine and Maddie had appeared, and the former launched another air slash at the robot, hitting it again. Maddie rushed forward and launched a fire curse at it, but the fire didn't affect it much. The Cloak-bot came forward and focused on Raine and Maddie instead.

Maddie launched another curse at the Cloak-bot, but it dodged and launched its arm at her, knocking her down. Raine played on their violin, causing clouds to appear above the group. The clouds began generating lighting that stuck all over the area, though Cloak-bot managed to dodge most of the strikes. One did hit him, though it barely seemed to do any damage. Cloak-bot lunged forward at Raine, forcing them to drop their violin. Raine rolled to pick it up, but Cloak-bot managed to grab them and wrap its arm around them, preventing them from moving. Raine struggled against the Cloak-bot, trying to break free.

At that moment, Alyssa and Vincent crashed into it. Alyssa had encased herself and her husband in a barrier and charged straight at it. The Cloak-bot transformed its hand into an axe and slammed it against the barrier, trying to break it. On the third attempt, the barrier fell, knocking the two witches to the ground. Cloak-bot wrapped its other arm around them, bringing them close to its body to join Raine.

"Targets acquired," it said in its synthesized voice as it looked at all three witches.

In the next moment, two swords slashed at its arms, and they instantly fell, causing the Cloak-bot to let out a synthesized screech of pain. Again, the two swords slashed, and the witches were freed. They looked up and saw Sasha and Lilly standing nearby with a determined expression on their faces. The two glanced at each other, nodding their heads before attacking Cloak-bot again. Cloak-bot tried to defend itself but without arms. There was little it could do. The two slashed at its chest, causing it to stagger backward. Cloak-bot tried firing lasers from its eyes at the two, but they rolled out of the way. Lilly brought up her hand and sent out a stream of water, pushing the Cloak-bot back. Vincent made a spell circle and lifted a rock from the ground, hurling it straight at the Cloak-bot, smashing it against its chest. The robot fired another laser at Alyssa, but she made a spell circle and formed a reflecting barrier. The laser hit the barrier and bounced straight back at the robot, damaging it. Finally, Raine came forward, giving the damaged Cloak-bot a fierce look. They made another slicing motion on their violin and launched a magic slash that hit the Cloak bot's head, separating it from its body and finally destroying it for good!

---

"That robot's been taking forever," growled Bog to himself. He was getting nervous. He looked over at the town, and even from far away, he could see that it was strangely empty. However, he saw a figure approaching out of the town towards where his army was gathered. As the figure came closer, he finally recognized it.

"Grime!" yelled Bog. "What are you doing here?! This is my mission! I'm here on order from the King."

"I'm not here as part of your mission," said Grime. "In fact, I'm here to tell you to call this off!"

Bog stared at Grime before letting out a laugh. "Call it off? And here I thought you couldn't tell a joke. Why, in Frog's name, should I call it off?"

"Because if you don't, I'll beat your ass and make you leave!" said Grime with conviction.

Bog was utterly stunned by that comment. He took a beat before responding, "You're siding with the frogs? You've spent the better part of your reign as Lord, doing everything you can to make those frogs pay their taxes, and now you're defending them?"

"Yes, I am," said Grime, raising his hammer to show how serious he was.

Bog and the toads let out a long laugh at this. Finally, Bog replied, "You may have Barrel's Hammer, but that won't be enough to stop all of us."

"Yeah, you're right," replied Grime, pausing before adding, "Good thing I'm not alone."

As he said that, more figures appeared beside him: Sasha, Emmanuel, Lilly, Raine, Vincent, Alyssa, and Uodeela. Behind them, the citizens of Wartwood and many more frogs appeared, all of them holding weapons. They glared at Bog and his army of toads.

"Ha! I ain't scared of you!" said Bog. "My toads are stronger than your pathetic frogs, and honestly, it's not even the frogs I'm here for. Andrias just wants those witch creatures, so tell ya what. Why don't you hand 'em over, and I'll leave you alone? Besides, you may not know, but Andrias has a fierce-looking robot looking for them. Best hand 'em over to me before that robot hunts them down."

"Do you mean this robot?" asked Sasha, stepping forward and throwing something at Bog. Bog looked down and saw that Sasha had thrown the head of the Cloak-bot at him. He looked back up at Grime, trying not to show his surprise.

"If you want the witches, come and take them!" said Lilly, drawing her sword and lighting up her eyes.

Bog tried not to show any fear in his face as he raised his hammer and signaled for his army to charge forward. The toads let out a yell and rushed to engage the frogs. Lilly repeated the gesture, signaling the frogs to attack. The two armies moved closer to each other, and the battle began!

The toads charged into battle, convinced they had the upper hand against the weaker frogs, but as the battle progressed, it soon became clear that the toads were outnumbered. The frogs might have been small, but they ganged up against the toads, overwhelming them. Five frogs overpowered one toad, and there was nothing it could do to stop them. The Frog Army had kept up its training since leaving Newtopia, and they were more experienced than they were before at fighting toads. The toads had a brief advantage at first due to their strength, but it soon vanished as Lilly, Sasha, and the witches helped to turn the tide even more against the toads. Uodeela joined in the fighting too, letting out a screech in her heron form and swooping down to claw at the toads and send them scurrying.

Percy and Braddock joined in as well, Percy holding a large pair of cymbals that he crashed together near a toad. The noise stunned him and allowed Braddock to move in and finish him off. He repeated the action with another toad again, stunning him with a cymbal crash. Priscilla joined the fray, letting out a loud and boastful laugh. She plowed through several toads as if they were nothing and used her tail to swipe at several more. From atop her shoulder, her daughter cheered her on! Bella joined the fight as well. She didn't consider herself much of a fighter, but she had grabbed a spear from the weapons room underground and briefly practiced with it. She proved to be quite adept, as she used its shaft to block incoming attacks and its tip to keep the toads away from her.

The citizens of Wartwood also joined in. Felicia and Ivy used their kung fu skills against the toads, while Maddie used curses and glyphs to fight against them. Mrs. Croaker and Sal teamed up and fought together using canes. Mayor Toadstool used his strength to bash the toads, though as he was fighting, he got stabbed in the leg by a toad. Toadstool shook off the blow and bashed the offending toad. Toadie came up to him to check that he was alright.

"Sire, are you alright?" asked Toadie, concerned.

"Ha! That ain't nothing but a flesh wound, Toadie. I'm fine," declared the mayor as he stood up to attack another toad. He was again not paying attention and got stabbed in his other leg, though again he shook it off and kept fighting. Toadie came to his side and helped him. At one point, Mayor Toadstool picked up Toadie and hurled him at another toad, knocking that toad out.

Lilly fought one toad, quickly dispatching him before moving on to another. This toad was more formidable, but Lilly again was able to find an opening and strike her. More toads approached her, surrounding her, and Lilly's eyes lit up as she summoned a windstorm around her. She let the windstorm grow in intensity before she expelled the wind in all directions, blowing the toads around her away. The spell left her tired, and she didn't notice the one toad who snuck up behind her and was about to bring a club down on her, but before that could happen, Grime appeared and knocked the toad away with his hammer. Lilly heard the noise and turned around, seeing Grime behind her but also seeing the other toad he had defended her from, knowing instantly what had happened. Grime gave an awkward smile to Lilly, who didn't respond, though eventually she did say.

"Thank you, Grime."

Grime accepted the thanks and leaped back into the fray. He began fighting Mire, the armored toad brandishing an axe.

"Ha! You never were much of a talkative type, were you, Mire?" taunted Grime as he dodged the toad's swings. Mire didn't respond and kept trying to hit Grime.

"That's alright. I can hold a conversation all by myself," continued Grime. "Do you know how powerful this hammer is?"

Mire didn't respond but kept wildly swinging at Grime.

"Legend says that Barrel designed his hammer to have so much power that it could smash through any kind of armor," continued Grime.

For a second, Mire stopped attacking as he heard what Grime had said.

"I suppose it's time I try the highest setting on here," snicked Grime. With that, he powered up the hammer and rushed forward toward Mire. The toad brought up his axe and swung it at Grime, missing him by an inch. Grime took the opportunity and swung his hammer straight down at Mire's head, smashing through his helm and straight into his head, causing Mire to let out a scream as he fell to the force of Grime's strike.

Bog and Emmanuel fought as he tried to turn the tide back in the toads' favor, but all around him, the frogs were defeating the toads with ease. Emmanuel slashed at Bog, but Bog backed out of the way. He brought out his hammer and tried to squash the frog leader, but Emmanuel leaped out of the way. He jumped into the air and tried to strike Bog from above, but Bog saw him and dodged the attack. Emmanuel stuck at Bog again, but the toad brought up his hammer and blocked the attack. He pushed the frog down and brought up his hammer, and in two quick moves, he slammed it down on the frog's legs, shattering the bones in them and causing Emmanuel to let out a loud scream. Bog prepared to strike the frog again, but before he could, Sasha came up to him and blocked his strike.

"Sasha!" growled Bog. "Since when did you care what happened to these slimy frogs?"

"They're not slimy frogs," said Sasha. "They're my friends."

"Bah! You and Grime have gone soft!" shouted Bog as he swung at Sasha again. "I never liked you, anyway. Always thought Grime made a mistake by appointing you as his second. That is a nice scar you have on your face. Where did you get that?"

Bog's question rattled Sasha, but she kept up her attack, trying to force him away from Emmanuel. As she did, Lilly noticed what was happening and came over to help. She used her magic to conjure a gust of wind in her hand and directed it at Bog, blowing him away. Lilly came up to her father. Alyssa saw what was happening and ran after them, though she didn't get far before Uodeela came up to her and grabbed her in her talons, lifting her up and flying her to where Lilly and her father were. Lilly landed far away from the battle and looked down at her injured father.

"Dad, are you alright?" asked Lilly, concerned.

"Ahhh! My legs are broken!" said Emmanuel.

"Hang on, I can help get that patched up," said Lilly, looking through her bag for the proper bandages.

"Don't worry, I can help," said Alyssa, as Uodeela gently dropped her near them. She came over to Emmanuel and made a spell circle, running it over his legs. Emmanuel felt the pain in his legs fade. They weren't completely healed, but it did seem to subside.

"Thank you," said Emmanuel to Alyssa.

"Your bones are still broken," said Alyssa to the frog. "Healing magic is powerful, but it might take time for your leg to fully heal."

"That's fine. Whatever you're doing is working," said the frog.

"Dad, are you sure you're okay?" asked Lilly.

"I'll be fine," said Emmanuel to his daughter.

"I'll look after him," said Alyssa to Lilly

Uodeela let out a screech and nodded her head to assure her as well.

"Thank you," said Lilly. With that, she gave a nod to the three of them and jumped into the air, back to the battle. Lilly landed next to Sasha, and the two gave each other a nod before they resumed the battle, fighting together.

---

As Bog recovered from the air blast, he looked over at the battle and quickly realized it wasn't going well. His troops were being overpowered by the frogs and their allies; his toads were quickly losing ground and had so far been unable to capture the creatures that Andrias had desired. He was still trying to think of what to do when a frobot came up to him and focused its eyes, bringing up the screen with Andrias on it.

"What's new, Captain Bog?" he asked in a jovial voice. "How's the subjugation of Wartwood going?"

"Uh, great!" lied Bog. "Yeah, everything is under control over here!"

No sooner had he said this than the frobot turned around, allowing Andrias to see for himself the battle that was taking place. He watched as the frogs seemed to easily overpower the toads and send them running. He saw Lilly using her magic to turn the tables on them, saw Sasha fighting with her swords, having used a light glyph to enhance her sword, and even saw Uodeela in her small heron form chasing toads away. Priscilla was fighting a group of toads all by herself, and although one managed to stab her in her leg, she wasn't slowed down by the wound in the least and kept fighting. Another stabbed her in her other leg, but again she shook it off as though it were nothing. The frobot turned back towards Bog, with Andrias no longer smiling.

"Okay, so we've had a bit of trouble, but I assure you, it's nothing I can't handle," pleaded Bog.

"I make you a Toad Lord, and you can't even handle one simple town?!" yelled Andrias in outrage. "What happened to Cloak-bot? Why hasn't it captured the witches?"

"The frogs destroyed it," said Bog, "but we're working on bringing the witches to you."

"Doesn't look like you're trying very hard!" yelled Andrias. Bog simply made a sheepish noise and shrugged his shoulders, trying not to appear too guilty. Andrias slapped his face in frustration. He looked once more at the losing battle and decided that he needed to take drastic action to clean up this mess.

"Call back your troops!" commanded Andrias, his voice dripping with rage. "I'll take care of this myself and will deal with your failure later!"

Bog gulped at that statement. Andrias continued, "You have five minutes to retreat. I wouldn't waste any time."

With that, Andrias ended the transmission and turned to manage the controls of his castle. He slowly began to move the castle into position so he could fire on the town.

"Olms have mercy," growled Andrias. "Between Cloak-bot and Bog's failure, I can't seem to find any good help! I really didn't want to kill those witches, but if I can't secure them, then they'll just be a liability."

Back on the ground at the battle, Bog blew a loud horn and made a motion with his hand to the toads, signalling the toads to retreat. The toads saw the signal and fell back. The frogs pursued them for a bit, but once they left the town, they stopped chasing them and watched as the toads fled. The frogs let out a cheer of victory at seeing the toads flee. Lilly raised up her sword in triumph, as did Sasha, both of them letting out a victorious shout, but Grime felt uneasy about how quickly the toads had left. Something about that didn't feel right.

"Something's wrong," said Grime to the others.

"What do you mean?" asked Lilly.

"We were winning!" exclaimed Sasha. "The toads got scared and ran away."

"Toads don't generally retreat like that unless there's a specific reason," said Grime. "I know Bog; he's the kind of toad who would fight to the last man rather than retreat."

The frogs looked at each other, hearing Grime's words and wondering if they were true. As they thought about why Bog had fled, a familiar object in the sky seemed to get closer. Grime looked up at the castle, realization dawning on him.

"EVERYONE, RETREAT NOW!" commanded Grime nervously. "The King is going to fire on us!"

The frogs let out a gasp and quickly began scattering in all directions. Some were confused as to what was going on and simply stood there. Grime, Sasha, Lilly, Uodeela, and Vincent came together and tried to flee in the same direction. The frog army was massive, and there was no way that all of them could get away. Some leaped as far as they could to try to increase the distance. Mayor Toadstool saw that some weren't able to move fast enough and grabbed them, throwing them onto his back as he tried to carry them away from the blast, though at that point his injuries from the battle had caught up to him and he stumbled to his knees under the weight. Toadstool glanced back one more time and saw the castle fully in view of Wartwood. He closed his eyes and made a decision.

"Everyone brace yourselves," called Toadstool to the frogs on his back, "I'm gonna throw you as far as I can."

Toadstool took a deep breath, summoning as much strength as he could, before heaving the group of frogs on his back as far as he could. After which he fell down in the dirt. Toadie had seen what happened and rushed up to the mayor.

"Sire!" he called desperately, "get up, we have to get out of here before it's too late."

"Toad knows I've been a corrupt mayor, but at least I was able to save a few lives," said the mayor in a tired breathless voice, "hurry save yourself."

Toadie looked up at the sky and could see a brief glint on the king's castle.

"No, you can't quit now!" begged Toadie as he pulled at the Mayor's arm trying in vain to pull him along.

"Toadie, leave me, this is what I deserve, save yourself," pleaded the mayor.

"No," said Toadie firmly, "if you chose to stay then I will to."

"Toadie," said Toadstool. Toadie put his arms around the mayor in a show of support causing the mayor to smile. He looked up at the castle and saw a blue light rapidly heading towards them. He and Toadie both closed their eyes and held onto each other.

While this was going on Vincent called the others over to him and made a spell circle. He slammed it into the ground and made a path into the ground that Sasha, Grime, Uodeela, and Lilly joined him on. Right as he did, there was a terrible sound and a flash of light. Above them, the cannon blasted the area the frogs had been standing in. While some had managed to escape, many didn't and were instantly vaporized.

Down on the ground, the group held onto each other as the cannon fired. They were all shaken up by the tremendous force of the blast and unsure of what to do. After regaining his composure, Vincent made another spell circle and began clearing more dirt away.

"There's a tunnel not far from here," he said to the others, putting his hand up against a wall. "I think it connects to that series of tunnels I found under that house. Let's make our way there." The others nodded, and Vincent began clearing a path for them. As he did Sasha looked again at the spell circles he was creating, she was convinced there was some sort of symbol inside them and was puzzled as to why no one else seemed to notice it, but she decided not to bother him about it now and wait until things had calmed down.

---

Several hours later, they had regrouped in the tunnels under the Plantars' house and tried to take stock of what had happened. The mood was grim, as they weren't sure how they were going to recover from this. Lilly and Uodeela returned underground, having gone up to survey the damage and check the casualties. Lilly was sad to report that a great number from the frog army had been lost in the blast, she estimated at least half. Uodeela confirmed this assessment and also reported that of the Wartwood citizens, Mayor Toadstool and Toadie had not survived. Lilly confirmed that Priscilla had also been lost, though they had at least found her daughter. Pearl told them about how her mother had tried to run away to escape the blast but her injuries to her legs had slowed her down. When it became obvious that they wouldn't both escape Pricilla had hurled her daughter as far as she could. Uodeela and Lilly had thankfully found her, they also confirmed that the town had been destroyed in the blast and was now in ruins. Raine and many other Wartwood citizens had managed to escape the blast on their own and were thankfully okay. Once she was done giving her report, she went to check on her dad.

Alyssa was still with him and put him in a bed, trying to make him comfortable. She had done a few healing sessions with him, but had not been able to fully mend his broken bones.

"I think with enough time, I can heal him," said Alyssa as Lilly approached.

"Lilly," said her father, "what happened? I saw a flash in the sky and heard an explosion. Was that the king's weapon?"

"Yes, it was," replied Lilly. "Andrias fired on us. We're still taking stock of what happened, but I think we've lost at least half of the resistance army." She hung her head as she said that. Emmanuel absorbed what she told him.

Lilly continued, "The remains of the army are still with us, and we've relocated to the underground tunnels for the time being. Wartwood was completely destroyed in the blast."

"I see…" said her father wearily. "Andrias is much more powerful than we could have predicted."

"Don't worry, you'll think of something. I'm sure you will," said Lilly. Emmanuel took a long pause before looking into his daughter's eyes and speaking.

"No, not me. You."

Lilly was stunned and was not sure what to say. Her father continued.

"I helped form the resistance with Uodeela and have been leading it for a good chunk of my life, but now I've been injured and will need time to recover. I can't lead the resistance effectively like this. Besides, I never could have planned to fight against the technology Andrias has access to. I should have realized he would use that cannon against us. I saw him blast the North Tower, but I didn't account for that cannon in our battle today. If not for Grime warning us, I imagine we all would have been killed. I think it's time for someone younger to lead the resistance."

"But, Dad, I failed," said Lilly, hanging her head. "I wasn't able to free Amity or Marcy from Andrias. I'm no leader."

"Nonsense," said Emmanuel, "you are the chosen wielder of the Masamune. You led the charge at the battle of Newtopia, you saved us from Uodeela, and you saved those witches not once but twice. Sir Glenn himself told you that you have great strength within you. Lilly, you've grown so much since you began training. You're ready for this."

As he was speaking, Emmanuel reached behind him, pulled out a dented bronze helmet, and handed it to Lilly.

"Toadstool told me about this. It's Wartwood's battle helmet," said the frog. "He said that during times of war, the town appoints a leader and gives them this helm, signifying them as the leader. He was going to give it to me, but now I'm giving it to you." Emmanuel passed the helmet to Lilly.

"Dad…" said Lilly as she accepted the helmet, still unsure of what to say. She turned it over in her hands several times, trying to decide what to do.

---

Back in the main tunnel, Raine, Gustav, Sasha, and Bella were tending to the wounded, trying to help patch them up as best they could. Raine played a song on their violin, trying to calm those who were suffering. Their melody did have a soothing effect and made it easier to treat the wounded soldiers. Sasha, Gustav, and Bella helped as best they could, wrapping bandages and treating wounds.

"We sure were lucky Vincent got us underground," said Sasha. "I should have known Andrias wouldn't hesitate to use that laser against us."

"That weapon is so terrifying," said Raine. "Has the king always used that to keep order in this land?"

"No, he hasn't," said Bella. "In fact, none of us even knew he had something like that until recently."

"I don't think he wanted to use it on us," said Gustav, "at least not at first. Otherwise, why would he have bothered sending in Bog?"

"I bet he wanted to recapture us," said Raine. "That's why he sent that Cloak-bot after us again."

"I'm glad we destroyed it then," said Sasha.

"Yes, thank you for that," said Raine to Sasha. As they said that, they looked into her face. "Oh, what happened to your face?" Sasha turned away, causing Raine to feel bad for asking.

"Ah, I'm sorry," said Raine. "If it's personal, I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's fine," said Sasha. "It's a little complicated. I got possessed by something, I'm not even sure what, then I attacked my friends, then I…" She hesitated, not wanting to say the next part.

"Then, uh, I gave Sasha a special elixir that cured her of the possession," said Gustav quickly. "She was back to her old self, but for some reason, she had that scar across her eye. We've tried a few healing potions to get rid of it, but they didn't work."

"Hmm…" said Raine, looking intently at the scar. "I've heard of a few curses involving possession in my world, though I haven't heard of any that leave a scar like that."

"I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually," began Sasha, "Grime says I should wear my scar proudly as a mark of battle, not sure if I'm at that stage yet, but maybe one day I will be."

"You're a human right?" asked Raine.

"Yeah," answered Sasha she stared for a bit at Raine, "I know you said you're a different species but you look so much like a human. It's a bit comforting actually. Even if you aren't human it's nice to have someone that…. feels a little familiar."

"We know a bit about humans in the Demon Realm," said Raine, "but we haven't seen a human in ages. Not all witches look like me, some have a more demonish appearance. I think I might have even seen one or two frog demons in the past."

"That world of yours sounds interesting," said Sasha, "I honestly wouldn't mind visiting it at some point."

"Well our world is not for the faint of heart," said Raine, "but I wouldn't mind showing you around, I have…. an old friend…. who has a certain fascination with humans. I'm sure she'd be interested in meeting you."

"Cool," said Sasha, she took a pause before asking, "Hey uh Raine, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," answered Raine.

Again Sasha paused before asking, "Can I hug you?"

Raine was a bit taken aback by the question but replied, "Of course." Sasha came up to Raine and threw her arms around her, Raine hugged Sasha back gently stroking the young girl's hair. Sasha let herself enjoy the moment, the hug reminding her of her mother. Raine let Sasha hug her as long as she wanted hoping the action would help comfort the girl. The two did eventually separate and looked into each other's eyes, both smiling.

---

While this was going on Lilly walked into the hall, wearing the bronze helmet of authority. She drew the attention of many of the frogs, some from Wartwood knew what the helm was and what it signified, while others from different towns still guessed as to why the young frog was wearing the helm The crowd became silent as they watched her enter. Lilly walked up to address the group.

"My father was injured in the battle," she began. "He told me that he was going to accept this helm, which is used to signify a leader during times of war. I would have liked for my father to accept it, as he has spent years leading the frog rebellion and has the wisdom and expertise to lead us in this time of crisis."

She took a pause before continuing, "But my father felt that in his current state, he wasn't in a position to assume leadership and instead asked me if I would."

She paused again before lifting her face and looking into the eyes of the frog army, the people of Wartwood, and the others who had joined them.

"I was hesitant to do so at first, as I felt I wasn't worthy of such a responsibility, and to be perfectly honest, I'm still not sure if I am. But my father thinks I can do it, and so I will at least try. I know we've all lost a lot today, and our lives have been changed in unbelievable ways, but I promise to do the best I can to lead you to victory over Andrias's tyranny."

"He can blast us from anywhere!" exclaimed a frog in the crowd. "How can we possibly defend against that?"

"There's no way we can attack his castle," said another. "What hope do we have against him?"

"We lost half of the frog army!" declared a resistance soldier.

"Listen, everyone!" said Lilly, trying to get their attention. "I understand your concerns. They are valid, and we will need to address them moving forward, but I would like to say this! Andrias thought he would only need Bog and his toads to defeat us, and we won the battle against him! The only reason Andrias used that laser cannon was because we had all but beaten Bog. That means we are a lot stronger than he thinks we are!"

The frogs in the hall looked at each other as they considered what she had said.

"The fact that Andrias even saw us as a threat at all means that he was afraid of us," said Lilly with conviction, "and you know what he should be. Because we are going to take him down! We have lost a lot today, but what we haven't lost is our resolve! We will use that resolve to form a new resistance against Andrias, one that will eventually succeed in bringing an end to his reign!"

The frogs looked a little more hopeful at hearing Lilly say this. Lilly could feel their excitement in the air. It gave her the confidence to speak more boldly.

"For years, we've suffered under the toads' oppression, and we didn't break," continued Lilly. "Many of us have lost friends and family to their cruelty, cruelty that may have been committed at their hands but was ultimately authorized by Andrias. For all these years, we paid our taxes to him and never got anything in return, but even that was not enough for Andrias. Despite the frogs coming together and playing a huge part in stopping the toads' rebellion against him, Andrias showed no appreciation or gratitude to us for that. Instead, he sent Bog to attack us for no reason, and when that failed, he attempted to destroy us with his laser cannon. He may have wiped out half our army, but he didn't get all of us."

The frogs looked even more intrigued, and they all focused their gaze on Lilly as they listened to her words. Sasha and Gustav looked at each other before smiling and looking back at Lilly, trying their best to give her an encouraging look.

"And those of us who remain are going to turn the tide against Andrias," said Lilly with conviction. "We're going to do whatever it takes to stop him. During the battle, my life was saved by Grime, someone that I know you all despise. We all know of Grime's brutality against frogs, but today he proved to be a valuable ally. Before the battle, I spoke with Bella, a newt from Newtopia, and what she told me opened my eyes to how frogs aren't the only species suffering under this oppressive system created by the elite newts. This system harms all of us, from the frogs who bear the brunt of it, to the toads who act as enforcers and see no other way of life, to the newts who are told lies from their own kind."

Lilly took one more pause, getting herself ready for what would be her final rallying cry! When she was ready, she continued.

"So when we defeat Andrias, we will strive to make a better future, not just for the frogs, but for all species in Amphibia!"

As Lilly finished speaking, she raised her sword above her head, and all the frogs in the hall let out a cheer, giving her their support. Gustav, Bella, and Sasha all cheered loudly, waving their hands and showing that they were ready to accept Lilly as their new leader.

---

After her speech, Lilly called Sasha, Grime, Uodeela, and the witches aside to have a meeting.

"Thank you all for coming," said Lilly in a worn-out tone, "and thank you to both Grime and Sasha for helping me on the battlefield. I appreciate what you both did."

Grime and Sasha looked at each other before saying, at the same time, "You're welcome."

"There is a lot that needs to be done, and I'm not sure quite where to start," began Lilly. "That's why I'd like to hear what you all have to say."

Grime spoke first, "Well, I think for now you should focus on building up this hideout. Andrias thinks he's eliminated us as a threat, and it's probably for the best that he thinks that. Now that we have some time, we can convert these underground tunnels into a proper base so that we can house and train an army."

"I agree," said Sasha. "We can take steps to start growing food here so that we can better support what remains of the rebellion. Once that's taken care of, maybe we can start reaching out to other towns around Amphibia and see if we can get some more recruits."

Uodeela let out a screech to grab everyone's attention before turning to reveal what she had written. Hiding and biding our time is the right call now. Andrias can rain death on us whenever he pleases, so letting him think we've been defeated is wise. We should try to keep our movements limited and travel only at night if possible.

Lilly nodded in agreement with those statements. "As much as I'd love to try to break into his castle and free Marcy and Amity, I know that now is not the time for that. I think you all have the right idea about lying low for now, so let's focus on that, and when the time comes, we can talk more in the future. Actually, there's one more thing I'd like to address." She turned to Sasha.

"I've heard all about how you served as Grime's second. My father told me about how you got the Southern Tower up and running again."

"She was the best lieutenant I've ever had," bragged Grime, causing Sasha to blush.

"Well, if that's true, then I'd like to ask if you would be my lieutenant," said Lilly.

Sasha turned to look at Lilly in surprise. "Are you sure you want me?"

"Yes, I'm sure," said Lilly. "I need someone to help me organize and best utilize the resources we have, and from what I hear, you're really good at that. Not only that, but I saw you today. You are an excellent fighter. I heard how you helped cure Uodeela and sacrificed yourself when you got possessed. Heck, if I wasn't here, I bet you could lead the resistance yourself."

"Well, I don't know about that. I'm not sure I should be trusted with any sort of power, even being your second," said Sasha glumly.

Lilly thought for a bit before saying, "Well, at least let me take this opportunity to say I'm sorry."

Everyone else, including Sasha, was surprised to hear her say that.

"What are you sorry for?" asked Sasha.

"I'm sorry for misjudging you," said Lilly. "I'm sorry for threatening you earlier. It was wrong of me to treat you like Grime."

"Hey, hey, hey, no, it wasn't," said Sasha. She paused before adding, "Your father told me about what happened to your mother, and I… I was going to do the same thing to Hop Pop. If I had, then I'm sure Anne, Sprig, and Polly would hate me, and I'm not sure if there would be any way to fix that."

"But you didn't do it," said Lilly, "so I shouldn't have been so cruel to you, especially when you haven't wronged me personally."

Lilly came up to Sasha and offered her a hand. "Whatever happened in the past with you doesn't matter. What matters now is that we try to make a better future, and I'd like your help in doing that."

Sasha thought for a long time as she looked at Lilly's offered hand. She was hesitant to take it, as she wasn't sure about being in a position of power, even if it was only as a lieutenant again. Still, she realized that this new resistance was going to need help, and if she could help it in any way, she owed it to Anne and Luz to help them for the time being. Finally, Sasha made her decision and reached out to shake Lilly's hand. The frog smiled at her as she did.

"Thank you, Sasha," said Lilly.

"Oooh, this is so exciting!" said Raine. "Forming a secret underground resistance against the tyrannical ruler." They came up to Vincent and Alyssa and put their arms around them both.

"Maybe we should take notes on how this goes, so we have some ideas for when we get home," said Raine, giving both of them a smirk. Vincent and Alyssa returned the smile.

"I never did have much love for the Emperor," said Alyssa, "but let's focus on winning this war first."

"I'm on board to help for however long it takes until we're ready to fight that lizard for real," said Vincent.

"I think he's a newt, not a lizard," said Alyssa.

"Who cares?" said Vincent, a little roughly. "Considering what he's done to us and now to these frogs who took us in, I hardly care what I call him. Though if he is a newt, seeing as he's so big, I wonder if any of his parts would be worth some money in the Night Market back home." He grinned at his wife as he said that, causing her to smile as well.

"I suppose whatever your plans are for defeating the king, we're involved, whether we want to be or not," said Alyssa. She saw Lilly's face fall at that statement and quickly added, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean it that way, and we are grateful to all of you for taking in, and to you." Alyssa turned to Sasha.

"You helped save us from that awful robot," said Alyssa to Sasha. She looked up at the scar on her face. "If you like, I can take a look at that scar and see if there's anything I can do to help."

"Sure, that'd be great," said Sasha. "But actually, I was wondering if I could see something else." As she said that, Sasha brought out her phone, and Vincent and Alyssa stared at it.

"Something has actually been bugging me," said Sasha as she got out her phone and switched it to its camera feature. "When your husband was making those, uh, spell circles earlier, I swear I saw something in them. I was wondering if he could make another, and I'll record it this time."

"Record it?" asked Alyssa, looking at Sasha's phone. "Is that device like a scroll?"

"Uh, yes…" said Sasha, not sure what a "scroll" was. "But yeah, Vince, can you make one of those circles again, please?"

Vincent was a little caught off guard, but he obliged Sasha's request and made an orange spell circle. Sasha recorded him doing that and stopped the video. She brought it over so that the others could see it and played the video again. As Vincent completed the spell circle, an image flashed inside it. Sasha paused the video, and this time all the occupants of the room could see the image she was talking about.

"What is that?" asked Vincent, intrigued. "I've never seen that before."

"That looks so mysterious," said Raine, "yet I think it might be related to our magic."

Uodeela let out a screech before jotting something down. That looks like one of those glyphs you told me about, the ones Lilly and Gustav discovered.

The room went silent as they all considered this.

Sasha drew out her sword and used it to draw the symbol in the dirt on the floor. When she was done, she tapped it. The symbol glowed for a second before raising a rocky pillar right out of the ground. All the occupants of the room looked at it in awe.