The Twelve Warriors
"Focus, Amelia!" Felicia urged her, "Focus on letting yourself go."
"Letting myself go?! I'd rather hold on if you don't mind."
The human girl was upside down on the roof of the fwagon's rear carriage, holding herself on her hands. Felicia stood in front of her, explaining what she was supposed to do, to the amusement of Sasha and Jacob, who were watching the scene. Meanwhile, under the bright sun, the fwagon was traveling through a vast and arid desert with sandstone buttes in the horizon, devoid of any signs of life except for strange, red cactus-like plants growing here and there.
"Enough joking around, kid. Now focus: shift your weight so you can balance on just one hand rather than two."
"I-I'm trying-" the girl replied through gritted teeth, feeling every part of her body screaming in pain. This wasn't the first martial training she had received since she arrived on Amphibia, but none of her master's teaching had been this hard before.
"Do or do not," Jacob immediately shot back, "There is no try!"
"What does that even mean?!" Amelia protested with an irritated voice, "How can I even do something if I don't try to do it?!"
"Well..." her cousin scratched the back of his head, thinking about it, "To tell the truth, this always confused me too. But Yoda kept repeating that when he was training Luke, so… I guess it must be an important lesson?"
"Come on, Amelia," Sasha chuckled, unable to resist the chance to sass her bratty companion, "I thought this was supposed to be a piece of cake for a proud samurai in training."
"Why don't you-" Amelia replied with annoyance, and in that moment, her anger took over and vanquished her doubt, the girl at first not realizing she had let go on her left hand and was now holding herself completely on right hand before catching on, "WHOA!" She gasped, losing balance and holding once again, "Did…did I just do it?"
"For a few seconds, yes." Felicia nodded, moving her head to the side and looking back at the two 'spectators' "Jacob, while those wouldn't be the terms I would have used, I appreciate the analogy and the inner lesson contained within it. And, Sasha? You did that on purpose, right? Making Amelia angry enough so she would overcome her mental hang-up, even for a few seconds?"
"Guilty as charged!" Sasha chuckled. Wait, I just did that?
Felicia looked at her for a few seconds before her expression mellowed down and she gave her adoptive daughter a genuine smile "Well done."
"Can you remind me what they are supposed to do?" Amelia asked, looking at where her cousin and best frenemy were sitting.
"They're distracting you, of course." Felicia turned again to face her student, "You'll always run into distractions, one of your lessons for today is to focus through them."
"I'd say, I was expecting more interesting stuff," Jacob turned to Sash, "Don't you agree Sasha?"
"Worst case scenario, we can propose she joins a circus."
"HEY!" Amelia angered once again by the blond's comment. Only this time, it didn't benefit her in any way. As she just lost her balance and fell hard on the wooden roof.
"Looks like we're going to restart your punishment training again," Felicia quietly grumbled, shaking her head, Amelia groaning.
Meanwhile, inside the fwagon, everyone was doing what they could to pass the time.
Maddie and Marcy were sitting at a table studying Hop Pop's book. The teen was working on her translation work trying to find out more about the Gem's history and powers, while Maddie helped her the best she could. Ivy was cataloging some of her latest additions in her bug collection; Sprig was playing with his fiddle; James and Polly were watching an episode of Doctor Zone on his phone and Anne was lazing off the couch and watching the photos she had over her phone.
"Huh?" The girl said with a confused voice, as she noticed a photo she didn't expect to find, "I don't remember taking this photo of Hop Pop's Frog of the Year's party."
"Oh, that was me." Sprig confessed, "I wanted a little reminder of how amazing that time was."
"No issue Sprig," Anne replied as she focused on the photo once more, looking over the images of her friends and families having fun all together, Marcy and Sprig playing fiddles together in the background, "It was quite happy."
"And then, the toads arrived," James continued, with a bitter sigh, "and we had to defend Wartwood against them…and Aiden."
As the boy pronounced that name, everyone in the fwagon shivered, remembering the other human who had revealed himself that night, just as he stuck a knife in Grime's back and betrayed the same toads who he joined only to sabotage and destroy them from the inside. Where she was sitting, Marcy could barely keep herself calm as she remembered when he came forward and asked her and her friends to marry him, creeping her out, before she could ever grasp the hate he embodied. Maddie held onto her friend's arm, remembering the brute, mechanical soldiers cutting a path among them and wounding many frogs, including her father. Sprig and Ivy stuttered, while Polly shivered, recalling her memory of that scary night. While Hop-Pop had managed to shield her eyes against most of the carnage the mechanical soldiers unleashed against the toads, his efforts couldn't protect his granddaughter from hearing the massacre unfolding.
Anne stood still, her eyes wide open with a thousand-yard stare. Aiden… he was the shadow that had been looming over them, ever since they arrived on Amphibia. Stalking over them from afar, binding his time before revealing himself; planning to gain control over them and the Box.
What's worse, even though Sasha had managed to destroy his monstrous robots during the battle, Aiden himself had managed to escape and now no one knew where he was. What was he planning? Did he have more of those robotic soldiers of his? If yes, how many? And what about the giant mechanical bird he escaped with, that time? It was at this moment that Anne regretted they had no safe way to contact Grimsey, to ask him if the Valley was still safe or if they had news they needed to share with them.
"Well, let's try not to worry too much about him," the girl finally said, doing the best she could to reassure her friends and family, "we beat him once, I am sure we can beat him again if we need to!"
"Indeed!" Polly eagerly nodded, ashamed for her earlier fear, "Let him try to stop us if he can, we will mess him up!"
"You know," Marcy nodded, grabbing her fiddle, "Sprig and I have actually been working on a song based on the battle."
"Oh! Am I in it?" Ivy asked, her eyes bright in excitation.
"We all are on it!" Sprig thumbed up, "Wanna hear the song?"
"Hey!" The hatch on the fwagon's roof opened, Hop Pop looking down, "Sprig, are you seriously going to play it now, and you didn't warn me? I told you I looked forward to hearing your music!"
"You…knew about it?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course I did!" The old frog grumbled, turning his head to the back end of the vehicle. "Felicia, kids, stop with the training and come here. Sprig and Marcy's are going to play their song!"
"Coming!" Several voices shouted at once, and less than a minute later, Jacob, Sasha, Felicia, and Amelia rushed back inside, the samurai girl showing a tired expression and barely able to move her arms.
"Are you alright?" James asked, noticing how much achy Jacob's cousin was acting, "Was the training… harsh?"
"Not harsher than the other punishments we all went through," Jacob was quick to reassure him, "She's becoming a padawan." He added with a hint of excitement.
"Jacob!" Amelia protested, mildly embarrassed by the comparison.
"So, can we hear that music?" Sasha looked at Marcy, the adorable nerd giggling for a bit as Sprig prepared his fiddle as well, the duo checking their instruments for a few seconds before starting to play, a bright, cheerful music filling the air.
"This is a story
of family and love,
of three families
who lived in a town,
called Wartwood, " Sprig began to sing.
" More and more taxes would come,
until they couldn't stand anymore.
Anne and Sasha, Jacob, and Amelia,
all together stood and said:
Revolution! "
" To the mayor though,
a voice called out,
and that was
Hop Pop the Generous. " Marcy continued, exchanging a heartfelt gaze with the old frog, Hop Pop smiling at her in turn.
"He liked justice,
but violence was not the way,
so for everyone he would pay.
Frogs hero called him,
but the toads didn't like,
so they tried to execute him!"
"But for tyranny,
no frog would stand anymore, " Marcy and Sprig were now singing together while many of their family members were caught in the rhythm of the ballad.
" The Militia formed ranks,
and the wall manned,
to repel the Toads's attack.
On the Bastion fought James,
the Child of the Star,
bringing hope and determination
to all near and far.
Side by side,
Felis the Red and her daughter battled,
repelling every attack with ease,
while from the Sky,
Amelia and Akitsu
raining ruin on the enemy,
Jacob cutting through them
with courage and ardor-"
As the song continued, Sprig and Marcy chanted passage after passage describing the epic battle against the Toads, the amazing feats each one of them had accomplished, the dramatic moment when Aiden stabbed Grime in the back before revealing himself, the desperate attempt of the Militia to stop his mechanical monsters to attack the town, the Toads joining forces with the humans and the frogs, Felicia and Grime's last stand, Sasha's activation of her powers and their final victory. And when the song finished…
"Whoo-hoo!"
"Great song, guys!"
"Awesome song, Mar-Mar!"
"Amazing, Sprig!"
"I have to admit, it was quite good!" Felicia commented, looking at Hop Pop. "Your grandson has a future as a musician, or as a bard should he follow a more adventurous path."
"I couldn't feel prouder of him," the old frog replied with a chuckle, "Though I am a bit disappointed my part was too short."
"Hey, it does say you tried to deescalate the situation," James pointed out. "There is nothing to be ashamed of choosing peace and diplomacy over violence."
"I guess I can't protest that," Hop Pop nodded, once again looking forward before noticing something in front of time coming closer, "Whoop. Heads up, gang! Looks like we're about to stop at our first town!"
Everyone watched outside, spotting a large sign with the name Bittyburg on it, the Fwagon passing right under it while Akitsu buzzed above.
"Our first town in Amphibia outside of Wartwood!" Marcy cheered, reassuming her usual hyper-enthusiastic tone as she took out her notebook, ready to fill it with sketches and info. "Do they have a rich story and traditions? What are the main local products? What's the town's economy based on? I mean, the area around us doesn't look like it can be easily farmed, maybe they're into mining or something else?!"
"Marbles, please!" Sasha patted her on the shoulder, prompting Marcy to calm down, "As long as the frogs are friendly and they have a decent bathroom, I'm not going to complain."
"That reminds me, remember to cover yourselves with your hoodies," Hop Pop warned the six humans. "The frogs living here probably have never seen something like you before. It would be prudent not to risk some… let's say misunderstandings."
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," Anne nodded, remembering the angry mob they had faced on the first day they met. Sure, everyone in Wartwood knew them by now, but that didn't mean they could end up facing similar situations in the other towns.
"I am more interested to see what kind of natural ingredients I can find around," Maddie said in a thoughtful expression, "This is a good chance for new exotic potions!"
"Huh, Mom?" Ivy asked, "Did you ever stop here? During your previous travels?"
"In Bittyburg?" Felicia asked, "Indeed, there was one time I stopped here. Though, I should warn you to not get too excited: It's just an average small town."
"Pssh," Anne scoffed, waving her hand, "how small can it be- Wow!" She gasped, as her eyes finally laid on the town in front of them. It was a typical Western-style town, with building including a saloon, the sheriff's office, a small clinic, a boots shop, a windmill, and some other buildings who were dug into red cacti, yet it was literally a small town, with Bessie and Liptea towering even over the tallest buildings.
Besides her, Amelia heard James mutter the word 'lilliput', and she couldn't help but agree with him. Was this how Gulliver had felt on his first (and most known travel), when he washed ashore on the coast of the island and met its tiny inhabitants?
Frog, there are tiny inhabitants, the wannabe samurai thought as she looked further, and saw many greenish-brown small frogs, all dressed in classic western outfits and dresses, going through their daily lives.
"Oh my gosh!" Sasha exclaimed, as she looked around, "It is a small town! Literally! They're so smol!" she continued, quacking in excitement over the cuteness of the town inhabitant.
"Awww, it's so adorable!" Marcy nodded, quickly drawing a sketch of the town and of her inhabitants on her notebook, feeling delighted by the sight. It was just like a child's dream, to walk in a doll town where the 'dolls' were actually alive.
"Sasha, can you believe frogs can be this small?" Ivy asked her adoptive sister, who responded with a smirk.
"Actually, I can, Ivy. These people are just the same size as baseline frogs in our world."
"Frogs in your world are this small?" The yellow-skinned bug hunter gasped in surprise, unprepared for such information.
"This is amazing!" Jacob exclaimed, "A small western town? When I was a kid, I've always dreamed of being a cowboy, riding in the sunset and fighting bad guys at high noon!"
"Jacob, wasn't your kid's dream to be an adventurer like Indiana Jones and venture into lost temples to find treasures and glory?" Amelia teased him, earning a grumbling from her cousin and an approving look from James.
"Of course I had that dream too!"
"And the one about building your own spaceship and exploring the Galaxy?"
"Look, I admit it, I had many dreams when I was a kid. But being the hero in a western was my favorite one!"
"I guess we can't judge you for that," James chuckled, patting his bro on the back, just as Hop Pop and Felicia signaled for them to gather around and listen.
"Ok kids," Hop Pop announced, "we're stopping for a couple of hours to feed the snails and relax a bit, as well as resupply of water and other amenities for the journey. Feel free to look around and have fun, but please, don't harass the locals and don't do something stupid!"
"Look, Hop Pop, if you're still angry for the whole 'mystery factory' thing-"
"I'm not angry, Anne, I'm just… wary." The old frog sighed, "Plus, we're already quite late on our travel schedule without having yet another crazy shenanigan."
"Don't worry, we'll be careful!" Sprig said, turning to Ivy and Maddie, "Polly and I were thinking of exploring the outskirts and see if we can find something interesting. You two want to come?"
"Sure thing!"
"Yeah, I guess I'll join too."
"You're free to have fun, as long as you stay prudent and don't rush into the middle of danger," Felicia looked at her daughter, "If any of you will be looking for me, I'm going to check on an old friend before we resume our travels."
"Hey, boys?" Anne looked at James and Jacob, "Sash, Marbles and I are going to explore the town a bit. What about you?"
"We're exploring the town as well," Jacob quickly nodded, "With any luck we may meet some old, mysterious-looking frog that will give us a map for some old, buried treasure or a lost goldmine."
"Huh, Jacob?" James raised an eyebrow, "Are you sure you're not setting your expectations too high?"
"Hey, those things always happen in western stories!"
(…)
"So," Marcy asked while taking notes, the small petite frog in ladies' dress chuckling as she did, "most of the people living here are ranchers, raising and selling bug cattle?"
"Indeed!" The local frog nodded, apparently amused by Marcy's thirst for knowledge, "This is something that many foreigners tend to overlook, but the caterpillars and other bugs of Bittyburg sells quite well in the neighboring cities, and the profits of such trade give jobs and sustenance to almost everyone in our town. Though I may be annoying you-"
"No, actually, this is interesting! Please continue!"
"Looks like the girls are having fun," James said as he, Jacob and Amelia looked at the small plaza where Anne, Sasha and Marcy were busy 'socializing' with the locals, the small frogs apparently having no issue with meeting people much bigger than they are. "This was…unexpected,"
"Why, were you expecting for them to run away screaming?" The other boy replied, "We are wearing our hoodies, after all."
"But we are basically kaiju for them!" Amelia grumbled, "I was expecting more surprise, but they are all like it's no big deal- hey, please move, please!" The girl said, some of the town's frogs moving aside to let her move.
"I guess they are already used to seeing big foreigners in their town. We may not see them today, but probably-"
They all suddenly stopped, as they noticed a ruckus ahead. A light green toad with dark green patches and a pale-yellow underbelly, dressed in a brown vest with a dark red belt and long, dark green pants with no undershirt and an eyepatch over his left eye, standing in the middle of the town. Many of Bittyburg's inhabitants were gathered around him, and they all shared sorrowful expressions.
"B‐but, please. Just listen‐" as one of Bittyburg's frogs tried to speak, the toad kicked him away, Anne quickly moved to catch him.
"Got you!"
"All right." The larger toad said, "Y'all know the rules. Pay me, and no one gets hurt."
The humans gasped, as they saw the Bitties reluctantly giving him their money.
"That's right, pay up, keep it coming."
The bandit stopped, his attention now focused on the last frog in the line.
"Sorry, Mr. Judro, sir, but I need the money for my boy Bailey. He's been very sick and‐"
"I don't want your excuses! I want your money!" The toad replied, grabbing the father and shaking him like a rattle, coins falling out as he laughed, the humans scoffing as they watched the scene.
"Those poor Bitties."
"That guy is a bandit!"
"Someone should do something!"
Jacob's eyes widened, as he felt a metaphorical lightbulb turned on over his head, as she shared a glance with James and Amelia. He never liked bullying, no matter what universe was, and this guy had just given him a chance to do good and play the western's hero role at once.
"Should we give this bully a lesson, cousin?"
"I couldn't agree more!" The samurai girl replied, feeling her muscles tense.
"I don't like violence …but this jerk deserves a freaking spanking!" James glared at the toad.
"Marcy?" Jacob said, smiling at the girl, "Get your fiddle ready. I'm going to give you and Sprig material for a new ballad." He turned toward the bully and started to approach him from behind.
"Should we get worried, Boonchuy?"
"Let's wait and see for now, Sash."
"Hey, toad!" Jacob stomped on the ground, grabbing his attention as well as his victim's. "Why don't you pick on someone on your own size?"
"I'm Judro Hasselback, and this here's my town." The toad replied, "Who in the heck are you?"
"We don't give our names to trash." Amelia shot back, earning an irritated expression from Judro, "Do you pick on these people because you know you'd lose in a fair fight?"
"Give these people their money back and scram!" James seethed, cracking his knuckles, "Or we'll make you."
"You think you can threaten me?!" Judro almost laughed, "I am an Hasselback, and-" but before he could finish his sentence, James was now in front of him and suddenly shoved him, the toad falling onto the ground.
"Hey! You better-" the toad tried to reply to the assault, but again James rammed him to the ground, the blow so strong that the ruffian fell flat on his face, sand and dust getting on his eyes and making him yelp, while Amelia rushed to assist his previous victims.
"My eyes!" Judro desperately tried to clean his eyesight, while Jacob took advantage of the situation to kick his butt, again and again, until the toad was kicked out of the town.
"He who hurts by the kick," Jacob said as he kicked Judro once again, "shall suffer by the kick. Leave these people alone, and never come back!"
"Y-You'll pay for this!" Judro threatened him, "When Mama finds out-"
"Oh, so now you're going to run crying to mommy for help?" Jacob grabbed Judro, the toad unable to get free, "Then tell her that this town is under our protection." He then proceeded to remove his hoodie and allowed Judro to get a full glance of him, the toad gasping in horror as he saw the human's face for the first time. "And scum like you aren't welcome anymore!" He then dropped him again on the ground, Judro crawling away in defeat as fast as he could.
"Not bad." Sasha said, walking in with Marcy and Anne to her side. "Of course, I would have intervened too, but you three looked eager to prove your worth so… Not bad." she finished with a curt nod.
"Hey, you know I hate bullies," The boy nodded, feeling proud of what he had done, "especially if they are cowardly blowhards."
"Boy, I have to admit, it does feel good to put such people in their place!" James chuckled, just in time to see Judro's former victims gathering around them, Amelia taking a step back as she realized they had seen Jacob without the hoodie.
"You-you are monsters!" Bailey exclaimed, Amelia sighing as he said that, the crowd of Bitties around them looking at them in shock and beginning to murmur, as the other humans quickly got rid of their own disguises as well.
Anne rolled her eyes, ready to face the inevitable mob that was soon going to happen, "Let's go back to the fwagon boys, before-"
"HOORAY FOR THE MONSTERS!" The crowd suddenly started to cheer, surprising the six humans, as they gathered around them and began to congratulate their saviors.
"You saved us." Bailey's father said, with a heartfelt expression, "What are your names?"
"Our names?" Jacob said, his surprise soon turning into smugness, "My name is Jacob the Norsemann, wielder of Ragnarök" he struck a pose raising his hammer, the Bitties looking in awe as he did, "and this are my cousin Amelia, the Samurai of the Rising Sun, and my brother in arms James, the Stargazer!"
"Jacob…" James shook his head.
"I am Marcy!" The dark-haired nerd presented herself, "And these are my best friends, Anne and Sasha!"
"Three cheers for our new heroes!"
"Hip, hip, hooray!"
"Wow, guys. I can't say I was expecting this, but it felt good! Nice work!" Anne nodded.
"Boys, you did something good!" Marcy happily chirped, thumbs up.
"Nah, we just did what everyone would have done in the same situation," James tried to minimize, "Plus, one bully taking advantage of being bigger? Compared to the time we fought off Bog and his tax collectors, it was nothing."
"What?" Several bitties gasped again, "Tax collectors?"
"You're talking about the rebellion in the Valley?"
"Oh, what did you hear about it?" Sasha asked, suddenly cautious. The fact that Newtopia knew about them was one thing, but…everyone else in Amphibia?
"Not much, mostly rumors coming from other places," Bailey's father replied while scratching his head, "They told us strange creatures had been sighted in Wartwood, with long spindly limbs and bumps in the middle of their faces, and that they helped the local people stand up to the Toads' taxes. I admit I didn't believe them as well…until now, that is." He gave another glance to the blonde human, "You don't look like frogs for sure. What kind of creatures are you?"
"We are called humans, and we come from… ANOTHER WORLD!" Anne announced with a dramatic wave of her arm. "Wow, I'm getting a deja-vu vibe about this..."
"Another world?" Many bitties gasped at once.
"You mean there are other worlds beyond ours?"
"What kind of creatures live in there?"
"Sirs!" One of the frog ladies Marcy was talking with earlier spoke, "You must absolutely tell us your story. Would you be so kind enough to accept our invitations?"
"Well, we don't know." Amelia replied, thinking about it, "I mean, there's not much to tell…"
While the six humans were receiving hero treatment in Bittyburg, far from the small town was Judro Hasselback. The local bully and now desperate toad, was slowly dragging himself along the sand, trying to ignore both the pain and humiliation he had suffered. For generations, the Hasselback Gang had ruled over Bittyburg, exacting heavy tributes from its helpless inhabitants, and they weren't going to leave their old turf just because some upstart decided to stick their noses in their affairs.
He kept limping forward, until he reached the Gang's hideout. It was once a wealthy mining site until all the gold had gone dry, forcing its previous owners to abandon the site and leave behind empty buildings and the exhausted mine. Then, many years later, the gang had found the place and turned it into a veritable fort, with a wooden palisade delineating its boundary, and a watchtower. A clear symbol of the power the gang had over the region.
"Judro!" A female voice called him from the watchtower, recognizing him, "What are you doing back already? Mama told you it was your turn to go and extort money from Bittyburg today!"
"Ruth," The toad replied, acknowledging his knife-nut half-sister, "Open the door and let me in! I got bad news from Buttyburg: I was kicked out!"
A few minutes later, Judro was now sitting on an old bench, the rest of his family and gang gathering around him, listening to his story. And looking over his wounds, her glare growing as she listened to his story, there was Mama.
"Those weak pipsqueaks dared to rebel against you? Against the gang? Against me?!" Mama shouted with visible anger, "HOW DARE THEY?"
"It wasn't them, it was some kind of weird monster!" Judro pointed out.
"A monster?" Heathro raised an eyebrow, "Did you drink too much Bog Grog again?"
"I am not drunk, I know what I've seen!" Judro replied in defense, "It was monstrous: it had a huge head, long spindly limbs, and some kind of weird, stubby bump in the middle of its face! And it wasn't alone: there were others with him!"
While her family was reacting in horror at the description of the creature Judro had met, Mama let out a low grumble as she started to think what could have possibly happened to her son. Were they another gang, one composed of weird creatures, trying to take over their territory? Or perhaps, mercenaries hired by the Bitties or someone else?
Whatever the case, it didn't matter. Judro had been assaulted, and the whole honor of the family had been sullied. To avenge the offense they had suffered and reestablish control, they were to unleash a fierce and brutal retaliation against Bittyburg and those who dared to challenge them.
Yet, there was no such thing as having too many advantages.
"We must face them and show them what happens when you mess with the Hasselback Gang!"
"Indeed, Talbert, but first, I think it would be better to pay a visit to some old friends of mine and ask them to pay an overdue favor…"
(…)
Happy Harry's Hovel was certainly not a classy place. Built in the midst of the stone ruins of a much older building, it was once a rest stop for travelers to and from Newtopia, but for many years now with the ever-decreasing number of travelers and the increasing isolation of Newtopia from the rest of Amphibia, a new type of customer had taken over the place, bringing with them the fruits of their hard work: coins and goods stolen in robberies, thefts and extortion, jewelries pillaged from naive travelers or defenseless families, a continuous traffic of plundered wealth that fueled the never-ending cycle. Here, robbers and bandits found a place where they could trade their money for good food and beverages, sell their illicitly-obtained assets to the only fence of the area (Harry himself), plan their new heists and raids, and much more.
It was a place where you could buy everything that money could offer, and yet where it wasn't safe to travel to unless you couldn't protect it yourself.
Yet, as Mama Hasselback slammed the swing door of the saloon and walked inside, her family just behind her, the chatter died out, and everyone looked at her with a nervous expression. All the local bandits and criminals knew who Mama Hasselback, matriarch of her gang and family, was and what she and her family could do.
"M-Mama Hasselback!" Happy Harry, a red-skin toad dressed in a bartender's outfit, a gap between his teeth, exclaimed as he recognized her, "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine, 'Little' Harry," she replied, intentionally using the shameful nickname she had known him for most of their lives, her cruel smile making him shiver, "Yourself?"
"Huh! I'm fine! And I am glad you're fine too! And that your family is fine as well. And-and…" his facade collapsed, unable to withstand the nervousness he had so desperately tried to hide, "Oh frog! Please, don't kill anyone this time: I just replaced the counter!"
"I am not here for ol' times fun this time," Mama simply said, the rest of her family kept glaring at the other patrons with cold glares filled with killing intent, "I am here to call in that favor you owe me, ever since the whole Whoopy Willow Ranch thing."
"Say what?" Happy Harry gasped, clearly not expecting that, "You've been sitting on that favor for twelve years already!"
"This is important. It's about the honor of my family and the Hasselback gang. Some new…upstarts dared to intrude into our family affairs in Bittyburg, and I need numbers to match theirs."
"Hey, you hear that?" Another toad sitting on a nearby table, laughed, "They managed to get kicked out of Bittyburg. Told ya the Hasselback's are all talk and no guts!"
"For Frog's sake, Ed, shut up-"
Too late, his companion realized while Ed took another sip of his glass, noticing Ruth Hasselback moving toward their table with a psycho look in her eyes.
"I-I'd better go take a leak…" He ran off, leaving Ed alone with Ruth just behind him. He knew it wasn't going to be nice.
"Hey. I didn't mean anything, for real!" Ed tried to apologize, turning around and feeling a shiver as soon as his eyes crossed Ruth's, "Look, I just dropped off the Toad Army, hadn't been here for too long and…wait, what-"
Ed didn't had the time to finish his half-assed apology as Ruth grabbed him by the shoulder, before slitting his throat with a fast movement of her knife, Ed's hand moving on his neck to desperately try to reduce his bleeding before falling onto the floor, dead, his blood spilling over the floor while all the other patrons gasped in shock and horror.
"Let this be a demonstration of what happens when you talk dirty about the Hasselback gang," Mama smiled evilly, taking pleasure in the shock her daughter had created, "Now, Harry, as I was saying, I want to call in that old favor you owe me."
"Believe me, I would love to," the other toad replied, doing his best to be diplomatic as his eyes kept darting to Ed's lifeless body, "unfortunately things have changed recently. You may not believe me, but…I'm not even the boss of myself anymore."
"What does that even mean?" Heathro glared at him.
"Is like he told you." An old patron of the place, who was present the last time Mama had come here, spoke. "We have a new boss now, name's Rehys, he has been taking control of all gangs and bandit groups by any means necessary. Said he has plans for us, but in the meantime, we are forbidden to pull new raids against towns and villages unless approved by him."
"What, you guys have a new leader, and he is an upstart as well?" Mama couldn't believe it, "You're already bowing to this new guy and obeying his rules?"
"This new guy made mincemeat of Tuz the Bloodthirsty, utterly broke Chaz the Bandit King, and killed or forced into submission every bandit leader from here to Newtopia." Happy Harry said, "Personally, I am not a fan of defying his command, if that means being killed by him-"
"Would you prefer to be killed by me?!" Mama Hasselback moved forward and grabbed him with her "Eat your veggies!" arm and holding him by the neck, "You know me, Harry, and I'm not the patient kind of mama. Nor a forgiving one."
"Wait, please-" Harry desperately pleaded, as Mama kept tightening the hold on him, "Fine! You win!"
"See? It wasn't that hard." She released him.
"I'll let you borrow my men for…whatever you may need them," Harry said as she struggled to get back on his feet, taking deep breaths to make up for the loss of oxygen, "But only a handful, and only for the time you will need them. I don't want the boss to find out about me doing deals behind his back, and besides, I don't think you will need them for much."
"Normally, I would agree with you, but this time, we are facing the unknown. And against the unknown, there is no such thing as 'too many advantages'."
"Why? What kind of enemy are you expecting to face at Bittyburg?"
"Monsters," Mama said as she walked back outside, loudly so everyone could hear her, "Monster with spindly limbs, big heads and bumps in the middle of their faces."
Among the audience, someone's eyes widened.
"…and so, after convincing the former Toad Army to join our side, we set off toward Newtopia, where we hope to find any hints for us to return home." Anne concluded, the small frogs of Bittyburg listening in awe.
"Wow, this is an amazing story!" Bailey commented, holding close to his father. "So, you are now on a quest to return home?"
"Pretty much, yeah," Sasha nodded, "Thankfully, we are not alone on this journey. We have our families to support us."
"You know, I should be angry at you for blowing your disguises this soon," Hop Pop grumbled even if he couldn't hide how proud he was of them, "However, I guess I can't complain about the fact you choose to stand up against that bully. I would have done the same in your place."
"So, you're Hop Pop the Generous?" One of the small Bittyburg ladies said, "The one who paid the taxes for everyone in his town to protect them from an unfair raise?"
"Yup, that's me! And these are my grandchildren Sprig and Polly!"
"Nice to meet you!"
"Bow to your new queen!"
"Polly!" Anne called the tadpole out.
"I can't believe you're among us again, Felis the red," the saloon's owner chuckled, looking at Felicia, "It has been a long time since you last came…and you brought your daughter too this time!"
"Oh, I could never forget the time I spent among you, no matter how much time has passed," she replied with a smile, "Or the fragrant leaves you helped me find."
"So, you knew about my mom?" Ivy wondered in curiosity, "Can you tell me some of her past adventures?"
"Oh, I could spend days telling you some of her adventures I was lucky enough to hear from time to time."
"So, you're a magician?" Another Bittyburg frog asked Maddie. "I thought that all practitioners of dark arts were supposed to be evil, or something."
"Believe me, that's a prejudice I ended up having to fight my whole life," the azure-skinned frog with pink hair sighed, "However, magic is not inherently evil by itself. And I joined my friends in this journey not only to learn more about it, but to help transmit this message all over Amphibia!"
"Wow! So, will you use it against the Hasselback Gang, when they'll return?"
The humans jerked up, the sound of a needle scratching a record playing in their head. From where he was sitting, Jacob turned around.
"W-what do you mean? We dealt with Judro already, remember? Ran him out of the town!"
"Indeed, and you are our hero to do that!" Bailey happily said, "But he will be back, and he won't be alone: he has his whole family to support him, all of them nasty big guys just like him!"
"Yes, they harass us every day, demanding our money and punishing us if we don't give it to them or if we try to refuse them!" His father nodded, "Good thing that now we have you to protect us."
"Huh, can you…excuse us for a couple of minutes?" Anne suggested, sharing a look with Sasha and Hop Pop, "I think we need to…discuss a very important thing."
"Huh, so soon? No issue, take all the time you heroes need."
The humans and their frog families moved out of Buttyburg and near the fwagon, and quickly gathered into a circle. Then, as soon as they were sure none of the Bitties could her them, chaos erupted:
"What was that?!" Amelia was the first to speak, "I thought he was just some bully, but turns out he's member of some gang?"
"Geez, this is bad!" Sasha shook her head, "That means that guy will probably be back with reinforcements."
"Indeed! We must leave before they do!"
"We can't do that!" Jacob protested at the suggestion, "Look, I know I am the one to blame for putting us in this mess, but now we can't destroy their hopes and run just because Judro was more than a simple bully!"
"No, it's my fault!" James protested, "If I hadn't shoved him-"
"Boys, enough!" Felicia sniped, the two human males shutting up instantly, "Look, you may have acted on your own initiative, but that doesn't mean you made the wrong decision. In fact, had I been in your place, I would have probably done the same!"
"Yes. I too have difficulty believing that I am saying this, but you guys were right!" Hop Pop grumbled, "We can't turn our back on innocents suffering, even if that's going to make us even later on our travel schedule!"
"Agreed, but what do we do?" Sasha asked, "I mean, we can't simply set camp here and wait for those guys to show themselves!"
"What if we take the offensive and go looking for them?" Amelia suggested, her hand already moving to her katana. "Preemptive strike! We deal with them immediately, so we can leave without fear-"
"Amelia, no." Felicia interjected, "Beside the fact that we don't know how many members their gang has, we don't know where their hideout is, or even how well-defended is. And rushing into action without proper reconnaissance or even without a plan is the fastest way to put everyone in harm's way!"
"Hey, guys?" Marcy raised her hand.
"What's up, Mar-Mar?" Sprig asked, holding Polly in his arms.
"Maybe I'm thinking a bit too naively, but… instead of simply waiting for them to show, why don't we try to teach the people of Bittyburg to take care of themselves? This way, even if we were to leave, they would be able to protect themselves, and we won't be hated for leaving."
Everyone stood in silence as they pondered over Marcy's suggestion.
"It's…it's not a bad idea!" Hop Pop thought about it, "Sure, I don't know what we could teach them, but we have an expert here. Don't you agree, Felicia?"
"It may be a bit complex, but I think it's doable. Plus, if you're going to help me, we could speed up the whole process without losing quality!"
"We could even set up some defenses, maybe with the help of Bessie, Liptea or Akitsu!" Ivy jumped excitedly, "Earlier, Sprig and I found some materials we could use to build a barricade around the town!"
"And I have new exotic ingredients for my spells!" Maddie offered, "I may need to rush preparation, but if you help me Marcy, we'll may come up with something that will be useful for this situation!"
"I want to help too!" Polly roared, "You had fun earlier, but this time, I want to participate as well!"
"We all will help." Hop Pop nodded solemnly. "Ok kids, you can start to go and help. I'm going to…need a minute or more."
"Hop Pop, what's going on?" Anne asked, raising an eyebrow. "Is something wrong? Look, not that we're going to blame you if you want to skip the battle, but-"
"I'm fine Anne, and I absolutely do not want to run from the battle." The old frog replied, looking back at the fwagon and, metaphorically, at the outfit he had hidden among the packages. "I just…need to get something ready."
Or rather, to get someone ready.
(…)
The frogs of Bittyburg didn't require much convincing to see the logic behind Marcy's idea. While they did want for the humans and their families to keep protecting them, they were also aware they couldn't ask them to stay forever and that they had their own journey ahead of them. Thus, when the humans suggested they would teach them how to protect themselves and their town, they eagerly accepted the offer, Sasha, Jacob, Amelia and Felicia taking care of putting together training and strategies for them to fight against much bigger enemies, while the others worked together to fortify the small settlement.
Of the trainers, Jacob and Amelia were the most enthusiastic ones, the two cousins able to work together without quips aimed at each other, both too busy living their own fantasies to feel animosity toward each other. For Jacob, he felt like the hero of a classic western movie, who after coming into town and driving out the local bully, using his expertise at service of the people of town to allow them to fight off the returning bandits, while Amelia couldn't help but be reminded of some samurai movies she liked and imagine herself and her friends as the 'ronins' hired to protect the small village of farmers against the greedy claws of the outlaws.
"Frog, they are making fast progress!" Sasha said as she sat down, seeing the Bitties as they managed to work together as one, "I guess we are good trainers, don't you agree guys?"
"Well, we don't know how much time we have before Judro comes back, so any progress they manage to do before is important." Jacob sat down, his blue armor feeling much heavier (and hotter) than before.
"Jacob, take that armor off, or you're going to fry alive!"
"Never!" The boy responded, summoning all his energy, "I am the hero of this story, I cannot not look cool, otherwise-" but then, the combined weight of the sun, sweat, tiredness and metal fell on him, the male human dropping onto the ground.
"Jacob!" Amelia rushed to check on it, Felicia just behind her, while Sasha grabbed him and tried to assist, "What's gotten into him?"
"I did tell him that armor must not be worn for long time periods under the sun," Felica grumbled as she rolled her eyes. "Nothing too severe, just need to get off the armor and rest a bit someplace cooler. Sasha?"
"Yes, mom?" The human blonde replied, not a trace of irony in her voice.
"I'm going to bring him back to the Fwagon, and tell Hop Pop to help him get off this armor. The Bitties are doing some small exercise so they should be fine, still can you watch over them until I return?"
"Sure thing!"
"So…" Amelia asked as Felicia dragged her unconscious cousin away, approaching her best frenemy, "Are you excited? I am excited!"
"For what? We are just helping the frogs of this town to deal with future wannabe harassers, should they not come back before we leave."
"But we are training them to resist those bandits! I feel like we are in the Seven Samurai!"
"Seven? We are twelve!" Not counting your dragonfly, and the snails.
"The Twelve Warriors! I like it!"
As she watched the younger teen using her pent-up energy to eagerly train the townspeople, Sasha could only think of one thing. I hope she never realized that of the Seven Samurai, only three make it alive at the end…
(…)
"Anne, look!" Sprig announced, pointing to a large piece of dried-up wood lying on the ground, abandoned from several years at least. "Another large piece of wood!"
"Good work, Sprig!" The Thai-American girl replied in a cheer, "Let's take it too and use it as material to build our defenses."
"Don't we have more than enough already?!" Questioned Polly, leaning on Anne's hair. "I do want to help, but I was hoping we would do something more exciting and important!"
"Well, this is important Polly. Bittyburg has no natural defenses against any kind of aggression: what will they do if we leave, and something happens once we're gone?"
"Wow, Anne, you've…changed," Sprig said in wonder, "You sound more decisive and responsible."
"Believe me, I am surprised as well. But after what we went through, I don't want the people I care for to be in danger ever again! Do you remember the time when we first met, and I pressured you into the lake with that humongous snake?"
"Hey, we survived!"
"Only because Jacob and Amelia crashed onto it!"
"You guys!" James grumbled, tapping with his foot, and looking at them. "Less talking, more scavenging!"
(…)
"Maddie?" Marcy asked, raising an eyebrow. "Shouldn't we prepare some potions we already know?"
"We don't have enough time nor the ingredients to prepare classic potions in such quantity," her friend and magic teacher retorted. "So, drastic times call for drastic measures! We are going to do some experimentation and see if the local ingredients I've gathered can help us make something new. And hopefully..." She said as a wicked grin blossomed on her lips "Something with really interesting results!"
"Are we making a new spell?!" Marcy gleamed, her eyes filling with enthusiasm, "One that had never existed before?"
"Well, yes, kind off! Now, we will start by basing ourselves on the recipes we already know, try to trade some of their ingredients for the ones we have and see if there are some results. We won't risk using the cauldron as for now, but-"
"Can we try this?!" Marcy showed Maddie a spell bag with some reddish fragrance coming out of it, "It's the same recipe as the Trapping Glue spell, only I decided to replace the Wartwood's Bog Tree leaves with some of that spice and water of red cactus. I checked my preparation, and…there shouldn't be any unwanted results, at least not dangerous ones."
"…I believe you," Maddie replied, almost lying when she said that but wanting to be as supportive to Marcy as she could. Moreover, it had been a long time since the last 'incident', so… maybe this time it would be fine.
Still, better safe than sorry.
"Ok let's test it out." The azure-skinned frog looked around, searching for a suitable test subject, until she found a small pile of rocks laying around. Being made smooth by the long work of wind and dust, who know for how long they had stood there? "Let's test it on those rocks, shall we?"
Marcy nodded, moving into position (making sure her feet were equally balanced and she was standing right, to avoid tripping once again) as she held the makeshift spell bag on her hand, before throwing it. As soon as the spell bag exploded, it released a small explosion of orange light that envelop the small boulders. The rocks trembled for one second before moving on their own and staking one above the other to form the shape of a small tree, bothering the work of Mother Nature. The human and the frog stared at it intensively, the stone-made tree preserved by its own magic for a full minute, before come crashing down as soon as the levitating effect was over.
"Did…did you see that?!" Marcy gasped, grabbing her notebook an writing down the recipe she had used and the seen effects.
"Indeed, it was quite beautiful." Maddie replied, "But, I don't see how we could use it to protect Bittyburg. It's useless!"
"There are no useless spells, master," Marcy replied, her brain already starting to think of several applications, "It depends on how we use them…"
(…)
"Mama! Bittyburg in sight!" Heathro called, "And looks like they were waiting for us too! They got busy building some defenses!"
"You call them defenses? Hah!" Ruth laughed, pointing out how Bittyburg's defenses were barely a picket fence all around the town, "It will take five minutes tops to run over it!"
"Hey, Judro?" Talbert mocked his sibling, "Where are those monsters of yours now? Or maybe you're finally going to admit that you've drank too much?"
"Shut the frog up, Talbert: I know what I've seen!"
"Enough!" Mama Hasselback barked, stomping the conflict before it could escalate. "You'll have time to fight once we've finished our business here!" She then glared over the reinforcements Happy Harry lent her, fifty toads all armed, some of them even having a past within the Toad Army. Veteran fighters that knew how to fight, unlike most of the bandits dwelling in those parts of Amphibia.
They weren't many, but they were more than enough to crush this pathetic settlement to the ground and show them what happens when someone tries to defy the Hasselback's Gang.
"Let's try to finish this quick. Even if they had some sense to try and build defenses, we-"
"Stop where you are!" A female voice called out, Happy Harry's toads and the Hasselback turning at once to see who dared to address them.
Mama's eyes widened, and she could hear her children and temporary mooks gasp all together, as they saw some freakish, unbelievable creatures standing between them and Bittyburg, each one of them showing spindly gangly limbs, huge heads, and bumps in the middle of their faces.
"The Monsters!" Judro called out, pointing at them. "Told ya' they were real, told ya'!"
"I-I can't believe it…" Ruth replied, clearly not expecting this development.
"You know, in the past I would have felt quite angry for being called a monster," Sasha said, dressed in a light armor and holding both her Heron swords in her hands, "but a long time has passed since then. I don't care what you say about me, but if you want to do something to the town behind us…you'll have to pass through us!"
"Did you hear the gal?" Jacob nodded, he too now dressed in lighter and more practical clothes, while retaining his wooden Viking-style horned helmet that Loggle had gifted to him. "Didn't you get the memo, Judro? Scum like you aren't welcomed here anymore!"
"So, you're the one that dared to hurt my little boy?!" Mama Hasselback spit out, anger taking over her mind, "I guess I'll have to whip some manners into you!"
"No way, that's your mom?!" Jacob smiled, clearly unaffected by the threat, "You really came out crying for mommy?"
"Gosh, that's beyond pathetic!" Sasha chuckled as well, earning more and more angry glances from the Hasselbacks.
"Look, I don't care if you are real or not, you can't stop us!" Talbert yelled, "Didn't you notice? We are fifty-five and you're two!"
"Are you sure about that?!" Another called out, the Hasselback seeing Anne, James and Marcy appear to Sasha and Jacob's sides, Anne holding her sword with both hands, James grabbing some of Mrs. Croaker equipment while Marcy held a spell bag in her left hand and pointing at them with her crossbow on the right.
"Frog's sake!" One of the toads warriors behind them said, taking a step back nervously, "How many of them are?"
"Five against Fifty-five?!" Mama said, trying to reassure herself more than the others, "Still manageable."
"Six!" Another voice called out, as Akitsu lowered in altitude, buzzing just above them, Amelia holding onto her back with her Katana unleashed. "I am Amelia, Samurai of the Rising Sun! This town is under my protection, turn around if you don't want to face my sword of justice!"
"And us!" Several voices shouted at once, as Maddie, Ivy, Sprig, Polly and Felicia stepped forward, each one of them ready for the fight, Felicia even wearing her adventurer's armor.
"Wait, I know her!" One of the Toads yelled, pointing at Felicia, "By Andrias, she's Felis the Red, the Legendary Adventurer!"
"Felis the Red?" The word ran by mouth to mouth, generating panic in the toads, "The Greatest Adventurer of All?"
"The one that defeated five mantises in just one fight?"
"The adventurer who is lethal just as she is beautiful?!"
Mama Hasselback gritted her teeth, realizing the situation was getting worse with every passing second, as more and more fighters joined their enemies' side. First those monsters, now a legendary adventurer? What kind of people did Judro piss off to cause something like this to happen?
"And we will fight as well!" Other voices called out, the small inhabitants of Bittyburg gathering around Felicia, many of them armed with pins, needles, and other objects that they could use as weapons. "For too long we have stood passively and let ourselves be bullied, but no more!"
"Oh, so you small pipsqueaks now are trying to show attitude?" Ruth called them out mockingly. "And who else?"
"Me." Yet another voice, a deep, gruff male voice called out, and suddenly, another large figure walked into view, the humans and their friends moving aside as he kept walking forward, until he now stood directly in front of Mama. A large figure belonging to a tall, muscular toad with brownish red skin, two large scars over his face, an eye patch and a large cowl covering the back of his head and most of his body. A scary, imposing figure that Mama had known once.
"T-the Wrecker?!" Mama gasped, unable to assimilate why he was here.
"Wrecker?!" Amelia gasped in turn, "You're that guy everyone talked about at Bizarre Bazaar?"
"It's good to know I haven't been forgotten," the Wrecker said, smirking at mama as he began to clench his fists, "So, you're the punks I've heard about."
He resumed his walk, stomping his boots on the ground with every step, while Mama was now losing all resemblances of self-control.
"Wait, just wait! I'm sorry, Wrecker! Just listen! I never would have thought you..."
"Shut. Up." The Wrecker replied, moving his arm to punch Mama in her face, Ruth and Judro roaring as he did as they launched forward, trying to help their mother only for both sides to clash into each other, starting the battle.
"So, I suppose that idiot half-brother of mine was right for once," Ruth said, facing Sasha. "I have never killed a monster before, guess you'll be my first!"
"Oh, you're quite full of yourself, don't you agree?" The human blonde replied, taking advantage of her swords range to keep the knife wielder at bay, moving fast to keep her adversary at disadvantage, "Though I am a bit curious as to why you resemble a newt, but look like a toad. Does that mean toads and newts can cross breed?"
"Shut up!" Ruth yelled in anger, as Sasha unwittingly hit one of her berserk buttons, "I am Ruth Hasselback, daughter of Mama Hasselback, the cruelest toad of all of Amphibia! Who in frog's name are you?"
"Me? I am Sasha Waybright," Sasha replied with a smirk before counterattacking, Ruth barely moving to parry her pink Heron sword's lunge, "Captain of the Saint James Middle School cheerleaders," she struck again, "top scorer in Super Dance Fusion," she now hit Ruth's tail, the desperado crossbreed yelping as she did, "protégé of Captain Grime," Ruth's eyes widened as she heard that name, "and adoptive daughter of Felicia Sundew, alias Felis the Red, the greatest frog adventurer of all of Amphibia' history!" Sasha made one final lunge, and finally, she hit Ruth's hand and made her squeak, her knife dropping to the ground, the Hasselback lady holding onto her wounded hand.
Meanwhile, Sprig, Polly, Maddie, Ivy, Amelia and Akitsu were rampaging across the toad soldiers while the latter were engulfed by a pitch black smoke created by James' gadget, Ivy and Sprig shooting at them with their slingshots and Maddie throwing spells from Akitsu's back while, on the front side, Amelia and Polly were cutting through their ranks like hot knives through butter, scattering them and leaving them with their morale broken.
"What the-" one of the toads lamented, as he was hit by one of Maddie's spells and his metallic possessions (armor and weapons) began to rust and disintegrate in a few seconds.
"They have a witch too?!" Another toad gasped, hearing an evil laugh and noticing a small figure throwing spells from above, "That's it, I'm a goner!
"Maddie?" Ivy raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I though you didn't like be compared to those evil witches of stories."
"That doesn't mean I don't know how to play the part!" the azure skin frog kept launching spells whenever the toads attempted to resist, "plus if it helps against these bozos, let them get scared!"
"Where are you going?" Heathro yelled, noticing how many toads were already leaving the battleground and running away, "Get back here and fight!"
"I'll take that challenge, gringo," Jacob replied, attacking the toad with his hammer., while not too far away, Anne was dueling with Talbert and Marcy was ready to face Judro.
"Your friend may have defeated me the first time, but you won't be so lucky!" The old bully replied, looking at the dark-haired nerd with a grimace, "You are alone against me!"
"Alone?!" The Bitties shouted at once, "Didn't you count us?"
"You think you can face me?!" Judro almost laughed, "You all are small and weak! Useless!"
"Oh, do you think so?" Marcy replied with a malicious smirk, taking out the spell bag she had been keeping all this time and throwing in on the Bittyburgians. Judro, confused, could only stare as a magical, invisible force grabbed them and began to pile and stack onto each other, forming what could be described as a large frog figure.
"Oh." Judro could only say as the large figure finished being assembled.
"What do you think," Marcy said, controlling the figure made of Bitties with her hands, "It is beautiful…and I dare anyone now say it's useless!" She moved her hand, and immediately, the large frog composite punched Judro in the face, the former bully spitting several teeth as its 'adversary' pressed on, hitting him on the face, in the guts, poking his eyes, before grabbing him by one of his legs and throwing him around with violence.
"Wait! Stop! Stop!"
"The people of this town are small, you are not wrong about that," Marcy sighed, her hands kept controlling the large Bitties-composed frog mopping the floor with Judro, "but together, they can be much stronger than you give them credit for!"
The battle was by now undergoing for a few minutes only, yet already the humans and their allies were prevailing while the Hasselback's were close to defeat, Judro pinned down by his former victims tied together with Marcy's magic, Heathro on the receiving end of a beatdown courtesy of Jacob, Talbert unable to hold his own against Anne, Ruth already defeated by Sasha, while Mama was literally stomped by the Wrecker.
The Hasselbacks were at their breaking point, the Toads who followed them on the verge of panic. The humans only needed a something more to turn the panic into a rout and win the day.
"Boonchuy," Sasha turned searching for Anne, "You ready?!"
"I was born ready, Sash," the other girl replied, dropping the battle with Talbert and joining her friend, the two humans closing their eyes and focusing on their own concentration, focalizing through the words that Jacob had taught them.
"When peace is lost, when suffering has come," Anne began to exclaim, her hair beginning to glow blue once again, the twigs and leaves in her hair growing into branches, "let all evil be undone. Accept your emotions and join our fight, Heart conquer it all, believe in the azure light!"
"«For everyone who can't stand up and fight; For those who are alone and lost in the night." Sasha began to speak as well, as she could feel her powers rush through her blood, her blonde hair turning into pinkish fire, her swords covering themselves in energy "Never again tyranny on you would befall, Strength is here, to protect you all!"
"W-what is…" Heatro gasped, noticing what was happening, all toads witnessing unable to hold their surprise.
"That, is true power," Jacob took advantage of the opening to hit him in the stomach with his hammer, the larger Hasselback son thrown on his own half-sister, "Power that scum like you willneverpossess!"
And then, the two Calamity-powered girls hit at the center of the enemy's formation, the Hasselbacks and the other toads blinded by the power of the two gems imbued into their holder's bodies, as it disintegrated their armors, scorching the skin of those who weren't protected enough, some of them losing every facial hair that wasn't properly covered by the blast.
And among them:
"My mustache!" Talbert cried, his skin overwhelmed by the heat, as he realized his large mustache was disintegrated, holding on his face and crying like he had just lost an arm.
"What even are they?!" Ruth cried, her hair burning.
"They told you already, but you refused to listen!" The Wrecker said, grabbing Mama by her neck, the fat female toad's face filled with bruises, all her fighting spirit broken into pieces. "Now, Mama: if you know what's good for you and for your children…stay away from Bittyburg!" He threw her away.
It was then, that the Toad's morale collapsed definitely, all the remaining warriors rushing as fast as they could, the Hasselbacks following then, Ruth grabbing Talbert, Heathro and Judro helping their mom as they limped away, until they were no longer in sight.
For a few seconds, no one said anything, to be sure they were really gone. And then, the humans and their friends, as well as all the frogs of Bittyburg, cheered at once.
"We did it! We beat the Hasselback Gang!"
"Our heroes taught us to fight!"
"Victory!"
"Zattenayo!"
Sasha hugged Anne and Marcy, Amelia rushed to cheer with her cousin, the frogs and the humans expressing their happiness to having driven them away, and with this victory, having secured both Bittyburg's future and the path forward.
Only one said nothing, standing silently among them.
"Guess my job here is done," the Wrecker said, starting to walk away, only to be interrupted by Jacob and Amelia.
"Wait!" The samurai girl called out, "They said you're the Wrecker. I heard so many stories about you, at the Bizaare Bazaar, the one time I went to visit it. Those stories about you, are they true? You never lost a challenge?!"
"Frog, mister, you're so cool!" Jacob nodded, his mind astonished by how badass their unexpected ally was, "You were here, and decided to join us? Why?!"
"Sorry kiddo, but you won't find the answers you're looking for today. You still have a long path ahead of you, but we will meet again, before the end," the Wrecker said with a shrug, as he kept walking toward the setting sun, the two humans unable to say anything as they watched him leave, his shadow disappearing into the sunset…
(…)
"This is impossible!" mama Hasselback said, as they walked through the desert and back to Happy Harry's hideout. "I refuse to believe this happened!"
"Mama, please, slow down!" Talbert cried out, one hand passing over where his mustache used to be, "We can't keep up if you don't slow down!"
"Ugh…" Ruth lamented, her body aching in pain due to the bruises received, holding her cut-off tail in her hands. "Those monsters…whatever it was, I'm going to make them pay!"
"That's for sure honey!" Mama roared, the humiliation for their defeat fueling her rage. "Let those pipsqueaks and their freak protectors enjoy today. We will be back, with much more soldiers, and then-"
"You'll do nothing of the kind." A deep male voice called out, Mama, her family and all the toads who were limping alongside them stopping suddenly, as they realize they were surrounded.
Many toad warriors, all dressed in makeshift armor or bandit outfits had been waiting for them, each one of them armed with different weapons, from long pikes to rusty swords, and all pointing toward the Hasselback. In front of the Toads was Happy Harry, the fake bartender's corpse laying on the ground, his lifeless body covered in bruises implying a painful death. And standing just above it...
Mama's eyes widened, her children taking one fearful step back while the toads who were with them shivered in shock. In front of them, stood a large deep-green Toad, dressed in an orange heavy armor, a huge axe on his back, looking at them with eyes filled with contempt. Seeing at the sudden adversary, at his armor and weapon, Mama could barely hide her nervousness. For the second time today, Mama Hasselback was genuinely worried about someone else.
"So, you're the one the local frogs call Mama Hasselback." The large toad said, walking forward. "The one who barged inside Happy Harry's hideout and forced him to lend you his goons, because this lousy son of yours came back crying pathetically after getting his butt kicked."
"Hey, don't you dare insult Mama, you ugly-"
Before Heathro could finish his sentence, the other toad punched him violently on his face, the Hasselback's head making a quarter turn due to the violence of the impact. Teeth and blood falling on the ground, followed by the body of Heathro himself, wheezing as he realized his neck was broken.
"Heathro!" Mama and her other children called out in horror, only for the other toads to jump in action, quickly grabbing the three remaining Hasselback children and the toads who had gone with them, restraining them, and making them unable to resist or run.
"You-you…" Mama gasped, as the stranger turn his back on her dying son, now facing her frontally. "Do you know who am I? You're dead meat, you understand? Dead!"
"Is there something more pathetic that empty threats?" The large toad scoffed, apparently unaffected by her threats. "I've heard them from any other bandit leader who refused to kneel before of me, and believe me, they all lacked creativity."
Judro gasped, as he realized who Mama was facing. "You are that guy who had been fighting all gangs' leaders, is that right? The guy Happy Harry was so scared about, Rehys!"
"Indeed. The poor fool believed I would spare him, if he confessed as soon as I confronted him." He gave an unsympathetic glare to his body, "Still, in the end he got off easy. After all… my master is not as merciful as I am."
"Master?" Ruth spoke in a low voice, wondering who could keep such a brute as a subordinate.
Less than a minute later, her questions were answered, as the crowd of toad bandits behind Rehys opened, and in walked another figure, a bit slenderer than his toad subordinate, dressed in a black armor with a gray cape running from his shoulder, the sheath of a long and sturdy sword on his side, some partly Ruth had never seen before over his chest. And his face… oh frog, his face!
Talbert left out a whimper, as he realized this being was a creature just like the ones they faced in Bittyburg, with blonde hair and a bump in the middle of his face.
"Rehys," the armor-clad monster said, looking at Mama with eyes filled with hate.
"Prince Aiden," Rehys said as he stepped back. "All preparations have been completed. The full might of the Army of the Hand is now yours to wield."
"Excellent, my soldier. You have performed beyond my expectations."
"You are one of those filthy freak monsters!" Mama called out, all the pain and anguish she had felt with the death of her son, the humiliation she had been forced to endure in Bittyburg, the still-fresh pain from the battle, condensing together as fury once again took over her mind, as she rushed forward, trying to hit that creature with her fists.
Yet, before her punch collided with Aiden's face, the human prince moved, grabbing her hand with his own and holding it firmly, as he began to squeeze. Mama struggled, trying to free her fingers, before the pressure on her hand became untenable and she screamed, blood dripping as Aiden kept gripping her hand, her bones beginning to crack as metal pushed onto them.
"Yes, I already know." Aiden said with a cold voice devoid of emotions, the grip of his hand becoming stronger. "I know about you, of what you attempted to do."
With his free hand he punched Mama in the guts, before releasing her now useless hand, the toad taking a step back before tripping, falling onto the ground with her back.
"How you dared to hurt my treasures." Aiden moved forward, until he was now just above Mama, his metallic boot kicking her knee.
"This is for getting into my plans." He kicked her knee again, breaking the bone out of her flesh, her childen struggling as they desperately tried to free themselves, yelling at Aiden to let her mother go.
"This, is for the pain you've spread," Aiden kicked her other knee, breaking it as he had done with the other.
"This, is for forcing me to come here just to deal with you," Aiden lowered himself down and grabbed her left arm, cogs and engines turning and mechanical sounds being heard as the armor he wore began to enhance his strength as he pulled, mama Hasselback screaming in pain as the human ripped her lower arm from the rest of her body.
"This, is for not having known your place!" Aiden grabbed her other arm and did as the other, Mama yelling louder and louder as her adversary kept breaking her, piece by piece.
"THIS, IS FOR THE ATTEMPT YOU'VE PULLED ON MY WIVES AND COURTSANS!" The human's fingers now moved to Mama's head, grabbing her left eye and ripping it out of the eye socket before squishing it, repeating it for her right eye a few seconds later.
"B-bas…" Mama tried to yell, even among so much pain, only for feeling the human's hand grabbing her tongue and slowly pull it out of her mouth.
"And this?" Aiden said once again, tearing off her tongue and throwing it into the ground, "This is for having called me monster."
The matriarch of the Hasselback family, stripped of her limbs, her eyesight, and her speech, could do little now except lying on her back, as she felt Aiden get up from her body and address the others, the Toad's blood dirtying his boots and gloves.
"Now, those of you who accepted to follow her will be punished, but as a show of my magnanimous mercy, I'll offer you a chance to avenge your honor…as long as you will succeed the missions I'll give to you. As for you," Aiden said, glaring at the three survivors of the Hasselback gang, "I'm offering you a choice. Submit, and serve me as your new lord and master, or suffer the same fate as your brother!" He moved aside, letting the three Hasselbacks look over the lifeless body of Heathro, his blood pouring onto the ground.
For a moment, Mama hoped that her children would refuse the offer, stand together as a family as she had nurtured them. But then, her hopes were shattered as she heard them all beg and grovel, just like many of their victims had done to them once.
"My Lord, I'll do anything if you'll allow me to live!"
"Anything you will order, I will fulfill!"
"I will never betray you, to the end of the time!"
Mama tried to call them out, to yell at them for such a treachery, but she failed, her mouth unable to speak without her tongue, so the only sound that left her lips was an agonizing rattle of pain.
"Then, it is settled," Aiden spoke again, turning back to his subordinate. "Rehys, I'll entrust you with them. Don't disappoint me."
"I won't sir! But, if I am allowed to ask…shouldn't we give her coup de grace?" The large Toad pointed at Mama with his eyes.
"No," Aiden replied, unable to hear the curses Mama was yelling at him in her mind. "We won't give her… such mercy."
As the toads and their monstrous master walked away, Mama Hasselback was left alone, lying on the sand of the desert, unable to move or even see the environment around her, her anger melting down and leaving dread on its place, while long-lost memories of a lifetime of crime and potency flashing before her now empty eyes.
She remembered of people long gone, her husbands who had died a whole generation's length ago … friends who she turned against to gain leadership of the gang … a brother, who had been killed in a robbery and that she herself avenged by burning the whole town down. She remembered the first victim of her criminal activities, and the hundreds of others harassed by her own hands, and thousands more that had suffered by the hand of her family members and accomplices.
So much pain she had caused in her life, and now, as she lied on the ground of the land she often claimed to rule, with nobody left to bring her comfort in the perpetual night, she wondered if it was really all so worth it.
If she could have a chance to go back, would have she changed her path? Strayed away from her life of crime, and build herself a respectable life of honesty and responsibility?
As Mama Hasselback was left wallowing to the mirage of what could have been, she didn't notice the slow, creeping thing which had picked up on her distress and approaching her, until she heard a metallic clicking growing louder by the minute, the scent of decay reaching her nostrils, her damaged body unable to move or resist, as she felt a billion tiny feelers all over her skin, walking over her body before beginning to feed. Mama tried to scream, but her airway was already clogged, as she felt inside her now a million little things biting, cutting, slicing her apart into so many minute pieces and building their own life from the dwindling essence of the once powerful bandit matriarch.
As the six humans had learned in the previous months, Amphibia was home of many bug species whose dimensions and aggressiveness made them dangerous enemies to any creature, yet as Nature was quick to remind, not always the largest creatures were the deadliest as well. And while the Silver Ants of Shoggoth didn't reach the size of the Barbari-Ants or other ant species of Amphibia, their sheer numbers, their ability to work in group and the relentless will through which they hunted all creatures who weren't fast enough to evade, made them worse predators than their distant relatives.
For it was no worse death, in all of Amphibia, than being ripped to shreds and eaten alive.
Silently screaming for assistance, Mama Hasselback, once leader of the Hasselback Gang and one of the toughest toad bandits of Amphibia, was now food for the ant colony preying on her flesh.
The largest predator here, humbled by the smallest.
On the road to Newtopia, having left Bittyburg and its grateful inhabitants behind them, the humans and their frog families were talking about the event of the day, while Hop Pop kept driving the fwagon toward the sunset.
"You should have seen him in action, Hop Pop!" Jacob exclaimed with voice full of excitement, "The Wrecker arrived all of a sudden, scared Mama Hasselback with a glare, kicked her in her a-" he stopped for a second, noticing the glare Felicia was sending him before deciding for a swap, "behind, and once the battle was over, he didn't stop for celebrations and just left!"
"That's true!" Amelia nodded eagerly, equally smitten with the Wrecker, "he just arrived, beat the bad guys and then left as fast as he arrived, just like a badass ronin!"
"Too bad you feel asleep before the battle, Hop Pop," Anne said, "you truly missed something epic!"
Hop Pop chuckled, trying not to appear nervous. "Don't worry about me, kiddos. You know I prefer peace and negotiations to violence. Still, if the Wrecker himself appeared, you had quite a powerful ally on your side."
"I am sure they did," Felicia said in a sweet voice, a smug grin on her face as she looked at him.
"Still, I wonder how he knew we could use some help." Anne pondered about it, "Do you think he had followed us from the Valley? Like some kind of mysterious ally, watching over us from afar?"
"Do you think we will meet him again?!" Jacob wondered, his heart and mind eager to see the Wrecker in person once again. "He told me we will meet him again before the end! What do you think it may means?"
"I am sure that's something you will eventually figure out, kiddo. I too believe this is not the first time you meet…the Wrecker."
The kids nodded happily, tired but satisfied of themselves for having protected the town from the Hasselbacks, Sprig and Marcy taking out their fiddles and beginning to play a music that Jacob had told them about, the boy recognizing it and beginning to sing almost like a cowboy hero of a movie.
"I'm a poor lonesome cowboy
I'm a long, long way from home
And this poor lonesome cowboy
Has got a long, long way to roam." The boy sang, Felicia, Polly, Ivy and Maddie looking at him.
"Over mountains over prairies
From dawn till day is done
My horse and me keep riding
Into the setting sun."
"Lonesome cowboy, lonesome cowboy," Anne and Sasha began to sing, eventually joined by the other humans,
you're a long, long way from home
Lonesome cowboy, lonesome cowboy,
You've a long, long way to roam."
"Yee Haw!" Everyone shouted at once, the snails whining while Akitsu buzzed loudly, her wings beating as fast as they could, the fwagon continuing its journey toward amazing new adventures in the horizon.
(…)
Unbeknownst to the heroes, to Aiden or to anyone else for the matter, something was walking on the road to Newtopia. Something whose first memory after being born was two wagons drawn by snails driving away; and since then, it had been following them over mountains and plains, walking day and night without ever stopping to rest.
Because, unlike any biological creature, it didn't need any rest.
The large frog-shaped robot, born from the factory that the humans and their friends had visited during their time among the Ruins of Despair, was now walking through the desert, his long arms scraping the ground, when its optical sensor noticed something to his right, that quickly got its attention. Coming closer, he noticed that it was the skeleton of a large female toad, with chunks of flesh dangling from the bones to indicate she hadn't died for too long. Crawling among the skeleton a dozen or more of silver ants, the last stragglers of the huge horde that gnawed the unlucky toad, were busy cutting off the last meat and carrying it away to their hideout.
For a few seconds, the robot looked at the skeleton, before resuming his walk, walking over the toad's skull and cracking it open, the ants quickly moving to explore the cracked skulls, ignoring the giant robot just as he did with them.
For predators of Amphibia had no interest in a mechanical creature like itself.