Chapter 14
Frogs vs. Toads
Anne, Sasha, and Matt sat in the briefing room. They stared at a map of Amphibia.
"According to Mother Olm," said Anne. "We'll need to get the music box if we are to stop Andrias."
"We'll need allies," said Sasha. "And I know just who to recruit first." She put a sticker of a toad on the map of Amphibia. "Grime and Dareth's sister, Beatrix, built a secret army of toads. I already asked her to meet with us, and she's on her way."
"But do you think she'll go for it?" asked Matt. "From what I've seen, frogs and toads don't always get along. Aaron and Dareth are the only frog-toad duo I know."
"That's why I sent Grime and Sprig to be the welcome wagon," Sasha assured. "She'll see firsthand that frogs and toads can work together."
"But Grime and Sprig can't work together," said Anne. "Ever since Sprig beat Grime in Newtopia, things have been tense between them."
"Oh, shit," Sasha muttered.
The three quickly ran out of the room.
Meanwhile, Sprig and Grime were waiting for Beatrix outside. Things were pretty awkward between them.
"Is Beatrix cool or does being a jerk run in the family?" Sprig eventually asked.
"We do share a hate for the whines of tiny frog children," Grime replied. "You should leave."
"Nope. Sasha asked me to be here, and she's in charge. Last I checked, you're just a foot soldier."
"Alright, I had enough of you, you little…"
Anne, Sasha, and Matt made it before things could get worse.
"Hey, change of plans!" Sasha yelled.
But it was too late. Beatrix and her soldiers already arrived.
Beatrix leaped off of the ladybug transport and tackled Grime in a wrestle. Grime did not like it.
"Get off!" he demanded.
"What's the matter, Grimothy?" asked Beatrix. "All toads love a good wrestle, unless hanging out with these frogs made you soft." She turned to Sasha. "But seriously, what do you want, Sasha?"
"Anne, drumroll please," Sasha requested. Anne played a drumroll sound effect on her phone while Sasha made her speech. "As commander of the Wartwood Resistance, I propose you join our frog army, and together, we take down King Andrias."
Beatrix got off of Grime and stared at Sasha. "Toads serving frogs? That makes no sense. Last I checked, frogs can't fight!"
"Can't fight, eh?" Sprig said, ignoring Grime's demands to shut up. "If we can't fight, then how did I beat Grime one-on-one?"
Beatrix was shocked at this knowledge. "You what? That only proved my point. Living with frogs has made my brother laughably weak. Thanks for wasting my time!"
"Not so fast," said Grime.
He made a few noises and dances. He then punched a toad aside and took their sword. He used the sword to draw a circle around himself and Beatrix in the dirt.
"What the hell just happened?" asked Matt.
"He invoked the sacred law of toad challenge," Beatrix explained. "And I am honor-bound to accept it. State your terms, brother!"
"One-on-one arena combat," said Grime. "Loser's army joins the winner's."
"Deal, but I won't fight you!"
"What?"
"Wartime law says I can choose any of your allies to fight in your stead. And I choose…" Beatrix needed a minute to ponder her decision. A part of her wanted to finally have that rematch against Matt, but then she thought back to how her brother was beaten by a frog. Her curiosity for the little pink frog got the better of her. "Frog! If this little guy wins, we'll join your army, but if I win, you have to join ours as cannon fodder! I'll return at dawn for our battle! Later soon-to-be losers!"
Beatrix got back on her ladybug with the rest of her forces. They flew away, leaving Anne, Sasha, Matt, Sprig, and Grime to stand in silence. The humans were bewildered, Grime was guilty, and Sprig was unfazed.
"Sorry, guess I should've brushed up on toad law," Grime apologized.
"You just bet… the entire rebellion… on a cage match?" Anne yelled. "And put down Sprig's life as collateral?"
"I can take her," Sprig said, overconfident. "I beat Grime, so I can beat his sister too."
"You barely beat me against a chaotic siege," Grime retorted. "Arena matches are a different beast."
"Grime, you were a gladiator," said Sasha. "You can show Sprig the ropes."
"I don't need Grime!" Sprig argued. "He can't stop Beatrix from giving him noogies!"
"Fine with me!" Grime shouted. "Good luck going against the toughest toad in Amphibia!"
"Enough!" Sasha snapped as she got between Sprig and Grime. "I'm making a decree!" Anne grabbed a sheet of paper to write it down. "I hereby order Grime and Sprig to spend the night training. If they decide to whine and pout like bitchy babies instead, they'll be banished from Wartwood forever! Or at least until the war starts."
"Tough, but fair," Anne smiled. "Your co-signature?"
Sasha signed the decree, making it official. With that, Sprig and Grime were sent into the woods.
The kids walked back into the base.
Sprig and Grime walked deeper into the woods. They both groaned. Neither of them wanted this.
"Okay," said Grime. "We clearly don't like each other, but can we try to let bygones be bygones?"
"No!" Sprig yelled. "You extorted my town for years, imprisoned us when we fought back, and tried to kill my Hop-Pop!"
"Well, you haven't been nice to me either! I know it was you who put poison ivy in my cornpiece!"
"YOU TRIED TO KILL MY HOP-POP!"
"HE WAS A POLITICAL LIABILITY!"
"Okay, this is getting old. Might as well teach me your 'special toad tactics'."
"We actually do call them 'special toad tactics' so sarcasm denied."
"Dammit!"
Anne and Matt met up at the spa for a little self-care day. They thought Sasha would come too. She wasn't there.
"Where's Sasha?" they asked each other.
Sasha was in the briefing room with her parents. They agreed to spend the day together. They were gonna do Sasha's favorite activity, well, before the divorce at least. Arts and Crafts.
Grime started to train Sprig.
The first thing they did was try to lift sticks holding buckets of water. Grime lifted them flawlessly. Sprig lost his balance.
Next, Grime used his tongue to destroy a pillar. Sprig tried that, and he broke his tongue.
Then, Sprig tried to punch Grime in the chest. Even without the armor, the punch ended up destroying Sprig's knuckles.
"This isn't working," Sprig whined.
"You think?" Grime asked. "Your small frog body is too frail for traditional toad conditioning."
"Then maybe I don't need to fight like a dumb toad!"
"Say 'dumb toad' again!"
"Dumb toa…" Grime punched Sprig and sent him flying before he could finish that sentence. Sprig quickly got his bearings. "That's it! I'm outta here! I'll figure out how to beat Beatrix on my own!"
Sprig hopped away.
"No you won't!" Grime called out. "But at least it won't be my fault when you get maimed!" He sat on a stump and tried to keep his composure. He couldn't. "How the hell did I lose to that BRAT?"
Sprig started to punch a tree. He managed to crack it.
"Ha ha!" he said to himself. "I'm getting somewhere!"
He wasn't though. Some yellow ooze dripped out of the tree. Then a bunch of giant furry bees came out of the tree.
"AH!" he screamed. "I'm smack-dab in the middle of a hybeena nest!"
Grime popped up and punched some bees aside.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," said Sprig. "But I'm happy to see you. How'd you find me?"
"I heard your shrill yell from across the forest," Grime replied.
"Hurtful, but okay."
The bees continued to attack. Sprig was quick though. He quickly started to launch mud off of his slingshot. The bees all came to the ground. One even exploded.
"That speed," Grime remarked. "That's actually impressive."
The bees surrounded Grime and stung him in all areas. Grime built up the anger inside of him until he could take them all down.
Sprig and Grime quickly finished off the rest of them.
"Good battle," said Grime.
"Yeah," Sprig agreed. "We beat their bee butts."
"I gotta say, you pack a lot of speed and accuracy for a tiny frog."
"And you took that hit and gave it back to them twofold. How?"
"Toads are trained from a young age to let rage give you strength. If funneled correctly, it can be a secret weapon."
"That's actually cool. Maybe I could learn a thing or two from you."
"Yes, and I might be training you wrong. Instead of molding you into the perfect toad, I should focus on your strengths as a frog."
"Well, Grimothy, wanna give this another shot?"
"Indeed, but don't call me Grimothy again or I'll eat you alive."
Sasha and her parents successfully crafted a small pink circlet within a few minutes.
"I can't believe how fast we put this together," Bruce remarked.
"Yeah," Karen added. "Usually, it takes us at least a montage."
Sasha tried the circlet on. It fit her perfectly.
First, Sprig hopped back and forth to build up kinetic energy. He punched Grime in the chest. It didn't hurt Grime, but it didn't hurt Sprig either.
Next, Sprig swung off the branch of a tree. He flew into the air and used his tongue to grab a stick holding buckets of water. He lifted it into the air and tossed it onto a pillar. The pillar shattered. He then flew towards Grime and punched him in the gut. This time, Grime was sent flying into a tree.
"Grime, are you okay?" Sprig asked.
Grime quickly sat up. "Woo! You're ready."
The next day, Anne, Sprig, and Grime were at the Grub n Go. Anne gave Sprig a small armor.
"Here you go, bud," said Anne. "Looking intimidated."
"What do you think, big guy?" asked Sprig. "Do I have a chance?"
"Realistically, no," Grime replied. "But you frogs always surprise me."
Sprig walked out of the Grub n Go. He entered the cage where Beatrix was waiting for him.
Thankfully, Sprig wasn't alone. He had a lot of support with him. Sasha, Percy, Braddock, and a couple of frogs even arrived in cheerleader uniforms to cheer for Sprig.
Cherry Bomb - The Runaways
Sasha:
Can't stay at home, can't stay in school
Old folks say, "You poor little fool"
Down the streets I'm the girl next door
I'm the fox you've been waiting for
All:
Hello, daddy, hello, mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
[Sprig dodged Beatrix's attacks at fast speeds, and even landed a few hits.]
Sasha, Percy, and Braddock:
Stone Age love and strange sounds too
Come on, baby, let me get to you
Bad nights causing teenage blues
Get down ladies, you've got nothin' to lose
All:
Hello, daddy, hello, mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
[After a while, Beatrix could read Sprig's moves. Before he could land his next hit, she caught him in a wrestle.]
Sasha:
Hey, street boy, want some style?
Your dead end dreams don't make you smile
I'll give you something to live for
Have you and grab you until you're sore
All:
Hello, daddy, hello, mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
Hello world I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-cherry bomb
[Sprig remembered Grime's advice. He built up his anger. He headbutted Beatrix and knocked her out. Sprig won the match.]
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry Bomb
"Woo!" Anne cheered. "That was amazing, dude!"
"Well, I couldn't have done it without Grime's training," Sprig admitted.
"Damn right," Grime added. He then laughed. "I'm kidding. Great job, Sprig."
Beatrix got up.
"I have to admit," she said. "That frog-toad fighting style really was impressive. Perhaps our armies united will be stronger. Commander, I lend my troops to fight for the resistance."
Sasha bowed.
"Who would've thought?" Hop-Pop remarked. "Frogs and toads on equal footing."
"I know this undercuts the lesson, but it's too good to pass up," said Grime. "Beatrix lost to a frog! Beatrix lost to a frog!"
Beatrix grabbed Grime by the throat. That shut him up.