HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, METROXLR! HOPE THIS WAS WORTH THE WAIT!
Soon enough, it was dinnertime at the Plantar's residence. Everyone was dressed up in their best attire and putting the last few decorations up…
When Olivier suddenly poofed into the living room, startling almost everyone.
"Guess whose back?" The half-witch boy announced.
"DANG IT BOY, STOP THAT!" Hop-Pop said as he caught his breath, feeling he'd just missed a heart attack. "Why you gotta be so flashy?"
"Magic!" Olivier smirked, handing the elderly frog some containers just in time to feel two familiar arms wrap around his waist. He then grabbed the hands of those arms and kissed them, "Annie."
It was at this point Anne got a good look at her boyfriend's attire; a green outfit with a regal looking cape, his hair freshly washed and slicked back and any bits of dirt and grime from his face gone. Plus the adoring gaze in his mismatched eyes gave him a suave look.
"Hubba, hubba!" Anne blushed and fanned herself. "Ollie, where were you hiding that?"
"Oh this? Just a little something Grunge gave me before I came back." He smiled, motioning at the cape before he caught sight of what Anne was wearing. "Whoa….Where did you keep THAT?"
"A little something Mrs. Croacker made up for me." Anne said as she gave a twirl, "How do I look?"
"Radiant as always." Olivier smiled kissing Anne on the cheek before bowing at her best friend. "And Marcy, you look beautiful as well."
Marcy blushed at the half-witch's words, but managed to smirk and knowingly elbow Anne.
"Lucky girl!" She teased her best friend.
"AHEM!" Another voice cut in.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Maddie!" Olivier cooed, moving his cape to reveal Maddie Flour wearing a gothic style dress, complete with gloves a little collar for the back of her neck and her hair done up in a spiral.
(A/N: Think the dress Marcy wore in her Theme song take over)
"…Whoa." Sprig's jaw was hanging
Anne and Olivier snapped it back up, the boy coughing into his hand as a subtle reminder;
'She may like you and you may like her, but she is my apprentice and little sister figure. Make her uncomfortable in anyway and I WILL hurt you.'
Sprig, catching onto this, recomposed himself and made his way over
"Hey Maddie. Glad you could make it." He managed.
"So that's what happened to that old dress I gave you." Marcy smiled.
"I changed the color." Maddie admitted. "Hope you don't mind."
"No problem." Marcy assured her. "Just glad I didn't have to toss it. Lady Olivia went out of her way to get me that…"
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
The conveastions were put on hold as Anne went to the door.
"Okay, everyone. Be nice." She asked, opening the door to Sasha leaning against as Grime, dressed in a suit with a furry shoulder guard, smiled his big, toothy and horrifying smile.
"DON'T KILL ME!" Hop-Pop screamed, recoiling in fear.
"Back off!" Spirg, slingshot ready and aimed, glared.
"Hello." Maddie waved.
"TAKE HOP-POP, HE'S OLD!" Polly begged, pushing her grandfather forward.
"AHEM!" Anne and Oliver frowned at their adoptive family…minus Maddie, who just kept waving happily.
"Um, I mean…hey, how's it going?" Hop-pop said, once he and his grandchildren fixed themselves up.
Grime made his way inside, pushing something covered in a tarp before he faced Anne and Olivier.
"My sincere thanks to you all for the kind invitation. Your home is... sufficient for habitation. "
"I think it rather homely." Grunge said with a smile as he stepped in, giving a gentlemanly bow to Anne and a salute to Olivier. "Reminds me of the vacation cabin we stayed at when were younger."
Grime and Sasha, somehow missing Grunge, continued to walk on in, the former Captain pushing his cart in front of Hop-Pop.
"I baked a vol-cake-no." He explained to Hop-Pop. "It needs a little more time to rise, but it's sure to end the night with a devastating EXPLOSION...of chocolaty goodness."
Maddie, ever the baker, was excited and helped Hop-Pop push the cake inside.
"No peeking!" Grime called out.
"No need to tell me, I'm a Baker." Maddie replied, turning to Hop-Pop. "Think of this like suffle. ONE showing?"
Hop-Pop, understanding, moved along.
Meanwhile, Olivier watched in anticipation; Anne, Marcy and Sasha stood near each other, no words being said. He cursed leaving Fleetwing at home; poor Palisman had taken a funny rodent of some kind..And then of course, the memories of the LAST he and Sasha had met….
If he hadn't met Anne? MAYBE he could've given her a chance. She was attractive in a certain way….But she was so much like…THOSE TWO…!
'No, no!' he told himself. That wasn't a fair call to make. She WAS Anne's friend…who had made some very big mistakes…and acted like THOSE TWO…!
Shaking those thoughts aside, tyhje half-wicth boy stood at the ready.
"Well, girls." Sasha noted, finally breaking the silence with a raised eyebrow. "Looks like…"
She then broke into a great big smile and opened her arms.
"WE'RE ALL FINALLY BACK TOGETHER AGAIN!"
Anne and Marcy let out delighted squeals as they hugged Sasha, who followed in kind. Everyone else covered their ears (or scars where ears were, in Olivier's case) and waited for the screams to die down.
"HUMAN FRIENDSHIPS ARE LOUD!" Polly groaned.
"Wait a few years, young lady! Girl friendships of ALL races tend to be!" Hop-Pop managed.
"My, my, my! Such entertainment and dinner is not yet even served!"
It was then that everyone else realized there was someone else jn the Plantar house: A warty toad with sharp teeth and pronounced eyebrows.
"GRUNGE?!" Grime and Sasha screamed
"Grimothy. Sasha. An unexpected surprised, yeeees?"
The two were scared out of their wits by his arrival but managed to hide it well.
"Uh, y-yeah!" Sasha chuckled. "Didn't think you'd ever leave your castle…"
"You didn't even join the Toad Lord summit." Grime noted. "So why come all the way out here?"
"One, Beatrice was there."Grunge growled, several bad childhood memories filling his head. He waited until his brother nodded in understanding before he continued. "Second…my first and greatest apprentice is bound to return home soon; I needed to say a proper goodbye. That, and this Wartwood is a nice change of pace."
A gasp filled the air and all eyes turned to Marcy.
"No…Freaking…way…Ollie, you studied under THE Grunge?!" Marcy squealed.
"Ah, you've heard of me?"
"Are you kidding, I've been trying to find you!" Marcy admitted. "Before Maddie started teaching me the basics, I looked high and low for the greatest wizards in Amphibia! Your name came up so many times…"
"Better than Barry, at least." Maddie grumbled, Anne and Olivier nodding in agreemen as Grunge let out a hearty laugh.
"I think I rather like you, Ramger Marcy. Open-minded and wanting to learn. If you'd like, perhaps sometime in the comings day I could answer any questions you may have on our world's magic…AND forgotten history."
Marcy held back squeals at that notion, but Grunge's brother seemed annoyed.
"Oh, not that again…" Grime grimaced, massaging his temples. He went ignored as the Dark Wizardmade his way to the Plantars.
"I've brought some ale from my castle to go with dinner." Grunge explained as he handed Hop-Pop a chilled bottle before reaching into his pocket revealing three small sacks. "And for the little ones? Newtopian candies."
Maddie, Sprig and Polly giddily raced to each grab a bag for themselves
"AFTER DINNER!" Hop-Pop said, snatching them away as Grunge then let out an uncharacteristic, almost childishly giddy gasp.
"Is…Is that a Vol-cake-no?!" He reached to peak under the tarp…
"AH TUT, TUT, TUT, TUT!" Grime slapped his younger brother's hand away. "Wait until it rises!"
Grunge let out a very child-like pout and grumbled.
"I know just how you feel…." Olivier and Anne said together, recalling their mothers keeping them from sneaking bites of cookies and or cake mix.
AMPHIBIA
"Sprig, why don't you sit next to Maddie?" Olivier suggested as everyone sat down.
Sprig had taken the other seat next to Anne to prevent Sasha from sitting there. So to prevent some drama and seeing his apprentince sitting close to Grunge, Olivier had made that suggestion.
Sprig normally would've gone against this, but seeing his friend so close to a dark wizard and knowing Olivier was right beside Anne? He relented and did so, but shot Sasha look.
With that, roasted vegetabls were served and dinner begam.
"Mmm! It tastes so fresh.!" Grime salivated his turnip. "You must tell me which frogs you extort for produce."
"Um, we are frogs." Sprig reminded the former captain.
"Oh, right." Grime realized, tryoing to play it cool. "Yes, of course."
"As rusty on the conversation skills as ever, brother." Grunge sighed, but he too savored the roasted vegetables. "Mmmm…Hopidiah, would you be willing to start a trading deal? Your produce for some of mine and Moss' golems to help around? If not those, perhaps some potoions?"
Hop-Pop gasped.
"You'd really consider that?!"
"I regret to say that even with Moss and Olivier's aid, the soil of my castle is not fit to grow much," Grunge said.
Meanwhile, the kids were enjoying their dinner as well.
"Seriously, this food is good." Sasha noted. She normally wasn't one for just roasted veggies, but this was a nice plate.
"Gotta give it to Hop Pop. He knows his way around the kitchen." Polly smiled.
"It's working, Ollie!" Anne whispered. "We're getting along!"
Olivier smiled. He wasn't too certain on that, but held his tongue.
."Man, Sash. I can't get over your armor. It totally suits you." Marcy beamed.
"I know, right?" Sasha smirked. "Way better than that dorky, medieval school play we were in. Remember how I convinced you guys to skip rehearsal and hang out on the roof?"
"And we had the loudest dance party?" Anne beamed.
"Ha! Classic." Sasha laughed. "Why'd we stop doing stuff like that?"
"Well, when we got caught, Anne took the blame and said it was her idea." Marcy recounted, and suddenly the mood went down.
"My parents grounded me for a month." Anne remarked sadly.
"…Oh, yeah…." Sasha grimaced. "Forgot about that."
'That sounds familiar.' Olivier mused as he took a sip from his drink to hide the glare he was sending Sasha's way. Not only because she'd gotten Anne in trouble, but because the incident reminded him of some…incidents back when he, Willow and…THAT WITCH…thought they were friends.
"Eh, it's in the past. We're all different people now." Anne waved it off.
And with those words? Olivier anger and mistrust vanished. Was he being a fool in love? Maybe. But as long as Anne was happy and Sasha behaved herself? That was fine with him.
"Or are we?" Sprig called out, glaring as Sasha before Maddie pulled him back down.
"Behave." She teethed, making Grunge chuckle.
"PRESENTING THE SECOND COURSE." Frobo suddenly announced as he returned, holding several plates covered up.
"Wait, second course?" Sasha asked. "I mean, yeah, what we had was good and not very filling but…"
"Ooooh!" Hop-Pop clapped giddily as Frobo placed his dinner down.
"I've waiting for this all week!" Polly salivated.
"Here it comes!" Sprig beamed.
The plate coverings were then lifted, revealing an a lovely dish of Thai food, Amphibia style. Frobot then poured the ale Grunge had brought.
"…How…the heck….?" Sasha asked.
"I mean, we've seen burgers and pizza and fries, but….?!" Marcy continued.
"Ollie made everything you are about to taste." Anne cooed lovingly, giving her now blushing and beaming boyfriend a kiss. "Hope you like it!"
"Seriously? Magic, good looking and a chef? Dang girl, I'm jealous!" Sasha smirked as she took a bite...and instantly entered flavor euphoria. 'Oh I am SO making him mine for this alone! The Boonchuys are great cooks, but THIS? I'll never eat out again!'
"Great Googly Moogly!" Marcy smiled as she too savored her dish. "If I didn't know this was Amphibia, I'd swear we were eating right in Thai Go!"
"Well, I had potions to help." Olivier smirked, then his face grew worried as he spied one of the guests reaching for a bit of vegetables. "Oh, careful Grime, those are…!"
"AAAAAAH! I'M DYING!" Grime suddenly screamed
"…Spicy…"
Grunge cackled at his brother's misfortune as he enjoyed his ownj dinner.
"Excellent as usual, Olivier." Grunge smiled. "…I don't suppose you or Mrs. Boonchuy would be willing to share recipes?"
"As a matter of fact…" Olivier smiled, reaching into his cape and producing the journal he'd been writing in that morning.
"I'll make copies tomorrow."
The rest of dinner went smoothly, everyone praising Olivier's cooking.
"Say, um, who's up for a rousing game of drawsidoodle?" Hop-Pop suggested once their plates were licked clean and the last bit of ale downed.
"I…LOVE DRAWSADOODLE!" Grime beamed, slamming his fists onto the table and sending the food and everyone else flying.
"Curse it, Grimothy!"
AMPHIBIA
Olivier ended up going first and started drawing right away.
"A lion!"
"A troll doll?"
The boy barely paid the suggestions any mind, his own mind focusing on his art; trying to make it exactly as he remembered…
"Your mother?"
Pausing and having heard that just as he finished, Olivier nodded and handed his teacher the pencil. Before Grunge started, he let everyone catch a glimpse of Eda Clawthorne; wild haired, golden fanged, sassinss clear…
Anne held Olivier's hand.
"Justa few more days." She promised him.
Marcy thenpatted hjim on his shoulder.
"We'll get you back home, buddy."
Sasha said nothing; she felt a kinship with Eda, but her and Grime's plans….
Grunge drew an option and his usual grin faded for a split second. Like Olivier, he paid the suggestions no mind.
"A toad?'
That got a nod
"Mother? Father?"
"Moss?"
"Someone you knew?"'
As best as everyone tried, no one could've guessed Grunge's answer:
"My teacher at Newtopia University. The LAST professor with any knowledge of magic, alchemy and knowledge about what Amphibia's forgotten golden age.:"
"What happened to them?" Maddie asked, her's and Marcy's interest peaked.
"Officially they snapped. Truthfully, they were enslaved."
"Oh, not this 'The Night' business again!" Grime grumbled.
"Tell me children, when you were recharging the box, did you find an image like this in the temples?"
He then produced a drawing of three humanoids; one pink, one green and one blue, facing off what looked like a gigantic mutli-eyed Toad.
"Actually, yeah." Anne said.
"And I've seen that in several legend and myth tomes…" Marcy added.
Grunge shot Olivier a look; they'd discussed this together. Through their eyes alone, the Dark Wizard knew his student had meant to share this, but had not found the right time. Which was fair.
"I'll not ruin this evening with that tale, but if you ever wish to know just HOW the Levithans came into and have remained in power for so long, come and find me. Regardless of all that…Here, Grimothy. Its's your turn." Grunge said.
Grime stepped up and began to draw.
"frog Ballet!" Sprig suggested.
"Marching bad!" Maddie followed.
"The Marshland Marathon!" Polly added her choice.
Marcy Okay.
Anne (chuckles) You know what this looks like?
Sasha That pep rally where the band got trapped under the stage and…
Anne A certain ant queen and her hive.
Marcy (chuckles) Oh, my gosh. Totally.
Sasha Uh, ant queen?
Anne Oh, you had to be there.
Marcy Inside joke.
"Oh, well, did you want to tell me or…?" Sasha began as Olivier spun a magic circle and used Oracle magic to 'download' the memory into her mind
"MARCY! HOW COULD YOU BE SO RECKLESS!?" Sasha screamed in worry, shaking the genius of the trio.
"SERGEANT CAMPBELL BILGEWATER AND THE HORSEFLY REBELLION OF '48!" Hop Pop shouted, putting the kabosh on that conversation for now.
"Yes!" Grime beamed. "Wow! For a frog, you're pretty smart!"
That comment made everyone irk back.
"Grimothy…" Grunge frowned at his brother.
Reagrdless, Hop-Pop took his turn and began to draw.
"A worm?" Marcy suggested.
"A weird smile?" Anne guessed.
"A sobbing Baslisk or Naga?" Olivier suggested.
"A weeping dirtsnake?" Sasha asked.
"HA!" Sprig laughed. "That doesn't look anything like a weeping dirt snake. Bad guess, bad guess!"
"One more of those and you lose your voice for a week!" Maddie threatened, making Sprig quite down and Sasha smile at the blue frog girl.
Turned out Sasha was right as well, and she made it CLEAR to Sprig….in a way that reminded Olivier of…THAT HYPOCRITE…. As Sprig sunk back into his couch, terrified.
"Whoa, Sash! Take it easy." Anne started, not liking this.
Sasha "But! But!" Sasha began. "He…!"
Olivier handed her the pencil.
"We'll talk to him later. Go and take your turn."
Sasha took a breath and smiled.
"Thanks, Ollie." She said, batting her eyes at him. "Glad to see there's an actual gentleman here."
Olivier simply bowed and returned to his seat.
Sadly….the Plantars then ruined the game. Long story short, they chose THIS of all times to recount how Anne and Sasha had fought at Toad Tower and how Sasha had almost killed herself when Anen chose them over her…after she tried to kill them.
'On one hand, I now have EVERY reason to not fully trust Sasha.' Olivier mused. 'On the other…PLANTARS, YOU MORONS! And on the other hand? We all have changed, so…?'
His master seemed to be of similar thoughts, whispering to Maddie:
"Petty and or ignorant at the worst times, aren't they?"
"Trust me, this is an improvement." Maddie replied, recalling Sprig and Ivy's courtship ritual….
"I ONLY TRIED TO KILL THEM ONE TIME!" Sasha snapped at Anne
"That you even…I can't even…!" Olivier mumbled, then looked and saw something alarming. "Um…Grime? Grunge? The cake…"
"…Oh, noooooo." Grunge gasped in realization as the cake was now the size of a small tower and steaming. "EVERYONE… but Grimothy…GET BEHIND ME!"
Everyone did as the dark wizard commanded, as suddenly the cake shot out chocolate and wasps!
Ti+urns out, this sort of life and death dessert thoing was normal for Toads and Grime had done research on whether frogs liked the same.
"GRIMOTHY, YOU ARE AN IGNORANT, MORONIC MUSUCLEHEADED BUFFON OF AN IDIOT!" Grunge had roared, only for his brother to be taken out by one of the wasps' stingers. "….I thank olm mother and father are not here to see how far you've fallen, rest their souls."
He then tossed his cloak aside and let his powers run through him, Olivier and Maddie quickly by his side. Anne stopped Marcy and Sasha from getting involved just to see 'the awesomeness that unfolded:
Olivier entered his 'Light Mode' and zipped past the wasps, grabbing and bringing Grime to safety as Maddie spun a circle and fired it at one of the wasps, causing it to fight the others. And Grunge's hand became eveloped 9in darkness in which he swallowed up one of the wasps, shooting its stinger out.
"…Whoa…" Sprig, Marcy and Sasha all said together.
"Yup. Whoa." Anne beamed, then getting an idea as she picked up the downed stinger. "Hey, Mar Mar! Got you bow?"
"Always!" Marcy beamed, then catching on. "Ollie! Maddie! Grunge! We got it from here!"
And indeed the did, in less than a minute, the wasps were all downed and, cholcate and roof missinga side, the Plantar home was as normal as it could be.
Olivier smiled in pride of Anne and Marcy, then patted Maddie on the head.
"Beastkeeping, eh?"
"..Well, they are beasts.."
"Great work, Mads." Olviier smiled, msising the smile on Grunge's face.
Off to the side, the girls had a small chat of their own, then returned to brightened spirits.,
"…What about a campfire before we fix up?" Sasha suggested.
And that suggestion was taken up.
AMPHIBIA
The delicious dessert ad roof remaking ended up being the perfect ending to the night. Anne and told Olivier what she, Marcy and Sasha had discussed and while he wasn't pleased with all he heard, he respected it all the same.
Sasha and Grime were now walking back to the Sundew residence, Grunge following them.
"Okay, what are you really doing here?" Sasha asked the dark wizard, finally alone enough, she wagered.
"Just as I said." Grunge shrugged, then smirked. "What? You think I'll tell Anne and Olivier about whatever you, Grimothy, Beatrice. Aldo and Bufo have planned?"
Sasha was shook by this.
"H-how the heck…?!"
"He has his ways." Grime noted.
"I have my ways." Grunge repeated. "And, if you'd let me speak about that creature Grimothy…you'd known you had a willing ally."
Grime opened his mouth to retort…only realize that his little brother was telling the truth.
"By all means. Attempt your coup. Olm, if you let me in the details, I'd be elated to help, yeees." Grunge bowed calmly, making Sasha and Grime smile in anticipation…
Before the Dark Wizard's face suddenly became one of rage as Grime and Sasha found one of his hands around their necks.
"But! Betray me or harm Olivier's chances of returning home? And you'll wish I had tossed you to the golems when we met all those months ago."
"Point…made…brother!" Grime managed, gasping for air once he'd been released and fallen back to the ground. This left Sasha in Grunge's grasp and now, right in his face.
"As for you, Sasha. I spied the way you looked at Olivier." The Dark Wizard growled. "You. Will. Leave him and Anne alone. Besides, she is FAR stronger than you in every way that matters, and Olivier sees a lot of someone he loathes in you."
Sasha caught sight of the ring on her finger and smirked. She remembered how Anne and Marcy….But she didn't change.
"I gave you those rings to bring out your power. Obviously, I would also have the means of keeping you from harming me with it. Do you wish to test that?"
Normally, Sasha wouldn't have backed down. But here? She had no choice. She relented and grunge released her
"Have a lovely night, you two." Grunge smiled as if nothing had just happened.
"…Wait, where are you staying?" Grime asked.
"The mayor was kind enough to lend me his guest room." Grunge smirked, revealing gold coins. "You'd think one as greedy as he would recognize fool's fold."
The Dark Wizard then made his way to his room and slept like a log.
TO BE CONTINUED….
Next Time: Grunge and the Wartood folks! An unexpected reunion, some lore and plans being made!
Sorry for the wait, hope this made up for it!
Again, happy belated birthday MetroXlR99!
I had previously expressed interest in writing a prequel story for Grunge, but my schedule is beginning to grow to the point that doesn't seem likely and, in all honesty, there might not be as much as I thought. So, I've started dropping a few possible hints here and there.
The canonicity of these hints depends on MetroXLR's say.
Originally was going to have Grunge reveal to Sasha that she and Marcy have pretty much lost their Calamity powers, but giving it some thought, he'd probably that knowledge to himself. After all, knowledge is power and what's more satisfying then seeing an enemy reach for power they don't have and realize too late?
I know in the last chapter we saw Grunge's pragmatic side, so hopefully this chapter shows that in spite of that, he IS a villainous toad first and foremost, even if he has a soft spot for his apprentice.