Living in a Frog World

by Cowboy Alchemist

A long time ago, Frank Ramirez and Ann Boonchuy were once best friends. Brought together again, these two will be magically teleported to the world of Amphibia, a rural marshland full of dangerous creatures and anthropomorphic frog. Bond together into an unlikely partnership, while also living with the local frogs, these two will rediscover what real friendship is and become heroes

23. Calamity Wakes

The day Frank lost his friends happened three years ago.

The day before was the first time the girls tried to ditch school and have fun at the arcade. However, Frank didn't go with them, saying that he didn't want to get in trouble just because Sasha wanted to have fun. The blonde girl didn't like that but angrily left with the other girls.

However, they were soon picked up by police and forced back to the school. The principal called their parents, and all three girls were grounded until the end of the month.

"I can't believe that jerk ratted on us!" Sasha yelled, punching the lock next to her.

"Who?" Anne asked, confused.

"Who do you think? Frank! He was the only one that knew about our plan and decided he was too good to come with us," Sasha said, pacing around with an angry expression.

"Whoa, Frank wouldn't do that. He's our friend." Anne told her, trying to calm her friend down.

However, Sasha didn't calm down. The more she thought about it, the more she realized it. Frank's been getting a little too bold for her liking. He's been argumentative, disagreeing with her plans, and hasn't followed her lead like Anne and Marcy. She didn't like that. And she doesn't like keeping things she doesn't like.

Sasha's come to dislike Frank since he started glowing a little backbone and wanted him gone.

"You know, I've been thinking, Anne," Sasha said, turning around with a hand on her chin. With a smirk, she started her explanation. "I just don't think this whole four-friends group is really working. But three? That's a real friend group."

Anne's eyes slowly widened as she backed up a bit. "Wait, what are you talking about," the 10-year-old Thai girl asked. Her gut started turning, feeling that what Sasha had to say wasn't good.

And unfortunately, she was proven right when Sasha's smirk grew. "Look, Frank's a good guy, but I think it's time to say goodbye to our little friend."

"What?! I can't do that!" Anne exclaimed, shocked and appalled by Sasha's suggestion. "We can't do that. Frank's been our friend since kindergarten. He's been my friend since we were in daycare. I…I can't just let that all go."

Seeing that Anne wasn't going with what she wanted, Sasha's expression became stern. She started walking towards Anne, making her walk back to keep some distance between them. "Oh, I understand, Anne. You're a good little girl who loves her mommy and daddy, who's been best friends with a boy for years. But don't you think it's time to move on? Think about it. Wouldn't you rather hang out with your friends that love you? Marcy would agree. Why have one when you can have two?"

Anne felt her back touch the lockers, and Sasha stopped before her. She was looking at her expectantly. However, Anne was still hesitant. She didn't want to stop being Frank's friend. However, disagreeing would mean Sasha would dump her too.

"Sasha, I really think we should—" Anne was stopped when Sasha slammed one hand on the locker beside her head and held up her hand.

"Anne, this isn't cute anymore. Perhaps you need a reminder of what friends do for each other." She said, poking Anne in the chest with a stern glare. "If a friend likes a pencil case, you get it for them. If your friend likes your new shoes, you give them to her. And if a friend wants you to ditch a boy, then you do it, because that's what friends do, Anne! And if you're not willing to do that for me, then we're no longer friends. End. Of. Discussion."

There it was, the one praise that gave Sasha the power to make Anne do whatever she wanted. Sasha always said that when Anne argued with her because the blonde knew Anne had no spine. Just the threat of ending their friendship, a friendship they had since kindergarten, was enough to make her bend to her will. But this was Frank she was talking about. The kindest boy in the world. She wanted to stand up to her friend but feared losing Sasha and Marcy.

Besides, she'd just be losing one friend for two, so it wouldn't be too bad, right?

In the end, Anne sighed sadly. "Okay."

---

Cowboy Alchemist presents

Living in a Frog World

Part 1: Chapter 23:

Calamity Wakes

---

The Thai girl never forgave herself for making that decision. That one conversation with Sasha took her away from her best friend. But Anne knew she decided to do as Sasha said, so she wasn't entirely blameless. She often wondered what would have happened if she had just stood up to Sasha and said no. Would Sasha have just backed down, or would Marcy have ditched the blonde girl to continue being friends with Anne and Frank? Could they have worked something out? Anne highly doubted it, as Sasha was not the type of person to just let things go.

But, now, Anne was happy. Sure, she was trapped in a world of talking frogs, but she was there with her best friend. Their bond had been reforged, and they were closer than ever before. Frank has softened up and was back to being the once-happy boy she remembered him to be.

Together, they walked beside one another as they headed into town with the Plantars. Apparently, something big was going on today, and the froggy family wanted the human kids up and ready to go.

Entering the center of the town square, Frank and Anne were surprised to see almost everyone in Wartwood there. "Man, what is with this crowd? Are fruit flies on sale or something?" asked the Thai girl with a giggle.

Hop Pop said, "No. Today's the day they announce the Frog of the Year award."

"Frog of the what?" Frank asked before Sprig hopped on him.

"Frog of the hoppin' Year, Frank. Every year, the town gets together and votes on the frog they think best embodies the values of Wartwood." Sprig said, hanging off Frank's chest.

"Really? Why is this the first time we're hearing about it?" Anne asked.

"We all voted last week. Don't you remember?" Polly asked while being carried in her bucket by Hop Pop.

"Huh. Not at all. Wonder why." Anne wondered why she didn't know about Frog of the Year.

---

Flashback

On the day the voting polls were opened for Frog of the Year, Anne was sitting with her legs on the couch, wearing earphones and listening to rock music. Frank, meanwhile, was sitting on the other side, with his hat over his eyes, sleeping after having just come back from town.

Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly approached Anne from behind as music played. "Frank, Anne, we're gonna go vote for Frog of the Year now. Wanna come?" asked the elderly frog.

"'No, you'll never make us go!'" Anne sang the song.

"Okay, then." Hop Pop said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, kids. Let's leave these two…alone." He gave Frank a wink, not seeing that he was sleeping under his hat.

"I don't get it," Sprig said as he and the family walked out.

---

Anne thought about it, and she did recall hearing a voice while she was listening to her music.

The conversation was then cut when they noticed Mayor Toadstool walking up to the stage and standing behind the podium. "All right, folks. It's time!" He said with a chuckle. If Frank didn't know any better, he'd say Toadstoal looked confident. But he had a hunch that the fat toad thought he would win, just like he won the election. "As you all know, the Frog of the Year goes to the most selfless, noble, blah, blah, blah... Let's get on with it." He slammed his fists on the podium and held his hand out.

Toadie hopped over and gave the mayor the envelope with the winner's name. Toadstool opened it and started announcing the lucky frog. "And this year's Frog of the Year award goes to—" he gasped and looked at the name again closely. "Well, this can't be right. Anne Boonchuy?"

Everyone in the audience gasped in shock. Frank's eyes widened, and look at his crush, who was just as surprised as he was. A second later, the people around them burst into cheers, except for the Thai girl becoming frog of the year. Anne looked at Frank, wondering what she should do. For a moment, the Hispanic looked like he wanted to tell her something, but he just smiled and grabbed her hand.

As Anne blushed, Frank pulled her along. "Come on, Anne. Let's get you up there!" He exclaimed, pushing frogs out of his way as he helped Anne get to the stage.

While watching the humans, Hop Pop felt his eyes start tearing up. "A Plantar, Frog of the Year. I'm so proud." He cried, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye. He tried flicking it off, only for the teardrop to get stuck to his finger.

Getting on the stage first, while ignoring the annoyed look from Toadstoad, Frank pulled Anne up and let go of her hands. Giving her two thumbs up and a big smile of encouragement, he stepped back and let Anne face the cheering crowd.

Still blushing while rubbing the hand he held, Anne stared out at the audience with a look of amazement. Everyone in Wartwood, from the tallest to the smallest, was giving her cheers and appalls. They were doing it because everyone voted for her to be Frog of the Year. They did it because they all must love her. This made Anne feel extremely touched as she smiled and placed her hands over her heart.

"Wow! Thanks, everyone. I don't know what to say." Anne said, almost feeling like crying.

"I do." And then the moment was ruined by Toadstool. "Are you dumbasses out of your frog-damn minds? How did her name even get on the polls?"

"The hell is your problem?" Frank asked, glaring at the mayor.

"My problem is that she doesn't deserve to host a party!" said Toadstool.

"Party?" Anne asked, excited.

"What party?" Frank asked, confused.

"Oh, it's one of our oldest traditions," said Toadie, stepping in to further explain the position to the Thai girl. He then pulled out a scroll with 'Ye Olde Frog of the Year Bash!' written on it, with a frog in a jester's hat blowing a horn, a thumbs up, and three stitched balloons. "The Frog of the Year has to organize an incredible party for the whole town."

"Yeah!" Toadstool said, glaring at the crowd as he gestured to Anne, who looked somewhat nervous while holding her arm. "And that party is supposed to demonstrate the Frog of the Year's selflessness. And Anne is the farthest thing from selfless."

"Oh yeah? Well, She's more selfless than your crocked ass." Frank stood beside his best friend, pointing his finger at the mayor. "After all the greedy shit you've done, it's no wonder no one voted for you. Anne's done more for the town than you did as mayor."

"Frank's right." Anne smiled with determination and turned to the crowd. "I'll prove I deserve this by putting on a party so big, it'll blow all your minds!" Anne announced to everyone, her voice echoing with excitement as she held her arms wide.

However, no one cheered. The frogs blinked for a second before turning to each other and started murmuring in confusion and worry. One frog heard to have said, "I don't want my mind blown."

"That means it'll be amazing!" Frank quickly stated.

"Oh, okay." That one frog said before the crowd erupted into cheers again. Anne accidentally placed her arm around Frank, and they smiled at each other. Realizing her mistake, she immediately took it away, and they looked away as they both blushed with awkward expressions.

"I'm looking forward to seeing this thing go down in flames." Toadstool snidely to Anne. He and Toadie walked off the stage as Anne and Frank glared at the toad mayor.

"I'm gonna shoot him in the ass again," Anne said.

---

As soon as the five of them arrived back at the Plantar farm, Anne immediately locked herself in the basement for an hour. She was determined to plan out the best party Wartwood had ever seen.

When she came back out, the girl gathered the family into the living room. Anne slammed her fully detailed plans for the party onto the table.

"Boom! Here are my plans to throw the best party and prove that mayor wrong." Anne told the family and Frank as they gathered around to look at the impressively detailed plans. "Stupid mayor with his stupid dumb face."

"Anne, don't worry about what the mayor said. Just have fun planning your party." Sprig said.

"You're Frog of the Year," Polly added.

"Right, right, right, right. Okay, guys, listen up." Anne said before delving into her plans, ignoring Sprig's words about enjoying her own party. "A great party has three ingredients: entertainment, exclusivity, and spectacle. Hop Pop, you're in charge of entertainment. I dub thee Master of Ceremonies."

With this most prestige honor, Anne bestowed onto him a microphone. Hop Pop gasped with stars in his eyes as he took the device. "I've been waiting for this day my whole life."

"Polly, exclusivity. It's your job to decide who gets into the party and who doesn't." She placed a single set of stanchions with a velvet rope in front of the tadpole.

Polly gasped as the look of power formed in her big eyes. "I can't wait to abuse this power!" She said, grabbing one of the stanchions and pulling the set away. Going to do one knows what with them.

"And what about meeeeeeee?" Sprig sang as he jumped on the table and struck a pose for her. He was excited for the Thai girl to give him his role, and so was Anne. However, she was containing it inside her as she spoke.

"Sprig, you have the most important job of all: the spectacle."

"Oh, my frog, oh, my frog, oh, my frog!" Sprig chanted, excitedly stumping his feet.

"At the party…." Anne paused for dramatic effect. However, her excitement couldn't be contained anymore, and the damn busted. With big stars in her eyes, a blush, and the happiest smile she ever made, Anne told him. "You're gonna tell Ivy how you feel about her!"

Sprig's face twisted into a shocked expression. As if Anne slammed his face with Frank's bat. "Wha—Huh?"

"Yup. A legendary party needs a legendary spectacle." Anne told him before opening one of her magazines and turning it to a page before handing it to Sprig. Taking it, the pink frog saw a woman proposing to another woman. "Can you imagine how excited party-goers will be to see true love blossom before their eyes?"

"Didn't rushing love lead to you almost getting eaten by love doves?" Frank asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah bah, bah, bah, that's all the in past." Anne quickly brushed him off.

"I'm not really sure I'm ready for this," Sprig said with uncertainty.

"Sprig, please!" Anne got down on her knees and begged the little frog. "I need your help to make this party amazing." She said, making her eyes pop with presents and balloons in them.

Sprig looked to Frank for help. "You were going to have to eventually. Why wait longer?" He said.

The pink frog groaned with discomfort before smiling at Anne. "Okay.

"Whoo-hoo!" Anne jumped up with joy.

"What about me?" Frank asked, making Anne look at him. "Is there anything I do?"

Anne looked at him strangely, as if he was speaking Spanish or any other different language to her. "What are you talking about, dude? You're my best friend, meaning you'll be my second in command. Think of it as being my executive party planner. I'm counting on you to make it all go smoothly. Come on, everyone. Let's bring the thunder!"

Frank and the Plantar family cheered together.

---

Later in the day, the preparations were already in motion for the Frog of the Year Celebration. Everyone in town was helping get the party ready. Stumpy was preparing a vast array of foods and Thai specialties that Anne had taught him. And then there was the giant wooden statue of Anne as the centerpiece of the party. Crafted by Loggle himself.

"All right, let's see how things are going," Frank said as he walked around with a clipboard and pencil. "Stumpy, I'm smelling that stew from here, and I want some!"

"I'll save ya a bowl!" Stumpy said.

Frank continued walking around the party, checking off everything on the list as he saw them. "Decorations are up, and the glassware is looking polished…." He then came up to the statue as Loggle craved Anne's one shoe. "Loggle, love that statue."

"As beautiful as her, huh?" Loggle asked before returning to his work.

Frank looked up at Anne's statue and smiled. "She sure is," he said before moving on.

As he walked towards Hop Pop, Anne ran over to him. Wearing a pink hat with the acronym FOTY on it. "Hey, executive party planner. How's the big bash looking?" She asked, walking beside him with her hands behind her back.

"Everything's shipshape, captain. Just about to visit our learn comedian," Frank said. Together, they walked over to Hop Pop as he looked over his cards, on which he'd written his material. "All right, Mr. Emcee, let's hear some jokes."

"Okay. Have you heard about the snail who went on a diet?" Hop Pop paused to give the joke time to set in. "He's a shell of his former self!" If there were a drum set, someone would play it when they heard him finish.

"Heh," Frank slipped out a slight snicker as he began to smile. "Alright, that was a little clever."

Anne, however, wasn't impressed with the joke. "Hmm. Okay, okay. A little soft, but keep working on it." She said, trying to encourage him.

Spotting Sprig, Anne made her way to him, with Frank following behind. Set up in front of the little pink frog was a handmade scarecrow of Ivy. Sprig took deep breaths, about to practice his confession.

"Sprig, my man. Let's see how that romantic proposal is going," said Anne, excited to see Sprig's progress.

Sprig cleared his throat. "So, it's gonna go a little something like this, okay?" He said, sounding confident. However, as soon as he looked at the fake Ivy, he choked up. "Uh, Ivy, I got, uh, s-something to tell you, uh- Oop!"

Suddenly, when he took a step forward, Sprig tripped and collapsed straight into the scarecrow. Breaking it as he landed on the ground. Sitting up, Sprig rubbed his forehead until Ivy's severed head landed in his lap, making him scream in horror.

"No, no! This needs work too." Anne clapped her hands on the side of her head. Nothing about this party was going as it should, and it was frustrating her. How was she supposed to throw the biggest party Wartwood's ever seen if everything was collapsing before her eyes?

"Whoa! Stop, Polly! That's not what those are for!" Frank yelled in a panic.

"Says you." Polly chuckled as she swung the stanchions around as if they were nun-chucks. However, this led to her smacking them into the head of one of the caterers. Sending him flying back into a stack of creates and spilling them over. Breaking the contents inside them.

Mayor Toadstool and Toadie were walking by to see the small foul-ups. Leading the toad to cast his judgment. "What'd I tell you, Toadie? She's gonna be the worst Frog of the Year ever."

Those words echoed in Anne's mind. That was the last straw. All the small things that weren't working made Anne blow her short fuse. She groaned in frustration and threw her pink hat down on the ground. "No, no, no, no! I told you guys. This party has to be lit! At this rate, it's gonna be lame! Hop Pop, lemme see those jokes." Hop Pop handed her the jokes, and she skimmed through them. "Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You know what? Written jokes are passé. Get up there and do some improv."

"Improv? I've never done that before." Hop Pop said, but Anne didn't listen to him and pointed to Sprig.

"Sprig, work on that proposal. Get some confidence. Come on." She chastised her frog friend. Anne then pointed to Loggle, who was just about finished with his statue. "Loggle! I'm gonna need you to redo that statue. Make it cooler."

"You serious?!" Loggle yelled, throwing down his tolls.

Anne then marched over to Stumpy. "Stumpy, throw that slop out and replace it with somethin' fancier. Like, I don't know. Sashimi."

"What's a sashimi?" Stumpy asked.

"It's fresh fish, okay? Get it." Anne ordered him before turning her wrath to the other frogs helping to make her party what she wanted it to be. "Burn these decorations and get new ones. Replace that jug band with a deejay. And where the frogging fuck is that chocolate fountain?!"

When she was finished, everyone looked at her like she was a mad woman. And she was. Anne was panting wildly after her long rant, but no one dared try talking to her. That is until Frank approached her from behind.

"Whoa, Anne. Don't you think you should calm down?" He asked with a frown. "You're taking this a little too seriously?"

For a moment, Anne just stood there in silence. "Calm? What do you mean?" Suddenly, she whirled around and yelled at him with a crazed look in her bloodshot eyes. "I'M PERFECTLY CALM!"

Frank quickly backed off.

"Now, hop to it, everyone. We've only got 12 hours left. Hop! Hop!" Anne waved her arms around, prompting the frogs and even Frank to hop away.

---

The night rolled in. The Frog of the Year party was here, and everyone was excited to see what Anne had brought to the table.

What would usually have been a time of dark skies and silence from Wartwood, where all the frog villagers would be fast asleep, was now replaced with colorful lights shining up into the sky and fireflies as rave music boomed from giant speakers. Frogs lined up in a long line, slowly getting into the party. Polly sat proudly at the front of the line, pointing to whoever could enter.

"Uh-uh! Not you." She said, stopping Wally from entering.

"Aw!" the hillbilly frog sulked and looked like he wanted to cry.

"I'm just kidding, Wally. Get in there." Polly exclaimed.

"Validation!" Wally shouted, jumping to his feet and running into the party, cackling like a madman.

Anne made her grand debut as the crowd of frogs grew in size. Her hair was cleansed, straightened, and styled in a way that resembled a pixie cut. She wore bachelor clothes: a pure white tuxedo, a black bowtie, a powder blue undershirt, light gray lapels, a small gold button that pins the coat together, and a purple sash that wrapped around Anne from her right shoulder to her back. And she had two shoes on her feet for the first time in three months. Her dress shoes were peanut brown and of a darker shade near the toe, heel, and tongue and had black hidden knot laces.

Twirling her cane with a golden firefly on it, Anne looked at her guests with a suave expression. "Welcome, my friends, to the best Frog of the Year party ever!" The Thai girl announced to the crowd as the scale of the venue was fully realized as Frank set off the welcoming fireworks. And the crowd was awed in amazement at the statue of Anne performing a dance move that she explained to Loggle was 'trendy' back home.

Frank looked at the abomination with disgust before walking off. His job for tonight was to fix any problems that came up. Which was why he was armed to the teeth with his weapons on him, in case a monster appeared.

The Hispanic boy looked around, seeing everything go off without a hitch. Fireworks were sparking in the sky, and a DJ was off to the side, remixing the best music that Amphibia had to offer. There was even a giant chocolate fountain in the middle of the party.

He walked over to Anne as she was standing near the fountain, proud at the sight of her party. "Gotta say, you were going a little crazy initially, but you actually pulled it off, Anne." Frank complimented Anne.

"Blunt as ever, Frank. But it all worked out. All everyone needed was a little push, and I gave it to them. After tonight, I'm gonna be the best Frog of the Year!" Anne said.

Frank chuckled at that but smiled at his crush. "You deserve it, Anne." He said.

Both boy and girl looked at one another with warm smiles, feeling all fuzzy inside. But then they quickly averted their eyes away from each other out of sheer embarrassment, their faces flushed. "I-I should go back to hosting," said Anne.

"A-And I should go make sure everything is still in working order," Frank said before walking off.

However, things were about to take a turn for the worse.

It all started with Stumpy's food stand. The cook brought a colossal fish and set it on the food stand to serve. "All right, Stumpy, what do we got here?" asked Toadstool, who was the first in line.

"This is Sashimi. He's a mudskipper." Stumpy said, petting the dead fish with his spatula hand.

"Ooh. And is it, uh, fresh?" The mayor asked, interested in the taste of the animal.

Stumpy raised an eyebrow at the question. "Well, ya can't get fresher."

But when he said the fish might be fresh, he didn't mean that it was still alive. Yet it was! The monstrous mudskipper suddenly reared up and roared angrily, scaring everyone off before chasing after Toadstool.

At the same time, Hop Pop was up on the stage, sweating profusely as he grabbed the mic. But his sweat made the mic slip out of his hands, making him scramble to catch it quickly. The old frog nervously chuckled. "All right, folks. It's time for some improv. You, sir, where are you from?"

"I'm from the same town as you, buddy," said the frog.

"Oh! Great…"

As Hop Pop became frozen with stage fright, Sprig searched around the party. Trying to find Ivy to confess. So far, he's only been able to find her mother, not her daughter. That was until he saw her kicking around a bubble with a firefly in it. It popped, and the firefly fell to the ground.

Seeing the girl he loved just a few feet away, Sprig gulped and worked up the courage to talk to her. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." He then punched himself in the face. "For Anne!"

Yelling a battle cry, Sprig charged at Ivy as she tried picking up the firefly. Hearing his voice, she turned her head and smiled at him, making the pink frog come to a sliding stop with wide eyes. "Oh, hey, Sprig."

Sprig body froze in fear as he went pale, then scrambled and ran away.

At the dance floor, things were any better. The techno music that was playing so loud even the deejay had to plug his eyes.

"I don't know how to dance to this." One frog said to the person next to him.

"What?" That frog said.

Frustrated, Anne pushed the two aside. "Like this, you guys, like this." She said, attempting to demonstrate, but even her moves were terrible. Not noticing how her own party was unraveling.

With shield and scythe out, Frank quickly rushed over to Anne. "Anne, we've got a serious situation!" He exclaimed.

"What are you talking about—?" Anne gasped when she saw what was happening.

Hop Pop was running away, too embarrassed to go back on stage. Sprig was hiding from Ivy behind a stand, too afraid to face her after bombing his chance. And worse of all, the mudskipper was still on the loose, chasing away all the frogs and destroying everyone it crossed, including the dance floor.

Watching the devastation she brought upon the townsfolk, Anne sighed sadly as she tore the sash wrapped around her off. "This party sucks. Some selfless Frog of the Year I turned out to be. Why would anyone ever vote for me?" She asked, looking at it with a pained expression as her lips trembled.

Frank looked at Anne sadly and said, "That doesn't mean you can't make things right. Come on! Someone's got to save these frogs."

Before Anne could agree, there was a scream that alerted the two. They watched as the mudskipper chased a frog, only to knock over Anne's statue. As it fell over to the ground, it threatened to crush the fire dancers. Seeing the statue coming down, they quickly jumped out of the way. However, one of the fire polls landed on the giant hand of the wooden Anne. Setting off a massive fire that spread across the party grounds.

Everyone screamed and ran away in a panic. Loggle, on the other hand, popped up next to the two humans. "At least the party's 'lit' now, Anne."

"Not now!" Frank yelled before turning to Anne. "I'll take care of the fish. Get the people out of here and find a way to dose the fire!" He then charged at the mudskipper.

Hearing footsteps behind it, the mudskipper turned its head and saw Frank running at it while it had a struggling frog in its mouth. It roared at him and charged at him too. Frank screamed a battle cry as it lunged at him. But the Hispanic boy bashed the fish in the face with his shield, disorientating it and allowing him to stab it in the body.

The monster size fish let out a pained roar and skipper around to give itself distance. "Alimentarás al pueblo durante una semana, peces." Frank said before charging again.

Meanwhile, Toadstool angrily declared, "I knew it! Didn't I say it'd be a disaster?" Anne suddenly tackled him before a pillar could crush him.

On her knee, Anne said, "Mayor Toadstool, I need your help to save the town."

"Me? Work with you? Ha!" Toadstool scoffed until Anne growled at him. "Okay, well, just this once."

"Great. Get everyone away from the fire while I put it out.

"Don't tell me what to do." Toadstool ran off to get the first set of people he saw. "Upsy-daisy! I got ya. Vote for me." He quickly grabbed them and started running for a gap in the flames. Once out, he set them down. The townsfolk watched their usually selfish mayor risk his life and rushed back in to get more people from the blazing inferno.

Anne beelined up the chocolate fountain, covering her white suit in chocolate as she yanked out the nozzle and hose used to dispense it all.

The mudskipper roared as it tried to eat Frank again, but the boy jumped out of the way. He then jumped on the back of the fish, swung the scythe down, and stabbed it deep into its head. The mudskipper let out a scream of agony as blood spewed everywhere before falling to the ground, dead.

"It's your show, Anne!" Frank yelled to her. "Let 'er rip."

Anne quickly turned on the hose, and chocolate sprayed out at high pressure. She started running around the party grounds hosing down the fires and promptly putting them out. ExtinguishingExtinguishing the flames just as Toadstool saved the last partygoer.

Finally, with the chaos having been subdued and the fish dead, everyone came over to Frank and Anne. Seeing that they succeeded, Toadstool started laughing for joy. "Whoo! We did it!"

"Yeah. We did." Anne said gloomily, her hair back to normal. Leaves and all. With her tore sash in hand, the Thai girl approached the toad in defeat. Handing it to him in shame. "You were right about me, Mayor. I am selfish. I got so obsessed with proving I deserved this. I ruined everything. I'm no Frog of the Year. Why did anyone even vote for me?"

"Because I nominated you."

Anne turned and was shocked to see it was Frank that spoke up. The young boy stood behind her with that gentle smile she adored so much, covered in blood once again. "As it turns out, you can nominate anyone you want for Frog of the Year, and since Toadstool was already on the polls, I added you. And when they saw your name, they all instantly voted for you."

For a moment, Anne stared at her best friend in the world in shock. She then looked at everyone else, who nodded with smiles on their faces. "But…But why?" Anne asked, still unable to believe what Frank was telling her. "Why me? You, of all people, know how much of a mess I am. You should have been Frog of the Year, Frank."

"True, but I did it because I wanted you to have it," Frank said. "You're not a flawless person, Anne. Far from it. But you're not the same person you once were; a self-centered girl who couldn't take an ounce of responsibility to save her life. You have grown into a better person in the past three months. You've come a long way in our time here, and you've helped change this town and made these people's lives better, just as they've helped change you for the better…Just like how you've helped change me for the better.

Walking up to her, placing Hellcat's Claw on his back, the Hispanic boy put his hand on Anne's shoulder, making her look at him in his soft eyes. "I was in a very dark place, Anne. I was lost and broken. Without you by my side, I wouldn't have been able to find myself again. You helped me pull myself back together. And I hope one day I can repay you."

Frank's kind words deeply touched Anne's heart, and her face grew a big smile. The Thai girl jumped into his arms and hugged Frank tightly, making him blush before he wrapped his arms around her. The sight of them hugging made the frogs clap their hands and croak.

Eventually, Mayor Toadstool gave in and put his greedy pride away. "God damn it, I tried to fight it, but I have to say, even I'm a little impressed with how you just saved the town from a raging inferno. Here." Walking to Anne, he gave the sash back to her. "This belongs to you."

Feeling more grateful than before, Anne gripped the sash and looked at the toad with a tearful smile. "Thanks, Mayor."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't mention it. Now come on, everyone. Let's try to salvage this party, shall we?" Mayor Toadstool asked the town, earning him cheers from all of them.

---

The citizens of Wartwood were able to salvage what little party was left, and Frank had to admit, what they came up with felt more like Wartwood.

Instead of being trapped inside bubbles, the fireflies were free to fly around, helping to create the cozy atmosphere of the more toned down party. No DJ, no giant fountain, or even a statue in commemoration of Anne. However, Frank set his phone up to play La Vida Es Una by Karol G. The frogs had no idea what the singer was saying, but they loved the sound of it.

The townsfolk danced to the Spanish song. With the mudskipper cut up, Stumpy happily served his now edible food.

Anne was dancing along with the crowd on the dance floor. That was until she saw Frank standing by himself, watching her with a loving smile. The Thai girl waved him over to join her. Frank was surprised but shook his head, not wanting to dance. But when Anne gave him a look that said 'come on' to him, Frank sighed and walked towards the dance floor.

He adjusted his hat and then started dancing his way toward her. And Anne was surprised by his moves. He danced with confidence that he's not displayed before, and he moved his body to the music. When he reached her, Frank and Anne stood side by side and danced together, matching each other moves while looking at one another. It felt like when they first danced after Frank had his bandages removed. However, for both of them, it felt different. It felt magical.

When the song finally stopped, so did they, and everyone around them cheered for them. Frank and Anne blushed together and laughed.

Walking to the stage, the Hispanic boy took his phone and said to the band waiting to play, "It's your show, boys."

And so, they played music for the town. Frank and Anne walked away. Polly and Hop Pop were off somewhere, enjoying the party, leaving Sprig sitting alone on a lone bench on the outskirts. The two humans walked over to him and sat down with him.

"Sorry I tried to rush you into confessing your love to Ivy. You do that when you're good and ready." Anne told her froggy friend.

Sprig smiled and said, "Thanks, Anne. When the moment strikes, I'll know it."

"Speaking of which," Frank said as he noticed Ivy walking up to them. Through, she looked rather sheepish.

"Hey, Sprig. There's something I've, uh, been meaning... to ask you. I, uh... Do you, um…" Clearing her throat, she started again and shut her eyes. "Do you think you'd wanna go out with me sometime?!"

That most definitely surprised Frank. He had no doubts she liked the pink frog. However, he didn't think she'd like Sprig the same way he liked her.

Ivy opened one of her eyes to see Sprig's reaction. The pink frog boy was gasping in shock and excitement. Anne squealed with joy.

Thinking that it was him rejecting her, Ivy's face blushed in embarrassment. "Never mind! I'm stupid!" She exclaimed, pulling her hat down to hide her face. "This is stupid! This is stupid!

She was about to turn and walk away when Sprig quickly hopped over and grabbed her shoulder. "Ivy, wait! I'd love to." He told her. He then hid his own face. "Mlep!"

Seeing him do what she did make the yellow frog girl blush again and smiled happily.

"Wanna dance?"

"Heck yeah!"

And with that, the newest couple of Wartwood ran off, both giggling. Eager to have as much fun together as possible. Frank watched the two of them run off, smiling as Sprig took Ivy's hand. "They're good for each other," he said.

"Yeah. I think their relationship will last as long as they stay in love with one another," said Anne. Together, the two human kids leaned on the table and looked up at the night sky. As they did, Anne looked at the Hispanic boy with a guilty expression. "I don't know if I told you this, but I'm sorry that I stole from your grandmother's thrift store. If I had just stood up to Sasha, then we wouldn't be in this mess."

Frank shrugged his shoulders and smiled at her. "Hey, for what it's worth, I'm glad you did. As I said, I wouldn't have reunited with you again if you didn't."

Sitting up, Anne smiled at him. "Still think we'll ever get home?"

"I like to think so. But if we're here for next year's Frog of the Year, I think I might beat you." Frank said jokingly as he looked up at the sky again.

The two best friends sat silently for a moment as Frank stared at the night sky with a calm smile. The wind gently blew Anne's hair around as she stared at him. This kind, wonderful boy that's changed her life so much. Since coming to Amphibia, Anne felt her friendship with Frank had grown so much. However, she was confused about what she felt for him now. Anne's been thinking things she's never felt before when the girl was around him. Feeling emotions for him that she never used to feel with anyone.

And yet was that such a bad thing? Anne didn't think so.

"Don't worry. You always have a way of sneaking into people's hearts." She said, and then did something so bold.

Anne kissed Frank on the cheek.

When Frank felt her lips, he was shocked by how soft they were and instantly loved the feeling of them. Both of them look surprised by what the Thai girl did. Make eye contact, both gasping softly, with Frank's eyes widened and sparkling. Anne, on the other hand, blushed furiously and quickly stood up.

"Uh—okay—good to see you! Farewell forever." She quickly said and turned to leave.

However, she was stopped when Frank's rough hand gently grabbed her soft one.

The two looked at one another as Frank stood up. Anne turned to face him as the boy kept his hand on hers. Looking into Anne's dark brown eyes, Frank prepared to say something.

"Anne…."

"Ahem! Miss Frog of the Year and Frank?" Toadie suddenly appeared, interrupting the tender moment and seemingly not at all guilty about it.

Frank looked at the frog while gritting his teeth. "Yes, Toadie. What is it?"

"Someone is waiting at the bridge for you. They say they're a friend." He said in his usual diplomatic voice.

That seemed to snap the scarred boy out of his annoyance, and he let go of Anne's hand. "A friend?" The Thai girl asked, raising an eyebrow. Even Frank was confused. They didn't have any friends that weren't already at the party. Much less anyone outside of town. The two of them looked at one another for a couple of seconds before Frank grabbed Hellcat's Cat. Anne nodded, deciding to head over together.

Together, the two humans walked out of the town's gate and headed to the bridge as fireflies flowed around. That's when they spotted a hooded figure standing on the small bridge, looking out at the full red moon. They couldn't see who it was but saw that they were tall and slim, around their height.

Anne wanted to approach the figure but was blocked by Frank's scythe. While he had his weapons, she didn't have her bow or sword.

"We were told you wanted to see you," Frank called out to the figure.

Hearing him, the hooded turned their head towards them. For a moment, they couldn't see who it was. Stepping away from the rail, the person faced their body towards the two best friends and took off her hood in surprise.

"Frank? Anne?!" Sasha gasped.

"Sasha?!" The poorly dressed schoolgirl exclaimed, both she and Frank recognizing her as the very same blonde girl. But while the Hispanic boy looked at Sasha with wide eyes and a gaping jaw, Anne lost her mind and squealed in absolute joy.

Sasha did the same, so happy to see her BFF again. "Oh, my god! I can't believe that it's you!" She squealed as Anne ran past Frank onto the bridge and hugged each other. Both girls laughed together, jumping and spinning around.

When they stopped, Anne looked at Sasha, clad in armor, with a big smile. "Oh, my gosh. You're here too? I wasn't sure. Frank and I woke up all alone and…." She stopped to gasp. "Is Marcy with you? Where have you been? I've missed you so much!"

Sasha giggled as Anne pulled her into another hug. "I'll fill you in later. For now, I'm just glad I found you. What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Oh, man, you will not believe the crazy adventures we had! The monsters we fought, the friends we made." Anne listed off, excited to tell her blonde all about her adventures.

Sasha chuckled at Anne's excitement. However, she noticed someone was standing behind Anne and saw there was still one more person she's yet to greet at this grand reunion.

And it was the one person that wasn't happy to see her.

The blonde girl's eyes widened in surprise when she laid eyes on Frank. The same boy she forced Anne and Marcy to stop being friends with a long time ago. The boy whose grandmother they robbed, leading to them being stuck in Amphibia. He was standing just a few feet from her amongst the fireflies, looking worse for wear and with no shoes. Glaring at her.

Moving past Anne, she slowly started approaching the Hispanic boy. "Uh, hey…Frank. It's been a while," she said, still trying to remain calm. However, his glare didn't ease her nerves or Anne's anxiety. The Thai girl looked between the two former friends nervously. "Loving the scars."

Frank glared at her, holding Hellcat's Claw in one hand. "You've changed," he said with a hostile tone in his voice.

Wondering what he meant, Sasha looked at her armor. "Oh, you like it? Yeah, I had it—GAH!" Out of nowhere, Frank rushed over and punched her in the face when she wasn't looking. "Ow!"

"Frank!" Anne yelled, rushing over and pulling him away from Sasha. "What the heck, Frank?"

"What the hell, asshole?!" Sasha yelled at him, holding her brushed cheek.

"That's for what you did!" Frank yelled at her.

Sasha gasped and looked at Frank with a fearful expression. "You…You know?"

"Yeah, I know. Anne told me all about how you were the one that made her and Marcy stop being friends with me!" Frank shouted, wanting to hit her again.

"...Oh, that." Sasha sighed as she held up her hands with a smug-looking smile. Acting like her forcing her friends to dump Frank was the same as tripping each other over and not a big deal. "Look, Frank, amigo. That was a long time ago. I wasn't really thinking straight that day."

"You're not thinking straight right now if you think we're friends, amiga," Frank growled.

"Whoa, okay. Let's all just calm down." Anne said, trying to ease Frank's anger before one of them got hurt. "We're all here and safe. And that's all that matters, right Frank?"

Frank looked at his crush, who looked at him with a pleading expression. Taking a deep breath, Frank calmed himself but scowled at Sasha. "So, how did you get here?"

"Well, remember that thief, Tritonio? He told us about meeting the two of you. So, we came as soon as we heard." She waved it off casually.

"Hold on, 'We'?"

"Yup. Just me and some friends of mine." She said, gesturing behind herself.

Frank looked, and his eyes widened when he saw a line of dark shadowy figures standing on the other side of the bridge in the trees. A firefly flew over the head of the tallest one ahead of the group, revealing scarred lips that opened. The tongue inside the mouth snatched away the fly from the air, and the amphibian ate it. Then they opened their eyes, revealing two different glowing eye colors. One blue and the other light green.

"Nice to finally meet you, Frank Ramirez." Captain Grime said, before his men opened their glowing red eyes.

Frank gasped in fear. "Toads!"

---

What happened next was quick, with Bog, Fens, and Mire being the first to attack and crash the party.

Bog landed in the middle of the dance floor and laughed menacingly.

Mire landed in front of Ivy and her mother. The two female frogs backed away from him, only to back into another toad.

Fens landed on Stumpy's stand but lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Before long, the toads had utterly invaded the town and roaded up all the innocent people of Wartwood in the town square. Men, women, and children feared for themselves and their families. To them, this looked like what they'd feared since Tartarus's death.

The toads of the tower have come to take revenge on Wartwood. Along with the boy who drove the knife into his neck.

And that boy came.

As the toads closed in around the frogs, Frank and Anne jumped down from above in front of them. Facing the army, the Hispanic boy drew his sword and threw it to Anne, who caught it. Then he reached back and grabbed his shield.

"You three!" He yelled, pointing Hellcat's Claw at Bog, Fens, and Mire. The toads that were with Tartarus became frightened when they saw the boy glaring at them angrily. "I told you what would happen if you came back!"

Both friends were about ready to attack the army when Sasha emerged from the toads and held up her hands. "Whoa, chill, you two."

"Sasha! The toads! Get away from them!" Anne called to her friend, waving for Sasha to come over to where she and Frank were.

"Chill out, guys. They're with me," she said.

"Wait, WHAT?! Sasha, can't you see what they're doing?" Frank asked angrily.

"Frank! Anne!" Frank looked back to see Sprig, Hop Pop, and Polly rushing out of the crowd of frogs. They ran to their friends until the tadpole saw Sasha and pointed at her.

"Holy toot, another Anne!" Polly screamed.

"Oh." Anne chuckled as if she hadn't just forgotten a crucial piece of information. "Guys, meet my bestie from back home, Sasha!"

"Heyyy," Sasha responded cheerily.

"Wait, that's Sasha?" Sprig asked Anne. The townsfolk murmured to each other. "Isn't she the one that told you to dump Frank and who ruined your friendships?"

"The very one," Frank said.

Anne chuckled nervously as the blonde girl gave her a disapproving scowl. She wanted to turn the situation around, so she tried diplomacy, even though Sasha looked at the frog family with complete disinterest. "Sasha, meet the Plantars. This is Hop Pop."

"Eh," said the old frog.

"Sprig."

"Hey, hey." Jumped the little pink frog.

"And Polly."

"'Sup," said the purple tadpole.

Sprig hopped over to Sasha. "Hey, I'm Anne's bestie too. I guess that makes me your bestie-in-law," he said, laughing.

Sasha, unimpressed, asked coldly, "Does it?"

The little frog's smile dropped at the ice-cold response before Sprig laughed awkwardly while coughing. "Did y'all feel that?" He asked.

Hop Pop was having none of it and walked over to the two. "Walk it off, boy," he said before addressing Sasha. "Yes, hi, nice to meet ya. Now, can someone please tell me why there's a toad army invading Wartwood?!"

"My thought exactly," Frank said, pointing the Hellcat at her.

Seemingly unphased by the legendary weapon's blade pointing at her neck, Sasha pointed to the elderly frog with a raised eyebrow. "Wait, you're Hop Pop? Thought you'd be taller."

"Huh?"

"Relax, we're not invading anything," Sasha said, pushing the scythe away with her finger.

But while Frank took Hellcat's Claw away from her neck, he still glared at her. "Why should we believe a word out of you? What have your promises ever been worth!?"

"Well, how about you join you two join me and see for yourselves? Grime's going to make a speech." Sasha said, walking off.

The Plantars gasped when the blonde girl mentioned the name. "Captain Grime?" Hop Pop exclaimed.

"The cruelest toad soldier of all time?" Sprig asked.

"Tartarus' boss? Here?" Polly asked.

"Ah, he's not so bad once you get used to him. Now hurry up, nerds." Sasha said, making her way through the toads to the cobblestone wall where Grime was standing.

Anne chuckled and pointed to her friend. "She's persuasive, right?"

"No," Frank said.

"Oh, come on, Frank. Let's hear her out. Sasha's still my friend, so let's trust her." Anne pleaded with her friend.

Frank glared at her but sighed. "Fine, but the moment she or Grimes says something I don't like, I'll tell them to leave. And I wouldn't be so kind about it." He said, passing Anne as he walked to the cobblestone wall.

"Oh boy," Anne groaned, following. Secretly praying that Sasha didn't do something to provoke him.

Once the three humans were standing on the wall with the toad captain, Grime stared down at the frogs of Wartwood. "Frogs of Wartwood! We toads have come here to…."

He paused for dramatic effect. Frank glared at him and tightened his grip on the Hellcat. Waiting to strike him down the moment he said something wrong.

"...invite you to a banquet!" Grime announced, throwing confetti everywhere.

…

…

…

Okay, Frank was not ready for that. "Huh?"

"The moment we heard that Frank and Anne were here, we rushed over to reunite these three friends and hold a celebration," Grime explained, gesturing to the three humans standing next to him.

"Aw, come here," Sasha said, hugging both Frank and Anne.

Feeling very uncomfortable being held by her, Frank himself away. Turning to the toad leader, Frank looked at him with confusion and shock. "H-Hold it, stop!"

Grime looked at him in confusion. "Is there a problem, Ramirez?

"'Is there a problem?' Are you kidding?! You're invading our town, and now you want to have a party?" Frank asked incredulously.

"What, we're not invading. Why would we?" Grime asked.

"Uh, hello! Tartarus?" Frank asked. However, he got no significant reaction from the toad. "...Tartarus. You know, the big guy with the hammer…? The guy I killed!"

"Oooh, that guy? No, I'm not mad about that." Grime said, waving him off nonchalantly.

Frank was not prepared to hear that. He looked at Anne, who shrugged. He then turned back to Grime with a raised eyebrow. "You're not?"

"You kidding me? That guy was a dick. Did me a favor killing him off," Grime said, crossing his arms. "Always talking about war and fighting me for command. He was a walking migraine."

"Okay, then what about the wanted poster?!" Frank threw his arms up.

"How else were we supposed to find you?" Sasha asked. "We didn't know where you were or if you were still alive. So we used them like missing posters so that someone would find you and turn you over to us."

That sounded like BS, and Frank knew it. If that was the case, then they could have used actual missing posters. But right now, he wasn't trying to understand why the toads would use wanted posters that way. He was more interested in the fact that they weren't trying to kill him and everyone else for Tartarus and making examples of them.

"So… you're not here to arrest anyone? You just want us…to come to a party?" It sounded so weird asking that.

"Yes. Despite my rough exterior, I really am just an 'old softy,'" he said, using air quotes. Sasha cleared her throat and gestured for Grime to smile.

When he did, he did it with a scary smile, which only frightened the people. It even made a tadpole burst into tears.

Seeing the situation not going their way, Sasha quickly pushed Grime to the side. "Uh, so, what do you say, Wartwood? You ready to party back at the tower?"

The crowd remained silent. That was until Mrs. Croaker shouted from the sea of frogs. "What does Frank and Anne think?"

"I think that if she tells you her hair's blonde, she'd still be lying!" Frank said, glaring at Sasha.

"Okay, one: You know damn well this is my natural hair color!" Sasha said, looking offended. She calmed down and continued. "Two: What kind of wisdom is that? Can't you see past what has already been left behind us? See that we all want the same thing? What happened is in the past, Frank. So, let's work together."

Frank scowled at her with contempt. He didn't trust Sasha in the slightest and wasn't willing to put the people of Wartwood in danger just because the blonde girl asked him to.

However, someone was.

"Frank, maybe we should trust her," Anne suggested, making Frank turn around to look at her incredulously.

"Are you serious? Are you forgetting what she did to us?" Frank asked.

"Of course not. I've been working hard to regain your friendship. But Sasha's been my friend—our friend since kindergarten. If she says it's fine, it's fine, right? How much do you trust me?"

"With my life," Frank said, making Anne place her hand on his cheek.

"Then trust me when I say that Sasha can be trusted. Trust my judgment," Anne pleaded with her best friend.

Frank wanted to argue with her but found himself unable to put his concerns into his voice. The way she looked at him made Frank want to agree with Anne, even though his brain was telling him this was BS. He looked over his shoulder at Sasha, who was just looking at her nails. She looked up at him as if expecting him to hurry up and agree.

Looking at Anne again, he saw her with a hopeful smile. In the end, Frank sighed and turned around to Sasha. "Alright, but under one conduction. Say you're sorry," he said with a smirk.

"Excuse me?" Sasha asked, looking offended.

"You heard me!" Frank shouted, marching up to Sasha's face. "You didn't have to cojones to end our friendship three years ago by yourself, but instead forced Anne into ending hers with me. And yet here you are, acting like it's not a big deal without so much as an apology! You want me to go to this party? Say you're sorry."

Anne and everyone else looked at the two former friends with wide eyes as Sasha's face twisted into disdain. Waiting to see what her response will be. Frank waited, too, scowling at her.

In the end, the blonde girl groaned loudly. "Fine. I'm sorry," she said with apparent distaste. Anne sighed sadly, knowing that Sasha never meant it when she was forced to apologize.

Frank, however, took it and stepped back to stand with Anne. Begrudgingly, he said, "So where is the party at?"

Sasha pushed him away from her and cheerfully announced. "Whoo! All aboard the party barge!"

And so it was! The residents of Wartwood boarded the large barge hooked up behind a giant tarantula and started dancing to the music being played. It was so rare for them to have a party. But two? That was something special.

Frank and Anne were behind the frogs, but Sasha stopped them. "Psst, Frank, Anne, you're with me," she said, pointing to her carriage. With was decorated with gold and pulled by a spider, which, for some reason, had sunglasses and hair.

"Why did you put glasses on what spider?" Frank asked.

"Wow, cool. Hey, mind if the, uh, Plantars come along?" Anne asked, with the froggy family smiling.

Sasha looked at them with a disinterested frown before shrugging. "Of course, I don't mind. The more, the merrier." She said, though the blonde really didn't mean it.

The Plantars cheered, with Hop Pop exclaiming, "First class!" They all rushed inside, pushing and shoving each other to get the best seats.

"I can assure you they're housebroken," Frank said.

---

Toad Tower.

It was a castle made of stone bricks and surrounded by a mountainous region comprising of large snow-capped mountains and ravines. There are many barren trees seen surrounding the tower and its walled exterior. The tower itself was built atop a rocky cliff with one leading pathway connecting it to the mainland, serving as its only entrance. A single, long red flag is placed at the top of the tower. Many fire torches could also be seen around the walls, at the gate, and along the tower's battlements.

The three humans stepped outside when Sasha's carriage and the party barge parked inside the tower's walls. "So, here we are," said Sasha.

Frank looked at the tower, and to say it was ominous would be an understatement. In fact, he could have sworn that he heard an organ playing and a flashing of red lightning crackling in the sky.

"This is where you've been living? I thought you said you were staying in a palace," Frank said brazenly.

Sasha lightly laughed off the remark. "Oh, Percy!" She called to one of the toads.

Rushing over to Sasha was a light green toad with tiny green spots along the side of his body. He had a lighter underbelly and wore brown armor with leather armbands and a grey helmet.

"Yes, Commander?" Percy saluted.

"I'm gonna give Frank and Anne a quick tour. Escort these frogs to the banquet hall."

"Hey, I wanna go on the tour too." Sprig said.

Polly gasped and started hopping. "Me three!"

However, Hop Pop interjected. "Come on, kids. Give Anne and Frank a chance to catch up with their friend."

Frank frowned at Hop Pop calling Sasha his friend but kept it to himself. "Don't worry. We'll find you guys later. Go have fun in there," he said, making Sasha and Anne smile.

Sprig groaned, but walked off with his family and Percy. "We'll try," he said, joining the rest of Wartwood as they entered the castle.

"Wow, you two certainly seem close to those three. What happened to, 'Ew, frogs are the worst'?" Sasha teasingly mocked.

"The Plantars are the ones that took us in after we saved Sprig from a red mantis," Frank said with a smirk. "They're actually pretty great once you get to know them."

Anne chuckled while secretly happy to see her friends getting along. "We've been living in their basement since we got here."

This shocked Sasha. "A basement? Yuck. Follow me. I'm gonna show you something crazy." She said, leading them into the castle.

---

As they walked through the tower halls, Frank could feel Sasha's eyes on him. Looking out of the corner of his eyes, he saw her looking at his scythe. "What?"

"So what's the deal with the scythe?" Sasha asked, pointing to it as it remained under his shield on his back. "Looks really important."

"If you must know, it's an ancient weapon called Hellcat's Claw. It was the weapon created by Amphibia's first Frog King." Frank said. "We found it when trying to read about a way to get home."

"Whoa, so you're, what? The new king of the frogs of something?" The blonde girl asked.

"No, nor do I plan to give it up to anyone. If any so-called heir to the throne wants it, they'll have to earn it," Frank said.

Sasha smiled and nodded at that. "I like your thinking, Ramirez."

As the two talked, Anne watched the two former friends interacting. Acting as if they were still friends. It made her smile, and she thought they might rebuild their friendship, too, just like she and Frank did.

Frank caught her smile. "What're you smiling about?"

"Oh, just happy to see the two of you being friends again," Anne said, poking his cheek.

"Not even close," Frank said, frowning. "She asked a question, and I answered her."

"Ah, don't worry about Mr. Grumpy. He wouldn't be as moody when he sees what I've got to show," Sasha said confidently. Soon they came up to a set of closed doors. Sasha then opened the door to her chamber. "This is where I've been living."

Frank and Anne's eyes widened, very impressed with her quarters. "Hoopa de boopa!/Yowza-wowza!"

The room was considerably larger than the entire first floor of the Plantar house. It was fitted with luxurious furniture, with a silk couch, a statue of the blonde girl popping a manual on a skateboard, and a large dining table with posters of teen singers from home behind it.

"Yo, Brunton," Sasha called out, snapping her fingers. This earned her a glare from Frank before a toad appeared.

Brunton spoke in a French accent. "Oui, Commander?"

"Bring us the usual." She said.

Before long, Brunton and several other toads returned with food plants. When they lifted the lids, Frank felt his mouth water as they looked at what they had brought. It was food! Real food from the human world that they perfected making. Every single food was something Frank, Anne, and Sasha loved to eat.

"Pizza? Tacos? Hotdogs?" Anne exclaimed as she and Franker were placed in chairs by Sasha. They then watched as the blonde girl dipped a fry into a cup of ketchup. "Whoa, you've got ketchup?!"

"Anne!" Frank grabbed her face and pressed the side of it against his. He then pointed to something on the table, and their eyes widened with stars in them.

"Cheeseburger…" They said together. They each grabbed one and quickly took a bite. Moaning in pleasure and delight as they savor the tease. When they swallowed, they looked at one another blankly.

"Frank."

"Yeah?"

"Has it just occurred to you we've been eating bugs for three months?"

"Every day, Anne. Every day."

The two best friends continued stuffing their faces with food when Brunton walked back over to Sasha. "Anything else, Commander?"

"Run the hot water, please. For the shower," replied Sasha.

Anne and Frank gasped. "Shower?!" The Thai girl asked.

"Hot water?!" The Hispanic boy asked.

---

Sasha was the first to take a shower, which Frank didn't find to be fair but didn't kick up a fuss about it. Then Anne went into the shower. Frank was the last to take his shower. As he washed up, the girls talked to each other in Sasha's room while drinking cups of hot cocoa and wearing pink shower robes.

"Wow, Sash. This is so surreal. I can't believe you're really here," Anne said, having curlers in her hair.

"I know, right?" Sasha asked, just as happy to be talking to her friend again. "I'm still surprised that you survived for so long with the convict, am I right?"

She took a sip of her cocoa and looked at Anne when she fell silent. The blonde was surprised to see Anne frown at her in disapproval, something she never did.

"What's with you?"

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call him that," Anne said.

"Geez, lighten up, will you?" Sasha asked, frowning at her. "It's not like it's not true. And I don't just mean killing Tartarus if you know what I mean."

"Sasha, things aren't what you think," Anne said, looking down sadly. "Frank told me about what happened, how he wasn't the one who stole those shoes."

Sasha's eyes widened for a moment before scoffing. "Right, like that's true," she said dismissively.

"It's true, Sasha!" Anne insisted, only to have Sasha's hand be held up to stop her.

"Okay, Anne, that's enough. Like, seriously, who even told you that?" Sasha asked, chuckling with a smug smirk.

"I did." The two girls looked to see Frank. He was drying his hair and placing his hat back on his head. He glared a Sasha and walked over to the two of them, wearing the same robe they had on. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't call me that," he said, picking up his cocoa and drinking it.

For a moment, Sasha glared at him. Anne saw this and became nervous. Frank glanced up at the blonde girl and waited for her to respond. After all, he knew her too well and knew the blonde girl's entitlement wouldn't allow her to take him talking to her like that.

However, Sasha surprised him. "Fine, whatever," she said, sturring the cocoa into her mug with a spoon. "Though, you should be thanking me for what I'm doing for you."

Frank and Anne looked at her with confused looks. They glanced at one another and then back at Sasha. "What are you talking about?" Frank asked.

Sasha briefly glanced at the two before looking back at her cocoa. "Well, it was going to be brought up eventually. Might as well get it over with." She commented. Then, Sasha placed her mug down and turned to face her friends. "Frank, Anne, I haven't been entirely truthful with you."

"What?!" Anne shouted, her eyes nearly bulging out.

"Look, let me explain. Just promise not to freak out or anything," Sasha said, standing up and walking away.

"O…kay?" Frank said with unease, watching as Sasha walked over to a large map of the valley.

"So you've probably already noticed that the toads in this valley have one job: to rule over the frogs." Sasha turned around and held up her arms to present the map to Frank and Anne with a smug smirk. "No one is supposed to stand up to them. Much less kill them. Now, Grime was telling the truth when he said Tartarus was an asshole, but he was still a toad and a lieutenant of this tower. If his death doesn't go unpunished, it would be a sign of weakness."

"And let me guess, executing me would be revenge for his death?" Frank asked aggressively, grabbing his scythe from the table.

Sasha put up her hands in defense. "Whoa, whoa, chill. Put the scythe down, and just listen. Just trust me on this."

"Trust you? Why should I trust you?!" Frank yelled.

Anne quickly stood up and placed her hands on the arm holding the weapon. "Frank, wait!"

Seeing this, Sasha glared at Frank and said, "You don't have to trust me, Frank. I don't really care. But I can bet that once this is over, you'll thank me. And together, the three of us can finally find a way out of this crummy, gross world."

What she said, however, gave Anne a moment of pause, "Once... what's over?" She asked meekly, not liking where this conversation was turning.

"Oh, the rebellion," replied Sasha.

There was another pause as Frank lowered the Hellcat. Anne then chuckled. "The what now?"

"Seriously, you don't know about the rebellion?" Sasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Look, just tell us what the hell is going on!" Frank exclaimed, growing impatient.

"I was getting to that. Killing Tartarus was bad, and it definitely ruffled Grime's feathers. However, I convinced him that you weren't the real threat and that if we wanted to make the frogs fall back in line, we'd have to go after someone else."

"The…real threat?" Anne asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All over the valley, frogs have been stepping out of line and rising up against their toad overloads," Sasha said, walking to a scroll and picking it up. "It turns out a certain frog has inspired these 'rebels.' You might just know him. Stood up to Tartarus when you killed him, but he even ran for mayor against the local toad."

She held up the scroll and unrolled it. Revealing it to be a poster of Hop Pop, masked in red and blue coloring with the word 'FREEDOM' printed over his head and the word 'FROG' under him.

Seeing the poster, Frank and Anne's eyes widened, shrieking together in blasphemy. "WHAT?!

"Sasha, there's got to be a mistake!" Anne exclaimed.

"Yeah! Hop Pop's not a revolutionary!" Frank added in. "He's just a farm frog!"

In response, Sasha threw down a bunch of newspapers. Frank and Anne looked at them, and their eyes widened upon seeing they all had Hop Pop's image on the front pages. The headlines of each paper said it all to them; How an ordinary frog stood up to the oppression, how it was a call to arms, and that it was time for the toads to leave the valley and end the taxes. The election exposed how rigged the system was and how the toads manipulated it so that no matter what, a toad would always be mayor of any town.

"Doesn't matter. Word has traveled like wildfire, and we've got to make an example out of him," Sasha said before she took Frank and Anne over to a window. "So, the toads are just gonna feed him to that thing."

Frank's eyes widened when he looked outside and down at the courtyard. Grime and his soldiers struggled to control a giant Venus fly trap. "Hold her steady, boys!" The captain yelled to his men as the plant thrashed around and roared.

Sasha turned to Frank with a smile and explained further. "Okay, here's the thing. Originally, it was going to be you, Frank. But I struck a deal with Grime. I'd help him capture Hop Pop and crush the rebellion, you'd hand over Hellcat's Claw to the toads, and you'll be cleared of the charge of killing Tartarus. Then Grime and his army would help us find a way home. The whole banquet trick was my idea, obvi. Now we've got those slimy frogs right where we want them. Isn't this great? What do you say?"

She held out her hand to Frank.

For a moment, Frank scowled at her before looking at her hand. She kept it held up as if expecting him just to shake it. The Hispanic boy then looked at Hellcat's Claw. Obviously, with the scythe being a symbol to the frogs, the toads would want it. Handing it over would allow them to further oppress Wartwood and the other villages.

Frank scoffed and shook his head, smiling. "Wow, Sash. You…are truly something," he said, moving around her as Sasha looked at him in confusion. Anne looked worried as Frank continued, knowing that this wasn't going to go well. "You know, it's bad enough that you lied to me and manipulated Anne into agreeing to this party, but you planned to put an innocent frog to death? That's pretty low, even for you."

"Hey, whoa, how on, Ramirez," Sasha said, trying to cut in, but Frank wasn't having any of it.

"And to think that we'd go along with your plan? To betray the frog that took us into his home when we had nothing? Well, we're not going to do it! And we're leaving this tower, right here, right now!"

"I'm trying to save your life, Frank!" Sasha yelled angrily. "He's just a frog!"

"That frog's my friend! More than you are!" Frank shouted back.

There was a stunned glare present all over Sasha's face. Once again, Frank was showing her his backbone. Anne and Marcy had never once spoken to her like that, not once. Only Frank had. And Sasha hated it.

"Frank, think about what you're saying." She said in a venomous tone.

"Oh, I have. And I think this plan is—"

"AWESOME!" Anne suddenly yelled, having rushed over and clapped her hand over Frank's mouth. Frank could only make confused noises through his nostrils with his mouth forced closed. "Uh...why don't I…uh, have a talk, uh...and convince him? Yeah, I'll talk him into the plan, bestie!"

Anne laughed nervously as she pulled Frank back to the door. However, she accidentally bumped into Sasha's bust. "Whoa." She quickly stood the statue back up, but it was upside down. "Stay."

"Anne, what are you—" Frank was interrupted when Anne once again covered his mouth.

"BRB." The Thai girl said to the blonde girl. She opened the door and pulled him out with her as fast as a speeding bullet.

Watching them leave, Sasha took a sip of her cocoa. "So much for not freaking out."

---

Meanwhile, the frogs were having a grand old time at the banquet in the main dining hall. They chatted and dined on the delicious food served to them. Some, like Polly, tried talking to the toads that were in the dining hall with them.

"So, you experiment with other weapons, or are you just a spear guy?" She asked a giant toad with scars all over his body while holding a spear. However, he didn't respond to her.

This was something that Sprig caught onto quickly. As Mrs. Croaker drank multiple cups of juice, the little pink frog noticed how strange the toads seemed to be behaving. Instead of mingling with the residents of Wartwood, it was as if they were on guard. Concerned, he made his way over to his grandfather, who was looking at a plate of crab legs.

"Uh, hey, Hop Pop? Something's not right here," he said, nervously looking over his shoulder.

"Not right, yeah, sure. Here, Sprig, load up on crab legs," Hop Pop said dismissively, handing his grandson a plate before serving himself some legs. "These babies go fast."

"No, I mean it. Don't the toads seem a little... on edge?" Sprig asked, looking at the toads as they scanned the room. The toad standing at the door seemed exceptionally nervous and was standing still with his eyes wide and a drop of sweat on his face.

"Eh, they're a militarized culture, Sprig. I'm not surprised they don't know how to let loose," said the elder frog.

"Ah, forget this. I'm gonna go find Frank and Anne." Sprig told Hop Pop and walked off.

Hop Pop just continued to serve himself. "Good idea. They can carry more crab legs."

Sprig walked up to the door to leave. However, he found the nervous toad blocking his path. So he walked up to him and said, "Hey, pal, I'm just gonna go for a walk, get some fresh air—"

"No! Sorry!" the soldier said, surprising Sprig. "Uh, you frogs aren't allowed to leave this room."

Sprig narrowed his eyes and looked at him suspiciously. "We're not allowed to leave? Why's that?" He asked, leaning back on the toad's leg.

The toad soldier became increasingly nervous and looked around. "Uh... I've said too much. Please just return to the party and remain calm."

Backing up, Sprig smiled at him. "Remain calm. You got it, buddy."

Hearing this calmed the nervous toad down. "Whew, thanks, kid."

With that, Sprig spun around on his heel and walked away. He was seemingly happy with the smile on his face.

The pink frog climbed onto a table and looked back at the toad. Sprig gave a thumbs up, and the soldier returned it.

However, all hell broke loose when Sprig grabbed a crab leg and banged it against his plate. "Hey, everyone! This is a sham! We're not guests! We're prisoners!"

"Prisoners?! What?!" Mrs. Croaker yelled before everyone started to panic. Throwing food around and screaming in terror.

Seeing the situation unraveling, the toads quickly formed a line in front of the dining hall doors. Trying to prevent the frogs from leaving. When they saw this, however, the frogs panicked even more.

Wally even screamed. "I'm totally freaking out!"

Seeing that they had to get a grip on the situation, one of the toads came forward and held up his hands. "Calm down, you frogs, calm—" But he was pelted by fruits and vegetables. "Knock it off!"

"They're gonna eat us!" One frog said.

"Not on my watch." Mrs. Croaker said, grabbing the food on her plate and throwing it at the toads. "Take that. And that!"

"Ooh! I wanna riot too!" Polly said, sitting on Hop Pop's head.

She first grabbed a crab leg to throw, but Hop Pop stopped her. "Polly, don't throw that," he said, taking the leg away from her. But then he handed her a potato. "Throw this potato instead."

Unable to handle being imprisoned, Wally tried hopping over the wall of toads. However, he was quickly and easily caught by one of them. "Let me out! Let me out!" He cried, before being thrown onto the ground, hard.

"Wally!" Sprig exclaimed as he and Ivy rushed over to him. Everyone gasped at the toads' violent actions. These were the people who were supposed to be protecting them. That's why they paid their taxes. And yet they do this to one of them?

Angry at how her local kook was tried, Ivy emptied her plate, then threw it at one of the soldiers. Denting his helmet in the process.

"Ouchie!" He said.

Having had enough, the toad sergeant glared at the frog. "All right, that fucking does it!" He yelled, pulling out his mace.

Suddenly, the doors flew open, and a cloaked figure entered. "Enough!" She said in Sasha's tone. Silencing the room. The amphibians stared as the girl walked into the room and drew Frank's sword. "Guards, leave us. I'll get these frogs to fall in line."

The toad sergeant chuckled darkly and pointed at the frog. "You lot have made a huge mistake."

"Enjoy your time with Commander Sasha." His subordinate said, making the frog fearful. The toads laughed menacingly as they exited the dining hall.

However, as the doors slowly closed behind them, Frank suddenly jumped through the gap and rolled into the room.

"Frank!" Everyone gasped.

"Alright, we're clear, Anne." He said to what was thought to be Sasha.

"Anne?" The frogs asked, looking at the cloaked person in confusion.

As it turned out, it was Anne when she pulled back her hood. "Hey, guys."

"Anne!" Everyone cheered.

"Frank! Anne!" Sprig jumped over the crowd and landed in both the humans' arms. "Boy, are we glad to see you two. We've got a situation. We're not guests. We're—"

"Prisoners, we know," Anne said, setting her friend down. "And it's worse than that. They're planning to execute Hop Pop!"

All the frogs of Wartwood gasped and turned around to look at the elder frog. He had one hand holding up a plate full of crab legs, another plate with food stacked on it, and a piece of bread stuffed in his mouth. But when he heard that the toads would be executing him, he spat out the bread and dropped his plates.

"Say what?! But why?" He asked.

"Turns out Hop Pop's been inspiring rebellions all across the valley," Frank said, showing the frogs a copy of Hop Pop's resistance poster. "Now they want to execute you to end the uprisings."

Taking the poster, Hop Pop looked at himself. "Well, it's a good-looking poster….I'M GONNA DIE!"

"Not today, old man. We're getting you out of here," Frank said. "Including everyone!"

"So what do we do?" Ivy's mom asked.

"That…is an excellent question. Because I have no plan." Frank admitted to the townsfolk.

"Anyone got any ideas?" Anne asked the frogs.

Loggle popped his head up in the crowd. "I do...n't. I don't."

"Aw, come on!" Everyone groaned at Loggle.

But then Wally popped out from behind Anne's cloak. "I've got one! What say we plant these boomshrooms around the joint? Blow the place sky-high." He suggested, opening his vest to reveal he was carrying a dozen explosive mushrooms.

"What?! Dude! We're still inside the tower. We're not doing that," Frank said firmly.

Wally closed his vest. "Right. We're not doing it," he said, tilting his head at him and looking as though he was winking…with his closed eye.

"Seriously. No boomshrooms," Frank told him.

Wally snapped his fingers and pointed at Frank. "Loud and clear."

Placing a finger on her chin, Anne looked around. "Okay. Gotta figure a way out," she said.

"Well, there's only one door, and the toads are outside. There has to be some other wa—" Frank stopped when he smelt something foul under his nose. He looked down and saw it was coming from a manhole cover. "That's it! Anne, help me out!"

The Thai girl rushed over, and together, they grabbed the iron bars and pulled up. Opening the sewers to them and the frogs.

However, when Felicia caught a sniff of the stench, she cringed at it. "Oh, yuck, really?"

Polly hopped on top of her head and exclaimed. "Deal with it, lady. It's time to get dirty!" She yelled, jumping into the sewers first.

---

It didn't take long for the rest of the town to follow after the tadpole. Frank and Anne went in after her, and everyone else followed after. Together, they all ventured deep into the underground sewage system of Toad Tower, with the humans helping to guide the frogs through the system.

After descending a set of stairs, Frank and Anne ran together towards one of the extensively long and large tunnels. However, they quickly turned around and ran away when a giant worm came out and scared them away.

Forced to go into another tunnel, the frogs of Wartwood stuck together as they ventured deeper and deeper into the labyrinth of sewage and concrete. Fighting off rats and having all kinds of nastiness dropped on their heads.

However, what Frank and Anne didn't know was that at the back of the crowd, Wally was doing the one thing Frank didn't want him doing. With no one looking, he planted the boomshrooms along the walls of the sewer.

"Just a little gift for our generous hosts," he said, pressing the top of the mushroom. He then ran off, leaving the dozens of mushrooms armed and ready to explode.

Eventually, Frank and Anne found their exit in the form of a manhole with moonlight shining through the bars.

"Finally! I think we made it." Anne was the first to climb up. When she reached the top, Anne threw open the utility hole cover, climbed halfway out, and took a big breath of air. "Ah! Fresh air." She said as Frank climbed up with her.

"I'm glad that's over with," he said.

However, the moment was short-lived when they suddenly found themselves surrounded by toad soldiers. All of them pointed their weapons and the two of them.

Sasha, wearing her armor once again, walked between the toads. Looking at the two with a smug smile, she sighed. "Oh, you two. Very disappointing. Now let's move. Grime's waiting for us."

---

The humans and frogs were pulled out of the sewers by the toads. At spear point, they were forced back into the tower. Their toad oppressors then escorted them to the very top of the building, with was still under construction. There, Grimes waited for them with his men. He looked down at the hungry Venus flytrap and grinned menacingly. He fed it a cricket leg, which it very much enjoyed.

He chuckled until Sasha came up behind him. "Caught these prisoners trying to escape, Grime," she said, pulling Frank and Anne by their arms.

"Dude, are you crazy?" Anne asked as she and Frank yanked their arms away.

Sasha pocked her chest and shushed her. "I'm trying to get us home," she said, pocking Frank in the chest.

"Don't touch me, bitch!" He snapped. The two of them glared at one another until the toad captain spoke up.

"Very impressive, Sasha. Always playing Flipwart when everyone else is playing Bog Jump," he said. However, all this did was earn him looks of confusion from Frank, Sasha, and Anne. "Well, see, Flipwart and Bog Jump are games, but Flipwart, of course, is far more complicated and... I'm trying to say you're smart!"

"Oh. Thanks, Grime-sy," Sasha said, giving him a laugh that tried to make her sound cute. However, it was hard to think of her as such when she gave Frank a smug look. "What can I say? Just how I do. Up top." She held up her hand for a high-five.

"Ah... Um... Yes." Grime said awkwardly, high-fiving her.

"Sasha, please! There has to be another way!" Anne said, trying to reason with her best friend. However, she was stopped when two toads crossed their spears in front of her.

"There is no other way, creature! Our very way of life is at stake. I don't expect an outsider like you to understand," Grime told Anne. He then looked to Frank, who still had Hellcat's Claw on his back. "Now, hand over the Frog King's weapon."

"Over my dead body," Frank growled.

"Yeah, well, here's the thing. We're trying not to have it come to that," Grime said, putting his hands together and pointing his fingers at Frank. He then grinned. "However, we can do it over another person's dead body. Seize the traitor, Hopediah Plantar!"

Two toad guards proceed to take Hop Pop by the arms. "No! Get your hands off me!"

"Hey!" Sprig yelled as he and Polly tried to stop them. However, the toads merely pushed them aside.

"No!" Frank yelled, seeing them about to take away and execute his friend. And he wasn't having any of it!

Taking his shield off his back and slipping it on his left hand, Frank roared at rushed at the toads holding Anne back and bashed one of them away from her. Using the confusion to her advantage, and took Frank's sword back from the other guard.

Together, both humans rushed over Hop Pop. Anne slashed at one of the Toads, forcing him to block her attack. Frank attacked the other one with a head bash with his shield.

"Stay back!" Anne yelled. Frank grabbed the Frog King's scythe from his back and twirled it in his hand, prepared to fight.

The toads got together and surrounded the frogs. Aiming their spears at the two humans. They then started to close in on them. However, they then saw how the frogs of Wartwood were glaring at them. Sprig pulled out his slingshot, Hop Pop pulled out crab legs, and Polly pulled out her flail. Ready to fight for the old frog.

"Do your worst," Wally said, with Mrs. Croaker holding her cane like a sword.

"Oh, if you're gonna bring it, then bring it," Felicia said, picking up a rock. She may have been more ladylike than her daughter, but she was more than ready to serve the toads a can of whoop-ass.

"In retrospect, we really should have tied them up," one of the toads said.

"Yeah, you should have," Frank said. "Let's rock!"

"ENOUGH!" Sasha shouted, getting everyone's attention on her. The toads part away, allowing her to walk over to her best friend and former friend. "Frank, Anne, what are you doing? Don't you see that you're just prolonging the inevitable? Are you really gonna risk your life for these talking frogs?"

"As a matter of fact, we are!" Frank said, holding his scythe firmly.

"Come on, amigo. Do you really think this is going to change anything? Who you are?" Sasha asked, trying to act all sweet to him. "We don't even belong here. Don't you both wanna get back home? What about you, Anne? Don't you…wanna see your family?"

At that moment, Frank knew what she was doing. It was the same tactic Sasha used to get her way with his crush. "Anne, don't listen to her." He said.

Sasha held her hand. "Frank, please. The girls are taking here," she said, using the same line she's used when the blonde wanted him to butt out of her conversations with Anne and Marcy.

For a moment, Anne was hesitant. "Yeah, but—"

"Then I want you to remember whose friend you really are. And that means when I tell you to put the sword down, you put your sword down now. End. Of. Discussion." Sasha said with words that cut deeper into Anne than any sword.

The Thai girl's body tensed up as her sword felt heavy in her hands. Even after three months of being with Frank and learning what it means to stand up for herself, Anne was still too weak to stand up to Sasha.

Frank watched in horror from the side as Anne's instincts took over. She looked around, then sadly lowered her guard. Complying with Sasha's words. Even though she knew that doing so would condemn Hop Pop to death, Sasha conditioned her to obey her whenever she said those three words together, no matter what.

Anne couldn't even look at Frank. His eyes would have helped her resolve. But Anne just followed Sasha's orders. Just like she usually did.

"There we go. That's my girl." Sasha praised as if speaking to a dog. Both Frank and Sprig couldn't believe what they were seeing. The two looked upset at what was happening and wanted it to stop. "There. Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Suddenly, a mud ball was launched at her and hit her face.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She screamed.

The toads, Hop Pop, Polly, the townsfolk, and Anne, gasped from it. "Huh?" Frank said, looking up, then down to see Sprig standing in front of him and Anne.

"For someone who's Anne's best friend, you sure don't know her very well. Why she chose to stay friends with you, of all people, is beyond me! Frank is a better friend for her than you'll ever be!" Sprig declared. "She's brave! She's smart! And most of all, she's not gonna be pushed around by a bully like you!"

Anne smiled together at her froggy friend, touched by Sprig's words.

Sasha wiped the sludge off her face and glared at the frog. "Ugh. I think I've had enough of you, squeaky toy," she said, drawing her pink-colored sword.

The weapon had a basic design similar to the humans' Oakeshott typology European swords from Earth during the Middle Ages. Its most notable Amphibia stylized feature was the heron-shaped quillons, having the head and tail as the cross-guards and the body as the rain-guard.

Yelling out a battle fry, she swung her sword at Sprig, who braced himself for what was likely going to be his last moment on this word.

But it never came. Frank jumped in front of her at the last moment and bashed her sword away, stopping her in her tracks and making Sasha stumble back. He then slammed the edge of the edge into her chest, sending her back to the ground.

Groaning in pain, Sasha looked up at Frank in surprise. "Frank, what are you doing!?"

"Did you really think I would let history repeat itself?" Frank asked, infuriated. "Did you really think I would let you continue to bully Anne and take away my friends?! I thought I used to know that kind of person you were, Sasha! But now, I don't even know who you are anymore. What I do know is that I'm going to do what I should have done three years ago. Fight for my friendship!"

Everyone gasped while Anne looked at her best friend with wide eyes filled with admiration.

While Sasha stared at the Hispanic boy in shock, she was soon snapped out of it when Grime started chuckling next to her. "What are you laughing at?" She snapped at him.

"Looks like you've got a rebellious seed of your own. You've given me plenty of advice. Now let me give you some," Grime said to the blonde girl. "Stamp this out. Make him yield. Fail, and he'll take Anne from you, and nothing will ever be the same."

Sasha didn't need a minute to think about her response. "Not gonna happen," she said, turning back to Frank and preparing to fight.

Grime grinned. "This should be fun," he said before calling out to all his toad soldiers. "My friends! Instead of a messy free-for-all, I have a splendid idea. How about we settle this…" he jumped onto a rock. "...the toad-fashioned way?"

With a snap of his fingers, the toad guards surround Frank and Sasha. They placed their shield in front of themselves and got into defensive stances.

"Trial by combat! If your champion wins, you all go home, no harm, no foul." Grime said, holding out his hand to Frank. He then gestured to Sasha. "But if our champion wins, well…." The captain turned his head and looked down at the venus flytrap. Chuckling as the monstrous plant roared down below. "Baby's hungry."

Realizing that this would be a fight to the death for both of her friends, Anne was torn. She wanted Frank to win, but she knew their fighting would cause both of them to be seriously injured. "Frank, you don't have to do this," she said, pleading with him. "Let me fight Sasha."

"Sorry, Anne, but I have to do this. If not for you, then for myself," he said, glaring at Sasha.

Frank and Sasha circled each other as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. Everyone watched the two former friends, waiting to see who would make the first move. As they walked around the ring of toads, Sasha dragged her pink heron sword around the ground, making sparks fly off it.

"I almost hate to do this, amigo," Sasha said smugly. They then stopped and faced each other.

"No, you're not," Frank said, getting into a fighting stance. "Not yet."

They glared at each other until Grime finally said, "Begin!"

Sasha took the chance to attack first. She grunted as she charged at Frank, pointing her incredibly sharp sword at him. Frank did as he always did. He bashed her sword away to the right, leaving her open for a slash of his scythe. But Sasha quickly spun around and blocked the attack.

The Hispanic boy then kicked her in the hip, knocking Sasha away. Growling in anger, Sasha kicked herself up before rushing him again. She slashed at Frank, but the boy side-stepped away. Just barely missing the tip of the sword before it cut his ear. Frank tried chopping down on her, but Sasha jumped away from him.

Standing where he was, Frank watched as Sasha twirled around in the air like the cheerleader she was before landing and attacking him again. Once again, the two engaged in melee combat.

However, Frank made her question what kind of training Tritonio gave him. It was as if he was possessed or allowing some force to take over and guide his movements. Sasha's movements were fast and powerful, letting her perform attack after attack in a matter of seconds. The blonde swung her blade at him with a brash yet contained rage. Putting her two months of training into motion. With a single sword, she came at Frank with a rhythm of chops and stabs. Each one had the potential to take Frank's life if she so pleased to do so.

Not one touched Frank.

With just his shield making what was in Sasha's mind the bare minimum, Frank blocked her attacks from every direction. He didn't need to step back from Sasha. He knew what her next move would be before she made it. It was difficult, especially for someone with his experience, but not impossible. Frank knew that the best way to use his shield wasn't to do crazy maneuvers—but to keep it held up. He could easily save his energy for his scythe while Sasha burnt away at hers.

There was a moment during the fight when Frank countered Sasha's sword with the top of Hellcat's Claw. They locked blades and glared hatefully at each other. "What's gotten into you, Frank? You were never like this back home!" Sasha yelled at him.

"Oh, shut up!" Frank yelled, parrying another swing before bashing her sword out of Sasha's hand. Sending it flying away from them.

Anne and the Plantars gasped, looking at Frank in amazement. Sasha gasped, too, but wasn't about to give up. She was determined to win.

Even if it meant that she would need to use more underhanded means of winning, Sasha would do it.

So, she reached behind her waist and pulled out a special dagger.

For a moment, Frank dropped his guard and grinned at Sasha. "How do you like them apples?" He asked.

Slash!

"Augh!" Frank yelled in pain when Sasha swiped her dagger up at his face. Cutting him on the right side of his mouth. As he bled, Sasha rushed for her sword. "Oh, come on, a dagger?"

As Sasha grabbed her heron sword, Frank threw the Hellcat at her. Sasha easily parried the scythe, sending it flying into the air as it spun like a propeller. However, like a boomerang, it turned around and fell back towards Frank.

The young boy blocked more of Sasha's attacks with his shield. But then he shot his arm at her. Sasha's reflexes made her bend backward to avoid the punch.

However, as she looked up, she watched as his hand opened to catch the scythe. Just inches from her face.

Sasha jumped back from Frank. Trying to buy herself some time, she then tried a new tactic. Grabbing her cape, she threw it at Frank. Blinding him as it draped over his head. Seeing her chance, Sasha got down and swiped his legs out from under him. Knocking Frank on his back.

With a swift swipe, she cut the straps of Frank's shield and kicked it away. Feeling his main line of defense being taken from him, Frank quickly pulled the cape off his face. Only to see Sasha's pointing the tip of her sword at his throat.

"They're just slimy little frogs, Frank! They don't MATTER!" Sasha yelled at him.

For a moment, Frank glared at her before scoffing. "Funny, I bet you told Anne the same thing. That I didn't matter," he said, grinning at her as she glared at him. "You think training makes you strong, but experience will always outrank everything! And I've had three months of survival to make me the best!"

Frank kicked her leg, making her yell in pain and stumble back. Frank then kicked himself up and ran at her with his bare feet. What followed next was the most intense moment Sasha ever felt, as she witnessed Frank change fighting forms on her.

The first overhand chop of Ramirez's scythe slid off Sasha's instinctive guard. The second bent the wrist that was holding the dagger. Forcing her to put it away just to have two hands on her sword. The third slash of Hellcat's Claw pushed Sasha's pink blade so far back inside her defense that it would have cut her shoulder if she wasn't wearing the guard. And what's worse was that Sasha was forced to give ground.

Frank never let up. His attacks were mechanically inexorable and carried with them an impossibly powerful force. For each step he took, Frank attempted a blow toward Sasha, and she couldn't do anything to stop him. For all her training, Frank was a force of nature. Sasha's breaths went short and hard as she found the boy she abandoned staying right on top of her. Sasha was no longer trying to block Frank's strikes. All she could do was guide them away from her.

Sasha hated it, but she couldn't meet Ramirez strength-to-strength. He was too strong to push back now. It made her furious. She rose through the ranks in the toad army, and yet she was being beaten by someone who was supposed to be beneath her.

In an act of rage, she tried attacking him. But Frank grabbed her arm with one hand. Dropping the scythe, he grabbed her arm with the other and used all his strength to throw her over his shoulder and throw her a few feet away. Making her body bounce off the ground until coming to a stop. Just a foot away from the ring of toads.

"Just give up, Sasha! You can't beat me!" Frank shouted. However, he felt himself beginning to lose focus as he panted and sweated. He looked around his body, wondering if she had got him. Yet saw nothing.

Seeing his confusion, Sasha smirked. Finally, she had the upper hand. "What's the matter, Ramirez? Is it the poison?" She asked.

This comment drew gasps from the frogs and Anne. Frank opened one of his eyes to look at her in confusion. Standing up, Sasha pulled out her dagger again.

"I dossed this knife with a special poison that disoriented my opponents." She said smugly, sheathing her dagger. "Don't worry. It's non-toxic. Just give it a minute, and you'll be all good. But you're not too weak to fight."

Frank growled, furious at Sasha for her underhanded tactic.

"Frank!" Anne yelled to him, worried for his safety.

"Yeah, maybe I am feeling weak, but then how pathetic are you? That you can't beat me at my worse?!" Frank asked, picking up his scythe.

Seeing that he wasn't doing what she wanted him to do again, Sasha yelled and charged again. Once again, Frank blocked and parried all her attacks; even with her poison clouding his mind, he still had the will to keep fighting.

Frank bashed her sword away from his direction. He then grabbed the handle of the scythe at both ends, looped it around Sasha's back, and delivered his knee into her gut.

"GAH!" Sasha felt the air getting knocked out of her, leaving her in a state of shock. Frank then kicked her in the chest and knocked her down on her back.

Stopping to catch his breath, Frank panted as he glared at Sasha. "Why'd you do it, Sasha? Why would you make Anne break her friendship with me?" He asked her as Sasha clambered back up to her two feet. "I looked up to you! We all did!"

"That's not my problem!" Sasha screamed at him.

"You were my best friend!"

Sasha could feel an enormous surge of emotion in her chest. Ultimately, she finally snapped and allowed her true self to be seen. "You want to know why? Fine! Because you just couldn't do what I wanted you to do. When you started standing up to me, I couldn't take it. You were the only one who didn't do as I said. It affected our friend unit."

This revelation shocked Anne. All this time, she thought that Sasha only did it because it was for the good of the friend group. No, she tried convincing herself that Sasha's intentions were good. But to hear it from the blonde's mouth made her heart stop. "What?"

As for Frank, he looked at Sasha with shock and disgust. "That's it? You did it because you viewed me as a threat to your rule? Is that it?! How pathetic are you, Waybright?" He shouted at her. But then he pointed Hellcat's Claw at her. "But in the end, you failed. You tried to turn Anne into your lapdog, but I helped her to be her best person!"

"And what better would she be with you?" Sasha shot back. "A violent criminal no one wants to be with?"

"Anne wanted to be with me. Together, we formed a new friendship, stronger than the first!" Frank shouted, looking back at Anne with a bright smile. She smiled back and nodded.

Seeing how they looked at each other only made Sasha's fury grow. She felt genuine hatred for the boy for how he was winning her best friend over, just like he did back then. "You always thought you were better than me. That I could never be as good a friend to Anne as you."

"I am better than you." Frank declared, glaring at Sasha.

When she snapped her head up at him, Frank could have sworn that Sasha's eyes flickered pink. But that's not something that he would remember clearly.

What Sasha would say next would haunt Frank.

"THEN WHY WAS IT SO EASY FOR ME TO FRAME YOU?!"

Sasha gasped and quickly covered her mouth. However, it was too late. The damage was already done. The secret was out, and she could never take it back. All she could do was watch as Frank's eyes widened as he gasped when he heard those words come out of her mouth. He looked at her in disbelief, not wanting to believe what she was telling him.

Yet, it was the truth. It was written all over the blonde's blue eyes.

Sasha was the one that stole those shoes.

---

On that fateful night, Sasha walked into the store wearing her school jacket and a blue hat. This was it. She's planned this for a week, and now it was time to put her plan into action.

Walking over to the store's shoe section, Sasha stopped in front of a specific pair of really nice-looking white sneakers. They were the latest and hottest shoes on the market. She's asked both of her parents to get them for her, but they said no.

However, Sasha wasn't one to take no for an answer.

Making sure she wasn't being watched and that the cameras were facing away from her. After checking to ensure they were her size, she pulled out a pair of pliers and wire cutters.

The moment she ran out of the store with the shoes, the alarm inside went off. Sasha ran as fast as she could. As she heard police cars sirens, Sasha started to panic. She needed a plan, and she needed one quickly.

The blonde stopped in the middle of a bridge over an underpass, looking around. Sasha knew she had to get rid of the shoes before the police came around.

Looking over the edge and down at the underpass road, Sasha saw a bush just off to the side of the sidewalk. A new plan formed in her head. She would throw the shoes down towards the brush and then run down and collect them. Afterward, she'd go through the neighborhood to return to her mom's house.

And so, Sasha threw the shoes over the bridge. But just as she thought everything was going according to plan, Frank Ramirez, the boy she once called a friend, stepped in front of the shoes' path. Getting hit in the head.

Sasha gasped when she saw the shoes hit the boy, and her eyes widened when she saw it was Frank. It's been two years since she's last seen him, yet he still looks the same. Only more grown up. However, Sasha didn't have time to think about it. Realizing that he now had the shoes, Sasha rushed away. But at that moment, Frank only saw her face in the dim light on the bridge when he looked up. However, the Hispanic boy didn't think much of it.

The blonde girl rushed down the bridge's stairs and was about to run to Frank to get her shoes back. But just before she could descend the stairs….

It happened.

Making it down the stairs, Sasha watched in shock as Frank was confronted by the businessman, framed, and put into the back of the police car. Witnessing everyone with her very eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Her plans to steal the shoes were ruined, and Frank was now being arrested for her crime.

But what could she do? Run over and tell the truth? No, that wouldn't do. Besides, if Frank weren't there in the first place, he wouldn't have been in this situation, right? This was his fault, right? At least, that was what she tried telling herself.

Realizing there was nothing to do, Sasha's expression turned cold as she turned around and walked away. Disappearing into the shadows.

---

Hearing what her best friend had just confessed, Anne gasped in shock.

Frank felt a tear run down his cheek as his lips trembled. "It was you…."

"Frank…" Sasha pulled her hand away from her mouth and reached out to him.

"How could you?!" Sasha gasped when Anne shouted at her. The Thai girl glared at her so-called best friend with anger as she was held back by two toads. "How could you ruin his life, Sasha?!"

"W-Wait, Anne, it's not what you think!" Sasha said. For the first time since reuniting with her friends, she looked genuinely scared and remorseful, if some believed it.

Lowing his head down so that his hat covered his eyes, Frank started marching towards Sasha. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he got closer to her.

Seeing him coming towards her, Sash tried pleading with him. "Frank, what happened was an accident. I swear! If you just let me explain…."

"Explain what? That it was you all this time?" Frank asked, his voice shaking. "You're responsible for everything that happened that night. You're the one that the fat fuck was looking for. You turned my family against me. You threw me under the bus for your crime. I rotted in juvenile detention for ten months because of you! It was you who ruined my life!"

Frank's eyes flickered a glowing red as he raised his scythe in the air to chop her head off.

"YOU'RE THE ONE TO BLAME!"

Suddenly, he was hit in the back with three arrows.

Frank yelled in shock and pain as he let go of Hellcat's Claw. He fell on his arms and knees, causing his hat to drop off his head.

"FRANK!" Anne and Sasha screamed before the Thai girl rushed past the toads and ran over to Frank. The boy was groaning in pain from the arrow in his back. Gritting his teeth as he held a yell of agony.

Sasha wiped her head towards Grime, who was holding a bow. "What the hell, Grime?!" She yelled at him.

"Sorry, Sasha, but we can't afford to waste any more time," the captain of the toads said to his commander. He then shot out his tongue and used it to snatch Hop Pop from the crowd.

"Hop Pop!" His grandkids cried out, trying to grab him. But Grime pulled him away from them before they could.

Retracting his tongue back into his mouth, Grime grabbed the old frog by his shirt and dangled him over the tower's edge. "Pretty cool, right?"

Sasha was surprised by Grime's actions. However, she accepted them as things that needed to be done. She turned to Frank and Anne, looking at the boy as he grunted in pain. Frowning at him, the blonde girl turned away. "You…you'll thank me later."

"Sasha, stop! You can't let him do this!" Anne shouted, standing up and grabbing Sasha's wrist.

"Let me go, Anne."

"No, I'm not letting you do this!" Anne declared. "This isn't who you are!"

"Anne, just do what I tell you!"

"Or what?! You'll dump me too? What happened to you? What happened to the girl who would stand up to bullies? Because I don't see her!"

SLAP!

Everything went silent for Frank at that moment when he heard that slap. He looked up and watched as Anne's head was forced to the right, as her body fell to the ground. All while Sasha glared down at her.

He watched as Anne sat on her knees and held her cheek. Looking up at Sasha with wide eyes filled with shock.

Sasha glared at her for a moment, until the reality of what she had done hit her. The twisted knot that formed in her stomach when she revealed herself as the shoe thief tightened until it felt like her stomach was cut off. She looked at her hand in horror and then looked back at Anne.

"That…I didn't mean…"

At that moment, watching Anne getting hurt by Sasha caused something in Frank to snap. He closed his eyes to blink. But when he opened them again, they had changed.

Now his eyes were glowing bright red.

He planted his foot on the ground to stand up…and the ground under him cracked! Getting the attention of everyone. With piercing, glowing red eyes glaring at Sasha, Frank stood up. A red aura appeared around him from the floor, covering his entire body.

"What's going on?!" Hop Pop shouted.

"I don't know! Maybe it's a human thing!" Grime exclaimed.

They watched as Frank's hair stood up slightly and turned the same glowing red color as his eyes. Then his scars started to glow all over his body. They turned into marks that grew and spread. The arrows in his back were pushed out and fell to the floor. The poison Sasha used bled out of the cut she made on his lip.

Standing up to his full height, Frank continued to glare at Sasha. Anne stared at him with eyes filled with shock.

She said, "Definitely not a human thing."

"Sasha!" Frank barked, tears mixing with his words. "You ruined my life and hurt Anne! Now I'm going to watch…you…DIE!"

With his new form, Frank disappeared from where he was standing, moving so fast that it was hard to see him.

Sasha looked around to see where he had gone. Only for Frank to appear in front of her and punch her in the stomach with incredible force.

BASH!

The blonde felt herself becoming paralyzed from the intense pain that shot throughout her body. She coughed up blood, but Frank didn't let up. He unleashed a barrage of punches into Sasha's gut. Each hit made her body go up off her feet. He then flew up to her level and kicked her in the face.

Everyone gasped in shock and awe as Sasha's body flew over the tower's edge and across the sky. But Frank wasn't done with her. Disappearing and reappearing in the path she was going, the superpowered Hispanic boy grabbed her leg. Sasha was utterly helpless as she was thrown back toward the top of the tower. Her body bounced around the stone floor, making her grunt and shout in pain until she came to a stop.

Grime looked at the blonde girl in utter shock, leaving himself open for Frank to rocket toward him. In a blur of red light, Frank snatched the old frog away from his grip and landed just in front of the crowd of frogs. Knocking the toads of the ring out of the way.

They all looked at him and his new form in bewilderment as he set Hop Pop down.

"Get him!" Grime ordered his troops.

The toad soldiers quickly charged at Frank. However, in the blink of an eye, Frank was standing on the other side of the tower. Behind him, Grime's toad troops were knocked off their feet, and their armor was smashed and broken. The toads landed on the floor, groaning in pain.

"Oh, shit…" Grime whimpered before Frank rocketed at him and kicked him in the face, sending him flying off the rock he was standing on and off the side of the tower.

Seeing her mentor being easily defeated by the boy she framed, Sasha grunted in pain as she grabbed her sword and tried to stand up. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to stop, as Frank had beaten her badly.

But just as she managed to stand on her own two feet, Frank appeared in front of her in a blur. Sasha screamed and backed up from him. Pulling out her dagger.

Frank just stood there for a moment with his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face. However, the same power that was flowing through him summoned his weapon to him. With the blade glowing as red as the moon behind the Hispanic boy, Hellcat's Claw floated up slowly to Frank's right. Opening his eyes to glare at Sasha, Frank reached out his right arm and grabbed the handle with his right hand.

"RRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Frank charged at Sasha.

The blonde girl quickly tried to block with both her sword and her dagger. However, Frank's overpowering upward swing knocked both weapons out of her hands and into the air. The scythe left a large gash on the right side of her face, which was now bleeding.

Sasha had been knocked to the ground again and was now at the mercy of Frank. Her only hope for salvation was the shield she had cut from his arm sitting next to her. Sasha quickly grabbed it and held it up just before Frank chopped down on it. The shield protected her, but she quickly noticed a dent had formed.

Frank was far from done. With unbridled rage and everyone watching with fearful expressions, the framed boy started going ballistic on the shield. He hacked and chopped down at the shield with all his new strength. Sasha felt her arms beginning to buckle under the force of the strikes, and the shield began to bend and break. But she knew she couldn't stop. Even with the floor under her cracking and breaking, Sasha knew that letting up would be death.

Finally, the barrage of strikes ended when Frank shattered the shield into pieces with one more blow.

Ultimately at his mercy, Frank reached down and grabbed Sasha by her neck. Gritting his teeth with fury, he lifted her into the air with his left hand. Too weak to break free, Sasha could only place one hand on his wrist to try and get him to loosen his grip.

"Frank…please…" Sasha pleaded.

Frank glared at her with all the hatred he felt for her as he panted like a wild animal. Scythe in hand, ready to end her life.

"Frank, stop!" Frank snapped his head to the side to see Anne standing a few feet away. Looking at him with pleading eyes while still having a red mark on her cheek.

"STAY OUT OF THIS! All of you! This is my fight!" Frank yelled.

"You can't kill her, Frank," Anne said, slowly walking up to him.

"Why not!? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't finish this bitch off once and for all!?"

"Because…she's still our friend."

Frank looked at her like she was crazy. "What? You still want to be friends with this useless piece of shit?! After all the things she's done! She needs to pay!"

"At what cost?" Anne asked, looking at him sadly. "I know you're angry, Frank. I feel that same anger in many ways, but Sasha isn't just my friend. She was yours too."

"Wrong! She burnt that bridge a long time ago!" Frank yelled, glaring up at the blonde girl.

"I know, but you can't kill her, Frank. What will you say to her parents when we go home? That you killed her in cold blood? You were framed for what she did, but you'll be locked away from murder!" Anne pleaded with her best friend.

"Stop it, Anne! I have to do this!" Frank yelled. "This is the only way!"

However, he gasped when he felt soft hands gently grasping his arm. He turned his glowing red eyes at Anne, who caressed his right cheek. Using her thumb to wipe away the tears, she looked at him with her eyes welling up.

"No, it's not." She said to him softly. "Don't do it, Frank."

"But…"

Anne stopped him by lightly placing her finger on his lips. "Frank, this is about more than just punishing Sasha. You're my best friend. If you kill her, I…I lose you. And I don't think I'll ever get you back. I lost you before, and I don't ever want to again. We love you, Frank," Anne said, gesturing to the people of Wartwood. The frogs that Frank promised to be the protector of. They all looked at him with worried, sad, and pleading eyes. The same eyes Anne had as she looked at Frank. "Be who you are. Don't become the monster people think you are."

More tears flowed down Frank's face as he stared at her. All the hatred he felt at that moment was replaced by remorse and grief. Looking at Sasha, who looked at him beggingly with tears in her eyes, Frank then glanced at Hellcat's Claw. The same weapon that was meant to be a symbol of unity for Amphibia.

What was he doing? Yes, he's killed in the past, but this was different. He only did it when there was no other option. To survive and protect Anne.

But this wasn't like those moments.

Sasha was already beaten. She wasn't a threat anymore.

With a remorseful expression, Frank dropped the scythe on the ground. The metal blade clattered on the stone floor.

Then, he dropped Sasha. The blonde girl grunted as she fell to her knees. Panting for breath, she looked up at him with shock. For a moment, Frank adverted his eye from her. Almost as if he was ashamed to look at Sasha for what he did. But when he did direct his gaze back at her, he glared.

"You were my friend once, Sasha. That's the only reason you're still alive."

A second later, the blazing aura around his body faded away. The mysterious power that he'd called upon was disappearing. His hair and eyes returned to normal, and his scar marking disappeared. The scars he had before remained. Staggering back from Sasha and Anne, Frank lost focus and collapsed on his back.

"Frank!" Anne quickly knelt next to him. The Plantar ran over to join her too.

Frank groaned as he opened his eyes. "I'm okay, guys…I'm okay."

Watching her best friend and the slimy frog family gathering around Frank, Sasha stared at the boy and Anne with wide eyes. Too stunned to utter words after what just happened.

Noticing a glint of metal out of the corner of her eyes, Sasha saw Hellcat's Claw sitting on the ground at arm's reach. Thinking that she still had a chance to make things go the way she wanted them to, Sasha reached a shaking hand out towards the scythe.

However, Anne stood up and picked the scythe off the ground before she could get to it.

"A-Anne?" Sasha said in disbelief. "W-What are you…?"

"Something I should've done a long time ago—what Frank would have wanted me to do," Anne said harshly. She was looking at Sasha in a whole new light. The person she'd been so scared to stand up to was now looking at her in defeated shock. "I promised Frank I would prove myself worthy of being his friend again. To become someone worthy of being with. And I'm keeping that promise. That means from this day forth, I'm standing up to you! You'll never push me around anymore."

Once again, Sasha was shocked into silence.

Anne then looked at the toads. Those who were still conscious were looking at her with shock. "And that goes for the rest of you!" She declared, raising Hellcat's Call. "From this moment on, you're not allowed to come around Wartwood ever again! We're not a part of the rebellion, but we wouldn't let you push us around anymore!"

With that, the frogs of the town cheered and clapped. This was a moment they never thought they'd see. The toads were finally going to leave their village in peace. And they didn't need their protection. With Frank and Anne around, no force could threaten them.

Giving one last glare at Sasha, Anne turned around and offered Frank a hand. He smiled, proud of her, and took it. Anne pulled him to his bare feet. Together with the Plantars, they started walking back to the crowd.

However, just then, disaster struck!

Out of nowhere, the entire tower began to shake. "What the hell?!" Frank exclaimed as the floor under him shifted and trembled.

Down in the tunnels of the sewers, the boomshrooms were finally going off and exploding. Completely destroying the underground system, as the blue fire shot out of all the maintenance holes of the tower. Setting off a chain reaction that set off multiple explosions all over the castle.

"What's going on!?" Anne screamed.

Frank turned to Wally. "Wally, what did you do?!"

"What? I thought we agreed." Wally said.

"You planted the boomshrooms?!" Frank yelled incredulously. "I thought I told you not to!"

"I thought you said that in the opposite way!" Wally exclaimed. Confused, he pointed to his closed eye. "Wait, could you not tell I was winking?"

"NO!"

"Ah, curse you, one eye!"

["Mad World" by Gary Jules]

One by one, brick by brick, the entire tower started to fall apart. Seeing this, the crowd of frogs gasped and backed away from the edge as they screamed in terror. Even the toads began to panic as the floor beneath them gave way.

"We gotta get out of here! Move, move, move!" One of them yelled as they all rushed for the exit. Some of them weren't so lucky and fell to their deaths. Even the flytrap became a victim of Wally's antics. The fearsome monster plant was crushed under falling debris, killing it on impact.

Seeing how the toads got out, Hop Pop and Sprig quickly rushed to the trap door and held it open. "Everyone! Come on, get off the roof, quick!" Yelled the old frog, waving to everyone to go down the stairs.

As the new structure of the tower crumbled away, the ground below Frank, Anne, and Sasha began to slant slightly.

That's when the blonde noticed the floor behind her falling apart. And it was coming closer to her.

Sasha gasped and turned back to her friend. "Anne!" She said before screaming when the ledge beneath her gave way.

Seeing her friend fall off the tower, Anne gasped and dropped Hellcat's Claw. "Sasha!" She screamed, diving to Sasha. Catching her hand before it was too late while lying on her stomach. "Gotcha."

"Anne!" Sprig yelled.

"I've got her!" Frank told his froggy best friend, grabbing Hellcat's Claw. "You help the others!"

Sprig looked like he wanted to protest, but the assured look on Frank's face told him that it would be okay. So, as the last resident of his hometown ran down the stairs, the little pink frog joined his grandfather and rushed down behind the fleeing crowd of people.

At the same time, Anne tried pulling Sasha up. "I've got you, Sash. You're gonna be okay—" However, Anne gasped and screamed as she felt her body starting to slide off the ledge. She would have fallen with Sasha…

…if it wasn't for Frank coming to the rescue. He grabbed Anne's ankle with one hand and stabbed the scythe into the floor.

"Don't worry. I got you!" Frank yelled, holding onto the weapon and his crush's leg as tight as he could. Refusing to let her fall. "Hold tight, Sasha!"

Sasha stared up at Frank in total bewilderment. It wasn't even a second ago that he wanted to kill her for framing him. In her mind, falling to her death seemed fitting for what she did to him. Yet the Hispanic boy was helping Anne try and save the blonde girl in her moment of peril. Risking his life for hers.

"Hey, hey. Look at me, look at me. Everything's gonna be totally fine. Just hang on." Anne yelled down to Sasha, trying to give her the same confidence that she was showing, even though Anne was scared too.

Grunting from exhaustion and the strain placed on his already weakened muscles, Frank found within him the will to not give up. Wrestling with his tired body, Frank started pulling Anne up.

"I got you, Anne. No matter what, I'm never letting you go!" However, his eyes widened in horror when he saw the ledge starting to crack. Remembering how the ridge from the waterfall broke off when they woke up in Amphibia, Frank realized that what happened was about to repeat itself. "Oh, not again..."

"Frank! Use that anime power! Go Super-Saiyan!" Anne yelled up to him.

"I…I-I can't! I don't know how!" Frank shouted. All he could do was continue to try and pull Anne and Sasha back up. However, the cracks in the ledge just grew bigger and bigger.

Seeing the ledge was about to give way, Sasha looked down in sorrow. She didn't deserve to be saved. All Sasha wanted was what was best for her friend, and in the end, the blonde girl completely burnt the bridges she made with them.

Frank was right; she did need to pay for her crimes. And so, she made a decision.

"Hey, Anne," Sasha said, getting Anne to open her eyes to look at her. "Maybe you're better off without me. Frank…"

Frank looked down at her, and his eyes widened in shock. Sasha's eyes teared up.

"I…I'm sorry, for everything."

And just like that, Sasha gave up. She let go of Anne's hand and allowed herself to plummet to her death.

"NOOOOOO!"

"SASHA!"

The two yelled together as they watched Sasha fall from the tower, hopeless to save her.

However, death would not come for her just yet.

[music stops]

"Hyah!" Having somehow survived his fall, Grime jumped out of nowhere and grabbed her unconscious body in midair. The shock of the fall had most likely knocked her out.

Wrapping one arm around her, the toad pulled out his short sword and dug it into the wall of the crumbling tower. Allowing himself and Sasha to slide down the building towards the courtyard.

---

As the tower fell apart all around the toads and frogs, the amphibians threw open the doors and made a break for safety. However, some were slower than others.

"Come on, Mrs. Croaker!" Sprig exclaimed worriedly, staying by the old frog's side as she walked at a snail's pace. And not the giant snail speed.

"Curse these old legs." Mrs. Croaker said, panting. "Save yourself—"

Before she could finish, both Mrs. Croaker and Sprig were grabbed by Mayor Toadstool. For the second time tonight, the usually selfish mayor rescued his townsfolk. He threw the two frogs on his back with everyone he'd saved, including Sprig's family, the Sundews, Loggle, Wally, and Toadie.

"Hi, Mrs. Croaker. Hi, Sprig." Wally greeted them.

"Hey, Wally!" Sprig greeted back. He then looked down at the toad carrying them in shock. "Mayor Toadstool?"

"Uh-huh. If y'all die, who'll I embezzle money from? Huh?" Mayor Toadstool said.

"Shut up and run!" Mrs. Croaker yelled, pointing her cane ahead toward the other side of the bridge.

Soon, the tower stopped shaking, and the debris stopped falling. The toads that survived made it to safety. Everyone from Wartwood evacuated from the castle just in time and made their way home.

Almost everyone.

---

["Tragic Death" — Primal season 1 OST]

At the top of the tower, Frank picked up his head from the floor and placed it on his head. Hearing a ripping sound, the Hispanic boy looked up to see the toad banner ripping itself off the pole from the wind. Watching it fly away, Frank couldn't help but frown.

If killing Tartarus didn't lead to more conflict and uprising in the valley, he was more than confident this would cause tensions to rise on a level he could never have foreseen.

But right now, he wasn't concerned with that.

Turning back to the ledge, Frank saw Anne looking down while sitting on her knees. Looking at her mournfully, Frank walked over to her. Following her gaze, he saw Captain Grime carrying Sasha's body to whatever was left of his once-great army.

The toad captain then stopped and looked back up at the two humans.

While Anne looked in despair, Frank tried to maintain a stern glare. However, he couldn't, and his glare turned into a concerned frown. Seeing Sasha, who used to be one of his closest friends, broken and scarred because of him made Frank's chest tight. No matter how much he disliked Sasha or what she did to him, he didn't want things to go like this. He didn't want them to become enemies.

However, because of her actions, that was the path they while be taking.

Grime looked at the girl in his arms before glaring back at Frank, growling in anger. Then the toad captain turned his back on the tower and wandered into the wilderness. His toads somberly followed him. Disappearing into the shadows.

Seeing them leave, Anne stood up. Standing beside each other with the wind blowing through their hair, Frank and Anne glanced at one another. Without saying a word, the best friends then hugged. Frank held her as tight as he could without hurting her as Anne broke down. Sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

Frank and Anne had found Sasha, but they may have just lost her, just as she had just lost them. There was no sense of victory, only defeat. No sense of pride, only shame.

As dawn broke over the horizon, so did Sasha's friendship with Frank and Anne.

Now, they're all they've got.

[music stops]

---

Only an hour ago, the frogs returned to Wartwood using the toad's old party barge. Mrs. Croaker drove them all back home herself. Every frog on that barge was exhausted beyond belief. Two parties in one night took a lot out of the simple people. But to have a run for their lives? They counted themselves lucky to be alive.

While everyone returned home for some much-needed rest, one of the residents ventured off into the wilds to be alone.

The sun hung over the beautiful pond the humans had their first dance. All was peaceful for Frank as he allowed himself to float quietly in the water. Enjoying the soothing feeling of the water caressing his body and easing the muscle and bones of his scarred body. He is wearing only his pants, leaving himself bare-chested.

Looking up at the dragonflies flying off in the sky and the clouds passing overhead, he sighed. He thought that the water would clear his mind. Yet all it did was give himself time to think about what transpired. It certainly didn't help his already conflicted mind.

When he felt his body reach the other end of the pond, Frank slowly stood up and walked out of the water. Making his way over to his shirt hanging on a branch, he grabbed his white t-shirt, which had become stained and darkened from sweat and dirt.

As he looked it over, Frank saw how torn up it was from his adventures. He slipped it on, then noticed the state of his grandfather's m65 field jacket. The poor thing was in a worse state than Frank thought. With rips and tears all over it. How he didn't notice it before was a mystery. However, Frank knew that until he got it fixed, he'll have to wear something else.

"You weren't really going to kill her, right?" Frank looked up to see Anne standing a few feet away from him.

"No. We both know what I would have done." Frank looked down in shame. He then smiled sadly. "But you helped me find my way back. I can't thank you enough, Anne…and I'm sorry."

Anne tried her best to smile. "It's okay. I know that what Sasha did was bad, and she hurt you. More than anyone ever could." She said, walking over to the framed boy. Taking off her one shoe and both shoes, she sat down on the pond's edge and plunged her feet into the cool water. "I just…wonder what will happen."

Frank understood what she meant. With his jacket in hand, he walked over and sat beside her. "For what she did to me, I can't forgive her. I don't know if I ever will," he said somberly, earning him a grim and heartbroken expression from Anne. However, mixed in with those emotions, the Thai girl understood why. "But what about you? Are…you okay? With everything that happened."

"I…I don't know," Anne said, scratching her cheek where Sasha slapped her. "It was as if I was…awakened to the kind person she became. Yet, after what she did, I can't…I'm sorry, Frank. I want to believe there's still a part of the old Sasha left inside her. I still want to…."

Frank placed a hand on her shoulder. "I gave you a second chance at friendship. If you're thinking of giving Sasha one, I won't stop you," he said.

The two best friends sat silently together as they stared at the pond. Enjoying being in each other's presence. After a moment, Anne turned to Frank and thought for a moment.

As Frank stared out at the glistening water, he felt something being placed around his torso. He looked down and was shocked to see it was Anne's Frog of the Year sash.

"Anne, this is yours," Frank said, confused. "You're Wartwood's Frog of the Year."

"Yeah…" Anne then looked down at Frank's hand and gently grabbed ahold of it. She looked at him with a bright blush on her face. "...but you're my Frog of the Year."

Frank blushed brightly when Anne called him that. The two stared at one another for a moment, blushing and smiling.

However, their moment alone together was interrupted when the Plantars walked over. "Same as us," Hop Pop said as he and his grandkids sat on both sides of the two humans. "I know that was hard for you, Frank. For the both of you. But, thank you, you know, for everything.

Frank sighed and smiled at the old frog and Polly as he held her. "Hop Pop, you four are my family. I'd never let anyone hurt you," he said, looking to Anne and Sprig.

Anne held Frank's hand as she rested her head on his shoulder, "Nor would I."

There was a moment of silence between the five of them until Sprig spoke up. "So, you guys wanna get breakfast and come up with a plan to get Frank and Anne home?"

"Oh, my frog! I almost forgot!" Hop Pop exclaimed, excited to tell his grandkids the news he had. "I have a plan! The moment the snow melts and the mountain pass opens, we'll finally have the road open to travel to Newtopia!"

Polly and Sprig gasped with excitement. "No way!" Yelled the tadpole.

"We're going to Newtopia?" Sprig exclaimed with big, eager eyes.

"What's in Newtopia?" Anne asked.

When she asked the question, Hop Pop pulled out a map of Amphibia and unrolled it. He handed the map to Frank and Anne, and the two kids held it open by the sides. The elderly frog then pointed to what appeared to be a castle in the middle of the lilypad-shaped continent.

"It's the beating heart of Amphibia. A bustling metropolis that's full of ancient knowledge, run by the wisest of newts. If anyone can help you get home, it's them!"Hop Pop explained as he held up a drawing of a newt dressed like a wizard.

Sprig and Polly looked closely at the drawing with sparking eyes. "So mystical," said the little pink frog.

Frank looked at Newtopia with wide eyes, feeling his spirits being lifted. "So, this is it? You mean this could actually be our ticket home?"

Anne then chimed in. "Not only that, but maybe out on the road, we'll find Marcy." She said, pulling out the photo of her, Sasha, and Marcy.

"You betcha!" Hop Pop told the humans. "But be warned; the journey's gonna be dangerous. Perilous even."

"Understatement!" Polly added.

Frank glanced at Anne, who smiled and nodded. "Well, we lasted this long. Whatever happens next, one thing's for sure." He said as he and Anne brought each other and the family in for a hug. "If we're together, I know we'll be all right."

Hop Pop grunted a little. "Hugging a little tight there."

"No, we're not, Hop Pop." Anne simply said. "No, we're not.

Despite the harrowing ordeal, Frank felt his hopes rising to new levels. The boy didn't know what was going to be awaiting them. Outside of Wartwood was a world he and Anne only scratched the surface of exploring. He could only imagine the unique places they'll see, what they'll encounter, and who they'll meet. The boy didn't know what was going to be awaiting them.

The journey of survival in this savage valley will now turn into an incredible quest across Amphibia. A grand adventure across the lands, with two goals in sight. The first was to find Marcy and then Sasha, and the second was to find a way home.

Frank and Anne have been living in Wartwood for three months. Now, they'll journey into the frog world was about to begin.

End of Part 1

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AN: Man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man! This was a roller coaster of a chapter! And yet it was everything I could have wanted it to be and more! We had laughs, we had drama, we had romance, and we had epicness! All wrapped into one chapter that brought the first part of this story to a close.

So, what to talk about first…hm…Or, I know! The plot twist! That's right, everyone! You heard it from the bitch herself.

Sasha was the shoe thief!

You all have no idea how hard it was for me to keep this inside! But I had to stay strong to let the full impact of it hit hard. This is a plot twist I've wanted to get to for a LONG time! The act of betrayal that would shape the rest of the story. I can only imagine how Frank would react when he and Sasha meet again and what would be going through her mind. All I know is that the tension between Frank and Anne's friends will double!

On that note, why do people ship Sashanne? Marcanne, I can understand, but even then, I've got grievances against it. Sashanne is like saying to an abused person that she should hook up with her abusive friend because they 'changed.' All throughout Reunion, I just couldn't shake the feeling that Sasha is a total bitch!

But I digress.

As the story's main character, Frank is the first to awaken his calamity powers. Definitely took inspiration from Naruto's first fight with Sasuke at the Valley of the End. When he wiped the floor with his ass. Lol

With this being the end of season 1, we move on to season 2 when we return to the story. I can't wait to see what adventure Frank and Anne will get into.

Until next time, have a wonderful day.