Dear Diary...
Today I was finally allowed to g
Ugh… This sucks. Grime told me to keep this stupid journal to help me recover my memories. Well, at least I'm not tied to the hospital wing anymore, and I'm even allowed to lead missions again, if only recon missions.
Having only one good eye sucks, and the blind spot is pretty much a hindrance when it comes to fighting.
Speaking of fights: A few days ago, I was able to remember something. I had done the job, but this other human girl, Liz or something, had spotted me. We fought against each other. But then again, that was all I can remember.
In fact, if she was the one who could hurt me that badly, I would have to admit that I grossly underestimated her. She may be as strong as a twig emotionally, but she can fight...
Anyway, it's great to finally have something to do again. Grime said some people from Newtopia would be arriving in a few days. However, I haven't the slightest idea what could be the reason for this... *sarcasm off*
Ohhh, I know…
It could possibly have something to do with the burgeoning frog rebellions that are happening in some of the villages in the valley. They're considering that one frog what-was-his-name a martyr.
Grime's first idea, of course, was to flood the valley with soldiers and kill capture all the frogs associated with the rebellion.
I would really be interested to know where this murderous lust suddenly came from.
Well, whateveeer. I was able to talk him out of it and persuade him to take a more diplomatic route instead. I mean, sure, Grime wants to be feared and respected. But he can forget that when there is nobody left to fear and respect him.
So, I suggested that he and I meet with the leaders of the rebellion somewhere neutral and have a... chat. The meeting is scheduled for this evening. Percy and Braddock will be with us.
"What? Seriously? Here?"
"Is there a problem with this location, Lieutenant?"
"This is a cemetery..."
"May I remind you that this whole thing was your idea?"
The sun has just disappeared behind Amphibia's horizon when a small troop, led by Sasha and Grime, arrives at the spot that Grime and the representatives of the rebellion, had previously agreed upon.
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time the frogs in the valley have attempted to rebel against the toads. Every two to three generations there is a major conflict between these two parties, which has always resulted in losses for the frogs. The last really big war between frogs and toads took place four-hundred-and-ninety-eight years ago, and resulted in the almost complete extinction of the frogs that lived in the valley. Even the Newtopian army has had to get involved in the war after a while to protect the frog population, but without actively attacking the toads. That this turned out to be ineffective was shown some time later when the toads and frogs faced each other in an open battle. A great many lives were taken on both sides that day and over time this place has been used time and time again for gatherings in times of crisis.
"This is the 'Point Weatrôj', named after the biggest battle in all of Amphibia between toads and frogs. And yes, it does not just look like a cemetery, it's a cemetery. For centuries, frogs, toads, and even newts from all of Amphibia have come here again and again to, in one way or another, end their conflicts. And since we have no army with us today, I really hope you do have a plan, Sasha."
"I just do what I'm the best at.", Sasha says full of conviction, while Grime sighs. "What was that? Do you doubt me?"
"I'm aware of your abilities to manipulate people, and I know you're making good use out of it. But this is not just a few simple soldiers that you can easily wrap around your finger. Every frog here in the valley wants to get rid of us, and that for centuries, and since it was not possible to end this rebellion still in their early stages, we are facing a problem. I hope you understand that..."
"But of course, I understand that. Nothing to worry about, Grimsey"
Grime grumbles, but Sasha overhears that and the group continues towards a lighted area. Once they arrive there, Grime orders the other toads to wait, and only intervene when things seem to escalate.
Sasha and Grime approach a big, heavy-looking stone table standing by some burning torches that protrude out of the ground. There are several very old looking blood stains on the table. The whole area around the table is surrounded with a pretty low, almost round and partially broken wall. At some distance, a few bald trees can be seen, which are illuminated only by the reflecting red light of the moon. This whole scenery reminds Sasha on cliché horror movies.
It doesn't take long for the representatives of the Frog Rebellion to arrive. While Sasha didn't really have a clear idea of what to expect from the rebels, she's still quite surprised right now.
No weapons, no armor... They seem almost too harmless. One of the two frogs is quite small, has light green skin, wears a dark overall and a hat so big that it completely covers his eyes.
'Why is he wearing a hat that completely blocks his vision? And why at night?', Sasha wonders to herself.
The other frog is built similar to Grime. He has two small horns on his head. Marcy might be better able to tell her what kind of frog he is. He also wears a dark overall, but with a light-colored shirt underneath.
"Howdy", the larger frog greets Sasha and Grime. "Name's Ben. This is Chuck"
"I grow tulips.", the smaller frog says.
"Greetings. I'm Captain Grime. This is my second-in-commend, Sasha.", Grime introduces them in a serious tone. The two frogs are looking at each other.
'Seriously... how can this guy see anything?', she thinks to herself before being elbowed by Grime.
"Oh right. What are your demands?", Sasha asks.
"We wan' the independence of Frog Valley, 's well as the surrender of the tower. In addition, all toads b'longing to the Toad Army must leave the valley."
"THIS IS RIDICULOUS... That's totally-", Grime yells and walks away from the table before Sasha starts whistling, which gets his attention. "Hey. Remember what we talked about?"
As Grime furiously stomps back toward the table, Ben leans in to whisper something to Sasha.
"'mpressive. Grime listens to ya?"
"Oh, he does everything I say"
"Interesting…", Ben responds as he leans away again and Grime arrives at the table.
"Say Ben, why do you want to be independent?"
"Every year the Toad Army raids o'r villages, destroys o'r fields and robs us. Not to mention the outrageous taxes that r' barely enough to live with. And the toads live like kings. They take everything from us and we r' left with almost nothing "
"And what about all the good things the toads are doing for you?", Sasha asks to which Ben starts laughing out loud in response.
"Never in the history of Amphibia have the toads done anything good for us.", he explains a few minutes later. Sasha looks at Grime, who just shrugs. The prerequisites for Sasha to find an optimal solution to this conflict are more than bad. In hindsight, Sasha should have thought it through better, but she's not ready to admit defeat.
"How about we change that, then?", Sasha suggests.
"How d' ya mean dat?"
"Well…", Sasha begins, "if the Toads have been treating you so badly for so long, we'll just change that..."
This time, not only Ben starts laughing, but everyone except Sasha. Her serious expression remains unchanged.
"Oh, you're serious?", Grime asks, sounding genuinely surprised.
"Uh... YES!", she says in frustration.
"Even I know that's an impossibility", Ben states, who now somehow lost his accent, "Being nice isn't possible for toads. It's against their nature."
"We can be nice...", Grime replies roughly.
"It's true. I had shown him that it would make him... umm... more respected."
Ben snorts derogatory.
"Listen, Sasha. Just having Captain Grime at this table with us right now, is something no one would have thought possible just a few months ago, so I'm willing to give you a leap of faith. If you can get all the toads not to behave like, well...toads towards the frogs, it might prevent further escalation from here.", Ben says.
"Grimsey, what do you think?", Sasha whispers to Grime.
"That sounds... time-consuming, but doable in the long term...", he says loudly and holds out his hand to Ben. Ben takes his hand and holds it with unexpected force, while looking straight at Sasha.
"You made a lot of promises here today, Sasha Waybright..."
"Wait, how do you know my full name?"
"I know quite a few things about you. Like that you enjoy manipulating people for your own advantages. That you are ready to stab people in the back who are close to you. I know you killed Hopediah Plantar. Well, at least for a while...", Ben says with an intimidating look.
"B-but... what? He's alive? How?"
"Thanks for just admitting that, Sasha. Granted, I don't know exactly how it's possible that he's alive. But he is."
"One last question, Ben. How do you know so much about me?"
Ben lets go of Grime's hand, which has turned red in the meantime, and leans onto the table to Sasha, looking intently into her eyes.
"Sasha, do you know who's leading this rebellion?"
"That plantar frog?!", she guesses, hoping that her suspicions would not be confirmed. Ben watches the fear in her eyes, that she's trying to hide.
"No. You know exactly who's leading it... Good night, Captain Grime. Sasha..."
Ben turns and Chuck takes off his hat, bows and says goodbye with the words "I grow tulips". Sasha and Grime are still standing at the table, a bit speechless, when Ben turns to the two of them one last time.
"One more thing: If nothing changes on the part of the toads, you will lose a lot more than maybe your remaining good eyes."
And before they know it, Ben and Chuck are disappearing into the darkness.
"I wasn't expecting that...", Grime admits while walking back. "He completely saw through you..."
"So, what do we do now?", Sasha asks, a little stumped.
"If you don't intend to actually keep your promise, we may have to get rid of your friend Anne-"
"YOU DON'T KNOW IF SHE IS LEADING THE REBELLION!", she yells into Grime's face.
"But you know!", he replies loudly.
"No! Anne could never hurt even a butterfly without crying like a baby for days afterwards"
"Maybe you don't know Anne as well as you thought you did"
Grime and Sasha arrive back at where they left Percy and Braddock earlier, who must have been having a good time. The entire time on the way back to Toad Tower, the group remained silent.
It wasn't long before the group came into view from the tower again and Sasha just wanted to throw herself into bed to finally end this day. However, there was one thing she wasn't expecting. The entire group falls to the ground as a shock wave suddenly swept over them. Thanks to her acrobatic skills, Sasha was able to quickly get up again, and watched the shock wave follow and she noticed something weird yet familiar: It's blue.
"Anne...", she whispers to herself, her eyes widening in shock as a buried memory resurfaces. She falls to her knees with her hands in front of her mouth, and with tears in her eyes. Grime gets up again and walks to her.
"Are you okay, Sasha?", She merely looks at him.
"I remember again... You... you were right"
"What was I right about? What do you remember?". Grime sounds... genuinely concerned.
"Anne... she did this to me... she... almost killed me..."
"You know, sometimes I wish I was wrong. Come on. It's not far anymore", Grime offers Sasha a hand and the group, a little slower, make their way to the tower.