Chapter 30: Part 2: Chapter 7: The Girl and The Toad

Sasha found herself back in the hallways of Saint James Middle School , her old stomping grounds. Here, she was the queen bee. No one dared say anything against her, talk behind her back, or stand up to her. Looking down, she smiled when she saw that she was back in her school uniform. 

But, something wasn't right. Pulling out a pocket mirror, she looked at herself and noticed that her scars were gone. Her face seemed as perfect as it had been before she, the girls, and Frank became trapped in Amphibia. Not only that, she saw a banner for the school's baseball team and the game they were going to play soon. 

It was dated 2018. One year ago.

"Hello, Miss Waybright," said a familiar, echoing voice that made Sasha spin around. However, no one was with her in the empty hallways. "I wanted to talk to you about your behavior lately. "

"Principal Murphy?" Sasha called out.

" Sasha, I really think we should—" 

Sasha was started by someone slamming their hand on a locker. Now, she finds herself back in the halls of her old elementary school. In front of her are her ten-year-old self and Anne. Watching from the sidelines, the girl watches herself berating her best friend.

" 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."

"What?" Sasha gasped, wincing when she heard that. 

She had used that one praise on Anne that she'd become numb to how it felt to be on the receiving end. It was her mom's favorite way of getting her daughter to do as she was told. It was met to control her, and Sasha had, in turn, used it on her best friend. It gave her a sense of control. Just the threat of ending their friendship, a friendship they had since kindergarten, was enough to make Anne bend to her will. 

Yet, now, she felt genuinely shocked to see it play out. 

Suddenly, clad in what was left of her armor, she was right where she stood on that fateful night. She was back to that very moment, watching in shock as the fat businessman's secretary was forced to pin the blame on Frank, leading to him being handcuffed. Witnessing everything 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.

Only this time, Sasha didn't hesitate to react. 

"No, wait! WAIT!"Sasha screamed, running out across the street. Without thinking, she tried to open the door. It was locked. Frantically, the blonde girl tried pulling on the door, all while Frank sat there in the dark, alone in misery after her actions destroyed his life. "Please! There's been a mix up! L-Let me explain!"

"Explain what? That it was you all this time?" Frank's shaking, rage-filled voice asked Sasha, her mind unable to shake it off as it rang in her consciousness. "You're responsible for everything that happened that night."

"No!" Sasha bashed on the window in frustration. "No, I didn't mean for it to happen. I just…" 

That's when she heard her mother. Her birth mother, the one who left the family for her own selfish reasons. A woman who, looking back, was the root cause of the person Sasha had become. Her selfishness, manipulation, and need to control everything and everyone around her. 

"Remember, Sasha, if you want anything in this world…"

"I just have to take it," Sasha finished for her mother's disembodied voice. "No matter who got hurt…"

"How could you?!" 

Sasha gasped when she looked up and saw Anne starting a few feet in front of her. The Thai girl glared at her so-called best friend with anger and betrayal.

"How could you ruin his life, Sasha?!"

"No! It's…Anne, please," Sasha said in desperation, "if you just listen to me."

"You're the one to blame," said a voice behind Sasha. Consumed with frustration and trying to contain the overwhelming guilt she felt, the girl whirled around and hit the person with all her strength.

Her heart sank, however, when she realized she'd just struck Anne yet again. Just like when she did it on Toad Tower, Sasha felt twisted knots in her stomach as Anne looked at her in shock and hurt. Sasha then looked at her hand in horror and then looked back at Anne as hers and Frank's voices echoed through the air. 

"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."

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

"GAH!" Sasha screamed as she woke up from another nightmare—the same recurring nightmare she'd been experiencing since she and the other toads escaped the tower. It had been happening every night for weeks now, and she didn't know why. 

Groaning in frustration, she laid back in her haystack and rubbed her eyes. How could she be having these nightmares? It happened a long time ago. Why should she feel guilty for doing what she did? Yes, Frank's life was ruined, but she wasn't responsible for what happened. Yes, she forced the other girls to abandon him, but if he wasn't going to follow her lead, then he shouldn't be surprised if she didn't want him around. Everything she's done was for the betterment of her friends. If she'd gone to juvenile detention, who would have been there to protect Anne and Marcy? Why couldn't Frank understand that?

Sasha was in the right. She's always in the right.

At least, that's what she told herself, trying to push down the guilt. But it did little to elevate it. 

Growing more frustrated, she got up and hopped down to the ground floor. There was only one thing that could get her mind back in order.

An obstacle course.

The waterwheel hut where she and what's left of her allies were stationed was located in a large wooded forest. As September started, the trees surrounding her began to change color. 

Walking up to the starting line, Sasha got down in a running position. She looked ahead with a fire in her eyes at the trail before her. She was still wearing her armor, but it was damaged. Now, she was without the pauldron or cloak, and she now wore two gloves. Her only weapon was her pink heron sword.

"This time, I will not hesitate," she declared. 

And then she was off.

Running as fast as she could, Sasha jumped over a gorge, dodging a giant centipede that tried to bite and eat her. Landing on the other side, she continued on her way. Stopping at a tree with a low branch that could support her weight, Sasha jumped up and grabbed onto it. With labored grunts, she performed some pull-ups and then swung herself out and let go of the branch.

In the air, she grabbed a hanging rope and swung herself over to a bed of giant mushrooms that were the size of car wheels and stood on yard-high stocks. Letting the rope go, Sasha hopped her way across the mushrooms before making it to the other side and the final part of the obstacle course.

Landing superhero-style, she looked up and faced some…poorly constructed mannequins resembling Frank, Anne, and the Plantars. 

Growling in furious anger, Sasha took out her frustration on the frogs that ruined everything. 

She headbutted Sprig's watermelon head, smashing it into pieces. 

Hop Pop's log body was karate-chopped in two.

And finally, she kicked Polly's turnip head like a soccer ball. 

Having smashed the Plantar mannequins, Sasha turned her attention to Frank and Anne. The boy she hated for standing up to her. Who ruined her friendship with Anne, the girl who dared to abandon her. Who chose some frogs and the boy she forced her to leave over her best friend…

…even though she said that she was better off without her.

Sasha shook her head. That apology was a fluke. It didn't mean anything! She shouldn't have apologized. Trying to keep her resolve and convictions, Sasha drew her sword and prepared to attack Frank first.

But she couldn't.

Her body just froze, refusing to move, as memories of how badly she hurt him flooded into her mind, along with the memories of how badly he'd beaten her. Thanks to her training, Sasha was the most skilled fighter at Toad Tower. Yet Frank was a greater fighter than she could ever be, with skills and strength that could have only been gained by experience.

And then, when he unleashed that power. It took an entire month for her body to recover from what he did to her, and even then, she felt as though those punches had been imprinted into her very soul forever.

All because of what she did to him.

"Goddammit! Why can't I just do it!?" Sasha screamed, lashing out with her sword in a random swing. Only to end up cutting off fake Anne's head, just to make sure she knew how badly she messed up her friendship and hurt the Thai girl.

As she took a few deep breaths, Sasha took out her BFF's picture and looked at it. The wind blew, folding the part with Anne so it only left the German/Slavic girl and Marcy.

Marcy.

Sasha sighed and grabbed her face. Of the two of them, she was the most worried about her. Anne and Sasha used to have been like sisters. Marcy? She was special to Sasha in a way Anne wasn't, despite her trying to hide it from the public. And those feelings grew as they entered middle school. The more she thought about her, the more worried she became about her. 

Anne was with Frank and those frogs, but Marcy was out there, all alone, and Sasha had no idea where she was. 

Did they find her? Is she okay? Did they tell her what she did? Would she still be on her side?

Shaking her head, Sasha called out to her best ally. "Yo, Grime! Restart the clock. I'm going again," she said. However, there was no response. "Grime?"

Sasha put her sword away and looked up and around the area. Grime was nowhere to be seen. Becoming worried, the blonde girl started making her way back to the hut. 

Upon arrival, Sasha walked up to the door of the hut and looked at the wanted poster nailed to it by two knives and two arrows. And the fugitive that was wanted was none other than Captain Grime himself, who'd been labeled a traitor to the kingdom for not only the incident at Toad Tower, but also for its destruction and for abandoning his post. Leaving the frogs to rise up completely and kick the toad army out of Frog Valley.

The incident sent shock waves across the continent. How could a bunch of frogs, the lowest of the low on Amphibia's caste system, have been able to revolt against the toads, who were supposed to be keeping them in line and under their thumb? When the story of what'd happened and the barbarism that the toads did for years was leaked to the public via newspaper reports and stories told by travelers, everyone was shocked. When it was discovered that Grime, the one who was supposed to be keeping control of his army, had abandoned his post, the newts declared him a traitor and to be brought before the king for his crimes.

It was a fall from grace that Grime was not able to escape from, as the army he had known and enforced for years until the fall of the tower had abandoned him. Leaving him to turn themselves in for lighter punishment and resume active service in other armies. Now, he was all alone, with Sasha being one of three people who were still on his side. 

"Grime?" Sasha called out when she opened the door. "Are you in here—Oh, my God!" The girl cried out loud.

Needless to say, Grime's depressed state was reflected in the hideous state of his body. After losing his army, Grime now sported a gray beard with a line in the middle. He lost most of his muscular physique and now had a round stomach.

Both in body and mind, Grime had really let himself go. He sat on a large sack of bird seeds, sticking out his tongue to eat the stir-fries on his belly with a flask of bog grog in his hand and a barrel in front of him, which he had Sasha's phone set up on so that he could watch TV.

"Next time on Suspicion Island," said the show's host.

"But Randy, I think YOU'RE suspicious."

"Noooo!" 

And then there was an explosion. Having become addicted to the show, Grime laughed at how ridiculous it was. "Wow. Randy, too?" He chuckled. "Everyone really is suspicious."

The fun and games came to an end for Grime when he noticed a shadow looming over him and looked up from the screen. His second in command, First Lieutenant Sasha, stood in front of Grime, glaring at him angrily, and crossed her arms.

"Hey," he greeted her with a casual snap and pointed at her. "What's up, Sash?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what's up. You're sitting here binge-watching trash TV all day when we're supposed to be training!" Sasha said, taking her cell phone away, much to Grime's dismay. She then showed him the wanted poster of himself. "What are you gonna do when someone comes to collect the big, fat price on your big, fat head?"

And just as she said, a couple of bounty hunters jumped out of the windows from above and behind Sasha. Letting out a scream of shock, Sasha quickly turned and then drew her sword. Just in the nick of time, she counterattacked one of the hunters who swung at her with their own sword. 

''Bounty hunters!" Sasha exclaimed. 

The other bounty hunter tried to attack Sasha with his ax. Sasha skillfully parried the attacks, knocking him back, and then kicked the first enemy just as he was about to attack her.

"Grime, help me take these guys down!" Sasha yelled.

In a pathetic display of laziness, Grime tried to reach for his sword while remaining in his chair. After straining for what had to be two seconds, he gave up. 

"Nah, you got this," he said.

Seeing that he wasn't going to do anything but be lazy, Sasha groaned and dropped her stance. 

"Okay, guys, that's enough," she said, angrily thrusting her sword into the ground.

The bounty hunter with the sword was in the middle of charging at Sasha when she called off the hit, leading to him sliding and sliding across the floor before colliding into his partner. Upon falling in front of Grime, their cloaks came off, revealing the bounty hunters to be Percy and his girlfriend, Braddock.

Braddock was a light purple toad with violet-shaded spots dotted across her cheeks and a light yellow underbelly. She also had blonde hair tied back into a bun with a loop of string and wore leather armbands and brown iron armor like the other toad soldiers.

"Aw, man, I landed on my favorite horn," he said, taking out his favorite bike horn and squeezing it. All that came out was a weak squeak.

Grime looked at his two worst yet most loyal soldiers in shock. "Percy? Braddock? Why were you...?"

Braddock said, "Sasha thought a little action might help you get out of your rut."

That finally got Grime out of his spot, and he growled with growing anger. 

"So you staged this attack?" he said. "It sounds like you two belong…"

Sasha smiled while Percy and Braddock got concerned. Finally, they'll see their command back to his old self, which meant severe punishment for the two toads.

"...on Suspicion Island!" 

That, however, is not what happened when Grime pointed at Sasha with a big grin. Seeing Sasha's smile drop certainly got the old toad laughing hysterically, with Percy and Braddock joining him in the fun. Seeing her plan falling apart, Sasha groaned while smacking her head in frustration.

"Hey," Grime said, taking the loving couple by their shoulders, "you guys wanna join me? Season's just getting good."

More than happy to join, Percy and Braddock were about to go with Grime but were grabbed by Sasha.

"Ah, hell nah," Sasha said, roughly spinning the two lovers around and throwing them back to the door. She then passed Braddock some coins. "You two, go into town and get some food or whatever. I need a word with Captain Grime."

She gave them one of her intimidating glares. 

"Alone!"

"M'okay./Suits us." Percy and Braddock both said as they turned to leave. But they get stuck in the door for a moment. Once they broke free, they ran off happy. "Yeayuh!"

Back with Sasha, the blonde girl turned back and glared at Grime with a disappointed scowl. Okay, she's waited long enough. She's waited for him to get his act together, for Grime to get out of his rut, get back in the fight, and lead his team to victory, to retake what was his and help Sasha get back Anne. 

"Whaaat?" Grime whined, dismissively waving his left hand, only to notice that it was dirty. "Oop! Beetle fingers." He then proceeded to lick it clean. "You were saying?"

"Jesus Christ, I can't even look at you right now," she said.

"Wha…Why?" Grime asked. "Yeah, I put on a little bit of weight…"

"A little bit? Look at yourself!" Sasha gestured to all of what Grime had become. If Grime wasn't going to do it, she would pull him out herself. "When I first met you, you were feared by all and wouldn't take BS from anyone. Now, you're a shell of your former self. What happened to the Captain Grime I used to know?"

Grime groaned in misery while sitting back down. "He's gone. Ever since Newtopia branded me a traitor, I don't see the point anymore," he told the girl, lying down, face up. 

He was defeated in every possible way. Years of fighting through the gladiatorial colosseum, earning his place in the toad army, and becoming captain of the South Tower. 

Wasted.

Sasha took a deep breath. Then she put on her best smile and said, "So you lost control of the valley and abandoned your post, and now you're a fugitive." 

Despite how devastating these events had been for Grime, his lieutenant waved them off like they were inconvenient flies. 

"That doesn't mean we should give up," she said. "We can still put those frogs back in their place and reclaim what's ours."

The fat toad didn't bother hiding his laugh. 

"Us and what army?" Grime asked, sitting up. "All but two of my soldiers have abandoned us. And they are some of the worst! We can't possibly retake the valley."

"Oh, so that's it then," Sasha asked, crossing her arms. "You're just gonna sit here and do nothing?"

"Do nothing? Hello," Grime said, gesturing to his beard. "I've been growing a beard."

"Yeah, don't remind me."

Groaning as if moving his arms was a strenuous effort, Grime pulled his flask from his beard. 

"Look, Sasha, don't worry about it," he said. "I may be a little out of shape…"

 It didn't help matters when he drank his bog grog in one go. 

"…I'm sure," Grime said, crushing the can, "I can still lick whoever Newtopia sends after me." 

Grime threw the flask up and lashed out with his tongue, catching it and pulling it into his mouth. After a moment of chewing on the metal, he let rip a huge burp that hit Sasha.

With her slightly disheveled hair and resisting the urge to heave, Sasha sighed. She might as well face the reality that they were never going to get back in power again. All they could do now was face the consequences of their actions. 

"You better be right about that," she said.

Meanwhile, a few miles away from the hut, there was a small town the size of Wartwood. The people were going about their day, living their simple lives in the woods. In the restaurant, customers were being served; the bartender was cleaning some cutlery, and a frog was playing while another sang yodeling. 

However, the humble, cheery atmosphere was brought to a standstill by the arrival of a mysterious figure. They, shadowed by the daylight behind them, slammed the wooden doors, interrupting the singing and the piano. 

Standing in the door, exuding a powerful presence that sent shivers down the spines of the frogs, was a female newt. This newt, however, wasn't like the aristocratic or scholarly upper crust of the amphibian's cast system. This newt exuded a more terrifying presence. A bloodlust not found in their kind.

Towering over the frogs, the pink newt, with a more lightly shaded underbelly, had a slender build with white-blonde hair that protruded from the back of her head. Her long tail featured darker pink spots, and her eyes were yellow with thin black pupils when viewed up close.

But what truly made her stand out was her armor. Very few newts in the kingdom wore this specialized armor. Made of silver, the armor set included two pauldrons patterned with intricate swirling designs, similar to the rest of her armor. Her cape depicted the symbol of the Newtopia flag. Pinned to her chest is her military insignia, boasting her high rank within the military. Oh, and she also walked in high-heeled black boots with white fringes on the top.

The pianist frog played a suspenseful tone as customers fell silent and watched her. The mysterious newt walked up to the bartender, who didn't give her the proper attention she wanted.

"I suppose you're wondering who I am," she asked.

"Not especially," said the bartender, too busy cleaning the plate in his hand. 

Suddenly, faster than a bullet, the unknown newt shot out two retractable knives out of her gloves and slashed the plate in two. Much to the shock of the toad behind the counter.

The unknown newt, after retracing her knives away into her gloves, gave her answer while also doing some…poses?

"My name is General Yunan!" She declared to the room, making her first pose. "Scourge of the Sand Wars." Then made another pose. "Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched. Aaaaaand…" 

As if she couldn't have been any more of a showboating character, Yunan did some deadly cartwheels and landed on the counter, where she made her final pose while displaying the flag of her kingdom. 

"The youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian army!"

General Yunan, assuming that everyone was so silent because they were in shock and awe at her visit to their town, waited for the frogs to get up and cheer for her. Some might have even wanted to have her autograph, dreaming they could be her. 

None of that happened. 

Opening her eyes, Yunan noticed that everyone just sat in silence, as a chirping cricket was heard, and a frog ate it. They didn't know about her reputation or her achievements. They didn't even know who she was, and when they were told, they still didn't care.

"And this is why I hate coming out to the boonies," General Yunan groaned.

Stepping off the count, much to the bartender's relief, and returning to the ground, the newt pulled out one of Grime's wanted posters and showed it to him. 

"Anyway, I am here to hunt the fugitive, Captain Grime," she declared to the room.

A newt in a booth recognized the name and whispered to the toad sitting beside her. "Hey, ain't that the toad warrior that started out as a gladiator?"

Upon hearing this, General Yunan appeared in the booth behind them. Slithering her way between the newt and the toad and squeezing them, she asked, "So, you know of my quarry? Tell me, where has he last been seen?"

The bell over the door rang as it opened. Yunan looked up and saw Percy and Braddock entering the restaurant. The couple sat down at a booth and started chatting with each other, with Percy saying, "Whoo... Do you think Captain Grime's gonna be okay?"

Braddock said with a worried look, "I don't know, but talk about a workout. I'm starving."

"Hey, let's get the cheesy flies!" Percy said.

"Okay. Hey, Gertrude…" 

Their food was placed on the table. A couple of plates of cheesy flies. Their usual. 

But it wasn't Gertrude who'd brought them their food.

"Mind if I join you?" General Yunan asked, grinning with her sharp teeth.

"Uh, well...Kind of 'party for two' thing here." Braddock chuckled, reaching across the table and grasping Percy's hand. "Wait. Who are you? Our server?"

Blinking in confusion and shock, General Yunan was sure that these toads would have recognized her. But no, they were just like the rest of the uncultured swine. With an annoyed growl, she started again with her speech. 

"I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian army," she announced, pointing to the toads.

Percy and Braddock were quiet for a moment, with the boyfriend munching on his food. 

Braddock said, "Okay."

The general's eye twitched. 

"Let it go, Yunan, you have shit to do," Yunan said to herself, pulling out the Wanted sign and showing it to them. "I am here searching for a certain toad. Perhaps you know of him?"

The moment Braddock saw Grime's face on the wanted poster, she and Percy got nervous. This was extremely bad. Not only was a Newtopia general out here in town, trying to find their captain, but they had inadvertently opened their big mouths and revealed that they not only knew him, but also knew where his location was. 

"Uh, nope. Sorry. Never seen him before," Braddock said, her face sweating profusely, trying to get her and her boyfriend out of this mess before the general extracts the information from them. 

"Really?" General Yunan said, looking at the road suspiciously. "I could swear you were just talking about someone named Grime."

"That's not what I said."

"That's not what you said?"

"That's not what I said."

"Then why are you sweating?"

"'Cause it's hot."

"Hmm…." General Yunan got deeply close to Braddock, eying her with a suspicious glance. Obviously, she didn't believe the toad, but nothing a little misleading relief couldn't fix to get the information needed. 

"Well, I've done all I can here," Yunan said, stepping away from the table. "I will continue my search elsewhere. General Yunan, away!"

And with that, the eccentric general cartwheeled out the door.

With the newt gone and out of earshot, Braddock and Percy let out a sigh of relief. 

"Phew, that was close!" Braddock said. "Good thing we're such good actors, huh?"

"Yeah, now she'll never find them at the old mill, which is on the edge of town," Percy said, not only that they were far from being right. 

Above their table, Yunan had somehow managed to get back into the restaurant and clung to the ceiling. Looking down at the two toads, she overheard everything that Percy and Braddock said. 

Now she had her prey's location.

"Here!" Sasha shoved Grime's old armor back into his chest, much to his surprise. "Put that back on, and don't come out until you fit your fat ass into it." 

She slammed the door behind her on her way out of the old mill. Stumping to the side, she crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Enduring having to listen to the toad groaning and grunting as he struggled to get off his chair. 

"God, I can just feel Frank and Anne having a better time dealing with their frog family," she said, feeling herself getting a migraine. 

"Make sure that chain's tight!" Frank yelled as he and Anne chained Sprig to a chair. 

They were in their fancy and expensive hotel room, and the pink frog had gotten a hold of some kind of candy that was about to give him the second biggest sugar rush in his life. Second only to coffee. Now he was liable to go off at any moment, and the family had to stop him. 

"You better hurry, you guys," Sprig said in a creepy voice. "Once that rush hits, I'll become unstoppable. Unhinged, unmoored, uncaged. Done right unreasonable."

"Oh, no you're not, Sprig," Hop Pop said, latching Sprig's arms to the armrests. "You're not doing anything that'll get us kicked out."

On her grandfather's head, Polly said, "That's right! We know how you think. We're the only ones who can contain you."

Sprig smiled at her with his eyes changing colors. "You wanna know the only problem with that?"

"What's that, Sprig," Anne asked, looking at him. 

Her face turned to a look of shock and horror when she saw that, in Sprig's place, chained to the bed, was a pillow and pumpkin for a head with his hat on it. 

"I'm already gone." Sprig's voice echoed in the room as the pumpkin and hat fell off. 

He then started laughing all around his family, who frantically looked around, trying to find where he was. 

"He's in the walls," Frank said, pulling out his scythe. "HE'S IN THE GODDAMN WALLS!"

Sasha sighed and leaned back against the wall. 

However, as the blonde girl waited for Grime to get his lazy butt outside, a new sound was heard from the forest path in front of her. A whistling and a pair of footsteps echoed through the trees and were getting closer. Becoming aware of this, Sasha took a step away from the wall and placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. 

No less than a minute later, General Yunan approaches the mill while whistling. 

"So this is where you've been hiding out," she said, looking around. "Quaint."

"Who the hell are you?" Sasha yelled. 

Yunan smirked and said, "I seek the one that's known as Captain Grimes. Bring him out to face me."

Sasha's eyes turned wide. She wasn't stupid. This was a bounty hunter who had been sent to take her captain into custody. 

However, playing it cool, she said, "Not until I get a name."

Annoyed, Yunan sighed and began again. 

"I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of General in the great Newtopian army," she announced, after posing.

Well, Sasha, sure was expecting that display of weirdness. Nevertheless, she did as she's told.

"Grime, get out here!" Sasha called out. "We got company!"

"What? But I'm still putting on my armor," he said from inside.

"Forget about the armor," Sasha told him. "We got trouble out here."

"Well, which is it? Do you want me to come out in my clothes or in my armor? We can't have it both ways, Sasha."

"JUST GET OUT HERE!"

"Fine, touchy much."

Sasha turned back to the newt. The general looked at the blonde girl with an inquisitive expression. Almost as if she was looking at her ruined armor, spotting all the weak points that she could exploit and used to kill the girl. But her eyes told Sasha that she was more interested in what she was, or perhaps who she was, rather than what she was wearing.

"You got something to say?" she demanded.

"I was just looking at you and you remind me of someone," Yunan said with a knowing smirk. The girl looked very familiar. "Tell me, you wouldn't happen to be Sasha Waybight, would you?"

"Yeah, and how do you know my name," the blonde girl asked, crossing her arms.

"I thought you looked familiar," Yunan said. "Marcy would tell me so much about you."

The moment she heard the name of her other best friend, the one who had been lost ever since they came to Amphibia, Sasha's eyes widened, and as she gasped in shock and terror. "Marcy!" She pointed at Yunan with a glare. "You better tell me where the hell my girlfriend is!"

"Don't worry. She's with our king," Yunan said, smiling in a way that dared her to try anything. "She told me about you and another girl named Anne. You especially. She was so excited, so sure she would find you two. Looks like I found you first." 

Fearing the worst, fearing that this nut job had done something to hurt the girl she secretly liked, Sasha pulled out her pink sword and pointed it at General Yunan. 

"What did you do to her!?" She screamed.

"…Wait, what?" Yunan was now the one who was confused.

"Here I am!" Grime yelled as he threw the door open, having finally gotten his fat butt outside. Paying no mind to the face Sasha made at him, his concern turned to the newt in full armor. "Oh, fuck! That armor…"

"You know this bitch, Grimes?" Sasha demanded.

"Not personally, but she's Newtopian military for sure," he said. "Only their best generals wear that armor.

Seeing her target, General Yunan grinned. "I found you at last."

"Right…whoever you are," he said. 

General Yunan took a breath. "All right. Fourth time today. Let's do it! I am General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Rag…" 

Her long, Jojo posing monologue came to a stop when she took a good long look at Captain Grime. When she took the assignment, the rumors she'd heard of him, she was expecting a warlord. A fierce-looking warrior, yet the toad that stood before her was none of those. 

"Wait. You're Grime," she asked, pointing at the now fat toad. "The fiercest fighter of the colosseum?"

"Yep, that's me," Grime said, drinking his bog grog as flies were attracted to him. "You're here for my autograph?"

"Nope, I'm here for your HEAD!" Yunan gave a feral grin as she deployed her long switchblades from her gauntlets. 

Grime gulped. "Well, that took a dark turn."

Sasha , however, scoffed and said, "Some general you are. Where's your army?"

General Yunanm raised her blades. 

"I had an army once…"

SLASH!

In one swipe, she cut down Sasha's mannequins, and four trees. Striking free into Sasha and Grime as they witnessed her capabilities. 

"They slowed me down," Yunan said with a grin and a throbbing vein.

"Oh shit…" This was extremely bad. Worse than any situation Sasha has been in as of right now. On the same level, as when Frank used his strange powers to beat her into submission. Back then, Anne was there to stop him from killing her. But now there was no one to stop this crazy general. 

"But, I'm a fair woman," Yunan said. She then retracted her blades and took off her cape. "I'll give you a head start. Keeps things interesting."

"Ooooh-kay. We're leaving now," Sasha said as she took Grime and ran away, pulling him along. Together, they ran as fast as they could into the woods, trying to get as far away as possible from Yunan. 

"Just my luck!" Grime yelled. "They sent some psychotic gloryhound after us. We'll never…" He took a moment to burp. "...escape her."

"Like hell we won't. Follow me," Sasha said.

Just like during her training, Sasha jumped across the gorge and landed on the other side, bouncing off 3 mushrooms and jumping the other way. 

"Ha!" She looked back at Grime, hoping to see him doing the same thing. 

However, Grime was far from able to perform the impressive acrobatics Sasha had shown. He tried to reach a vine, straining, and panting. However, the former warrior couldn't even jump off the ground more than 5 inches. "Just give me a minute," he said, hands on his knees.

Sasha grunted in annoyance. 

A moment later, she returned for Grime, carrying him on her back across the frozen lake, and onto the other side. Dropping him down, she then continued her escape as Grime, exhausted, tried to follow. "Couldn't we take an easier route?" 

"Maybe if you had trained with me once in a while, you'd be prepared for a situation like this," Sasha snapped back.

That slight was not going to go unanswered. "Oh, oh, you wanna go there with me?" Grime said. 

"Bitch, I've already been there," Sasha said, stopping to glare at Grime. "I've been preparing for a situation like this ever since the tower. Unlike you, I've been keeping my head straight."

She turned and continued running with Grime doing the same. "Who are you kidding?" He continued the argument. "I know about the nightmares, Sasha. I see them all the time when you wake up."

For a moment, Sasha slowed down as she thought about her dreams. "They are nothing!" Sasha screamed as she picked back up speed. "Nothing more than distraction. My head is where it needs to be while yours is stuck in the past!"

"Then, I guess we both have something in common!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasha snapped back.

Grime was about to respond, but ran face first into a branch and fell. He got up, growled, and broked the branch. "Oh, come on, Sasha! At least be honest about why you've thrown yourself into your training."

The duo came to a stop when Sasha nearly ran off the side of a cliff. Looking down at the ground below, she counted her blessing that she stopped herself just in time before running off to her doom. How did she not see it soon? Her mind was supposed to be focused, but was distracted by the argument she was having with Grime.

"What are you talking about," she asked, looking back at him with another glare. 

"Hello? Your nightmares aren't the distraction," Grime said, pointing to his head. "It's your training that's the distraction. You're using it to keep your mind off the real reason you're upset."

Sasha quickly denied the true purpose of her training. "Look, I know why I'm upset. I'm upset because I lost the duel at Toad Tower, aka the biggest fight of my life!" She looked around the cliff, trying to find another way they could escape and get away from Yunan. 

"Oh, please," Grime scoffed, not buying the blonde girl's bullshit. "You're not upset because you lost the fight! You're upset because you lost your friend!" 

At that moment, Sasha stopped moving. A devastated expression formed on her face when she heard those words.

"You're upset that Anne stood up to you thanks to that boy," Grime continued, referring to Frank. "You're also upset that Frank now knows the truth! That it was because of you, some drunk was able to put him in prison. Those ten months there destroyed him. Left that boy a broken shell of his former self, and it's all your fault. Your actions cost you your friendship with Anne after he turned her against you. And things between all of you will never be the same again, especially after you ruined Frank's life. And most of all, you know that it's all your fault."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Sasha retorted, trying to get the guilt out of her mind.

"Oh really? And why did you do it?"

Something inside of Sasha snapped as she whirled around and marched up to Grime. "You want to do this?" She pointed at his good eye. "You really want to do this right now? While we're in danger."

"If you're not going to do it, then I will," Grime said, crossing his arms. 

"Okay." Sasha growled. "Okay. Let's do it!"

Grime began when he pointed his fat finger at her. "Did you peer pressure your friend into stealing the little music box? True or false?"

"True."

"Did you force both of your girlfriends to break their friendship with Frank Ramirez because you viewed him as a threat and you wanted him out of the picture? True or false?"

"True!"

"Were you the one who stole those shoes and then intentionally made Frank take the fall for your crime? True or false?"

"False! I never intended for Frank to get framed!" Sasha yelled. "I never wanted him to suffer!"

"Evidence!"

"Evidence? He wants evidence!" Sasha said to a crowd that wasn't there. "What evidence can I give you, Grime? What could I possibly say that would make what I did to him any better? That I was stupid? That I did it because I wanted them? What could I possibly say?!"

That last sentence sank into both of them. Sasha panted as she held back tears of pain and sorrow, while Grime looked at her with his glare lessening. The toad watched the blonde girl hang her head and turned her back to him. 

"I know it's my fault," Sasha said, closing her eyes as tears leaked from them. "My mom and I…we don't have the best relationship. But if there's one thing she taught me, it's that if you want anything in the world, you have to take it. No matter who got hurt. And I did…and it hurt someone…I thought I didn't care about anymore."

Grime stood in silence as he watched his lieutenant finally reveal all that she'd been bottling in. Finally, Sasha admitted the guilt she'd been hiding for a long time, even before coming to Amphibia. But that doesn't mean that she'd automatically come to terms with what she did. 

The conversation came to a halt when they heard the sound of trees falling down behind them. Like a shark fin cutting through the water, Yunan left a path of destruction in her wake as she hunted her prey. 

Sasha turned toward the forest and placed her hand on the handle of her sword. 

"Looks like our only option is to make a stand," she said.

Grime's hand moved in front of her. 

"No, our only option is for you to get out of here," he told her.

Sasha looked shocked at him. "What?"

"She only wants me. Go! Save yourself. Now! Before it's too late," Grime said, hitting Sasha with a dilemma. She wanted to live, but doing so would mean leaving the one person she had left in this world she still called a friend. "What are you waiting for? Get going! LEAVE ME!"

"No!"

Sasha's voice boomed as she looked at Grime. The toad had a look of surprise and astonishment on his face.

"Listen, there's another reason why I've been training so hard. To protect the one person I know I can count on right now. You... You're right. I already lost two friends. I'm not about to lose another."

Grime, flattered, said, "Wow. I did not see that coming."

The conversation came to an abrupt end when General Yunan arrived from a landing, stood up and looked at Sasha and Grime with a smirk. "Ah!" Laughed the newt. "I see you have decided to submit to the great General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, the youngest newt ever…"

Sasha , frustrated with hearing the same shtik over again, interrupted her. "Uh, do you have to do this every goddamn single time?"

"Honestly, yes. Repetition helps it stick," she said. Yunan then took a deep breath, sighed, and spoke to Grime, who looked much grosser in the sunlight. "All right, you washed-up slob. Time to go."

"Hey!" Sasha as she drew her sword. "Only I can call him that."

Sasha charged at the newt before Grime could stop her. Jumping in the air, the blonde girl was about to attack Yunan, but she gave the human a smack with her tail. Sending her flying back into a rock.

"Lieutenant!" Grime yelled when he saw Sasha's back slamming into the rock. The fire that was dwindling for so long suddenly burst into a blazing inferno. He stuck out his tongue and ripped off a thick branch and stood guard.

"If you want me, General," he said, as Sasha stood up and stood guard with him, "you'll have to fight both of us."

General Yunan's grin grew and her teeth bared. "Why not? After all, two heads are better than one," she said, extending her blades.

Both parties faced one another, with Sasha and Grime's backs against the open cliff. This was it, the fight for their lives. Sasha lost her fight with Frank because she wasn't able to match him in combat. But she's changed. She had to be different than before in order to win. Now was her chance to prove herself. 

"Welcome back, Captain," she said.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," he said, "for reminding me that I've still got something worth fighting for...I'm talking about our friendship…Not sure if you got that."

"I got it." Sasha deadpanned. "Now come on!"

Sasha and Grime charged together and started to fight General Yunan. 

The battle started when Sasha slashed at the newt, but Yunan jumped over her and landed behind the girl. Sasha turned around and swung for her head, but the general blocked her swords with her blades. Sasha then parried swift and furious swipes at her face, before Yunan kicked Sasha away. 

Grime then attempted his best to bash her head, but Yunan blocked his attacks with ease, before Sasha attacked her too. 

Yunan smirked as she blocked both attacks at the same time. With Grime swinging at her from the right and Sasha slashing at her from the left. 

She pushed them both back and turned to Grime. She slashed her blades at him, but the toad blocked the attacks with his thick branch he'd used to fight back.

It only lasted a second before the branch fell apart from being cut to pieces. Much to the surprise of Grime.

"Oh, nuts…"

Yunan attacked again, forcing Grime to jump back to avoid her blades. However, it wasn't enough time. The blade slashed across his chest, ripping into his shirt and grazing him. Drawing first blood.

"Hey! That was my only shirt!" he yelled.

General Yunan sent Grime down on the ground with a kick to his chest. Completely at her mercy, Yunan smirked as she approached her prey.

"I'll stuff you back in your armor, when I stuff you," she said with malicious intent and was about to attack him.

However, that never came as Sasha kicked General Yunan, sending her back a few meters. She only stopped herself by stabbing her blades in the ground. Frustrated, Yunan looked up at Sasha, unable to see why the girl would fight for a fugitive.

"This is a mistake, you know?" She said, both combatants circling around each other. "Why would you fight for him when you could see your girlfriend? I can reunite the two of you. Just step aside and let me kill him, and I'll take you to Marcy, alive."

"Not happening!" Sasha yelled, attacking with another flurry of fast, unrelenting slashes and swinging, just like Frank used on her. "I've lost one friend, I'm not losing another one!"

So be it. Yunan will reunite the two girls, but she'll do it with Sasha bloodied and battered. 

The general went on the attack. Using both her blades and agility over the human to gain the upper hand. However, Sasha, having learned from her mistakes in her first fight with Frank, dodged instead of blocking. Conserving her stamina, while the general wasted hers.

Seeing an opening, Sasha manages to break the knives of the right glove with her sword.

"Well, that can't be good," Yunan said, looking at her broken blades in shock.

The blonde girl attacked her and Yunan blocked it with her last arm blade. 

"Ha! Are you struggling?" Sasha taunted her. "Didn't think you'd meet your match out here, did you?"

Struggling against the strength of the human, General Yunan looked down and saw her way out of the deadlock. The newt grabbed Sasha with her tail and pulled back, making her fall down and ending up surrounded on the edge of the cliff. When her opponent was down, Yunan grinned and pointed her blades at her. She had finally taken down the human. 

Lady Olivia will surely be impressed with her now. 

But, just as all hope seems lost, Sasha looked and saw Grime silently approaching Yunan from behind. The toad placed his finger on his lips, asking for silence. Sasha glanced behind her at the cliff. Now she knew what her friend was planning. So, she distracted General Yunan.

"Shoot." Sasha used a voice that would make a country girl proud. Giving Yunan the puppy dog eyes, she asked, "What did you say your name was again? I forgot."

Yunan's right eye twitches.

"I am General Yunan," she said, raising her voice. "Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched and the youngest newt ever to be made…"

Grime pushed her off the cliff from behind.

Yunan screamed as she went over the cliff, but she was able to keep herself from falling down by grabbing the edge. Panting in shock and panicking, Yunan looked down at the river far down below. She then turned to see Sasha getting up and standing over her.

"Not too tough anymore are you?" Sasha grinned and raised her foot. Intending to kick her off.

In a last ditch attempt to stop her, Yunan raised her hand.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! I wasn't lying!" she said. "We do have your friend at Newtopia! Kill me, and you'll never see her again!"

"I don't think so. You see, I'm going to rescue Marcy. When I get to your little city, I'm gonna bust my girl out of your prison. And then I'm gonna carry her out and we're gonna find Anne," Sasha said, glaring at Yunan."And then I'm gonna burn the city to the ground for daring to lay a finger on Marcy's cute hair!"

There was a look of confusion on Yunan's face. "Hold on, do you think we're torturing her," she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Now it was Sasha and Grime's turn to be completely confused. 

"…Well, yeah," she said. "You've been saying all of this shady stuff!"

"What shady stuff?! All I said is that we have your best friend and that you want to see her again—Oooooooooh," Yunan said, realizing where she went wrong in her approach. "Wow…this is embarrassing."

"Yeah."

"But the point is that Marcy is alive. She's in Newtopia and she is safe," Yunan said, but that was debatable. Given how the girl was more a danger to herself than anything. "Let me get Grime, and I'll take you to Newtopia."

It was an offer that Sasha didn't need to think hard on. 

"No," she said.

"W-What?"

"I'll find Marcy on my own, with my friend here," Sasha said, placing her hand on Grime's shoulder. "But, I do hope you can swim."

And just like that, Sasha kicked Yunan's hand off the cliff and watched as the general fell down towards the river.

"THIS CANNOT BE! I AM GENERAL YUNAAAAAN!" She screamed before ending up in the river.

"Oh, yeah!" Sasha said, riding high on her victory. "Well, I'm Sasha Waybright, captain of the cheerleaders, top scorer in Super Dance Fusion, and First Lieutenant to Captain Grime!"

Grime, just as fired up, yelled, "And I am Captain Grime, drinker of Bog Grog, grower of beards, and watcher of Suspicion Island!"

General Yunan, while she's being carried away by the river, called out, "WHAAAT? THOSE TITLES ARE WEAK!"

But Sasha and Grime didn't care. Together, they laughed and bumped each other on the chests. Then Grime gave a huge roar that echoed through the air as the sun was setting on the horizon. 

"Yes! Yes! YES!" The toad captain reared as he ripped off his shirt. "I feel like a new man!"

"Ugh!" Sasha looked away in disgust.

"What? Too much?"

"Yeah."

"Captain!" The two of them looked behind and saw Percy and Braddock running towards them, each looking greatly concerned for their friends.

"Percy! Braddock! Come here, you two!" Grime said, pulling the two lovers in for a hug. Much to the confusion of the two. "You brave, loyal idiots!"

"Uh, I have complicated feelings about this," Percy said.

"Sir, are you okay?" Braddock said. "Did you get your groove back?"

"You're damn right I did!" Grime said, grinning like a mad man as he dropped his subordinates. "I'm back and better than ever! Forget retaking the valley, forget serving the kingdom at all. Right, Sasha? Sasha?" 

Grime turned to see Sasha sitting down on the cliff, looking at the photo of herself, Anne, and Marcy. Anne's face was still folded over, but she now knew where Marcy was. She was in Newtopia, and while not exactly in danger, Sasha had to get Marcy out of the capital. 

Doing so would mean leaving her toad friends, and she couldn't do that. Not after everything she'd been through with them. 

She didn't look up when Grime sat down next to her.

"You're thinking of your friend," he asked. 

Sasha sighed heartily. 

"Newtopia has her, Grime," Sasha said. "This could be my only chance to get her back."

The blonde girl got up and walked away. The toads watched her leave before Grime stopped her when he said, "Yes, you could try and retake your friend by force all by yourself. Or you can do it my way."

Sasha stopped and turned around. She looked at Grime with Percy and Braddock. "What do you mean," she asked.

Grime picked up her sword and walked over to her.

"Too long, the newts have been in power. They took the Frog King's throne, and have done nothing to improve the lives of everyone. My people, the toads, are in the middle of the caste system they created to keep everyone else in line. Giving themselves total power, while we enforced their rule, their laws, and their power over the frogs. 

"Well, I say they've been in power long enough. They've been in power for thousands of years, the frogs have been in power for thousands of years before them. Well, if we're supposed to be the ones to be enforcing the laws of a kingdom, then it's high time a toad ruled this world for a change.

"So what do you say? How about you and I raise a frog dang army and storm the capitol? We'll take the throne for ourselves, and we'll reshape this nation into something better!" Grime said, tossing Sasha her blade. 

The moment Sasha caught her sword, her heart filled with ambition. This was the Grime that she'd been missing. And now was an opportunity to seize control and power. "That's what I'm talking about!" Sasha exclaimed.

"But before we take over the world…"

Sasha deadpanned. "You totally want to binge the rest of Suspicion Island."

"I really do!" Grime said, all giddy as he, Percy and Braddock turned back to the mill while laughing.

After putting her sword away in its sheath, Sasha turned and looked at the scenery of the sun setting behind the mountains. The same mountains that Frank and Anne would have taken to make their way to Newtopia. In her gut, she knew they had traveled to the city. And if they did, then they would have met up with Marcy. She was safe, and that all that mattered.

Leaving Sasha with her own personal mission. Frank and Anne didn't want to be under her control? Anne didn't want to be friends? That's fine. She can be like that for now. But once Sasha's done with her project, she'll get her friend back. And this time.

"Looks like I've got my own path now, Frank," Sasha said as she smiled darkly. She placed her hand on her scar the boy gave her during their duel at Toad's Tower. Intending to make the hispanic boy repay every slash and blow he did to her tenfold. "But it's not over between us...Not even close."