1. Ch 1 - Prisoner

Hey everyone!

So I'm not really sure where this idea came from. I like this show, but had no plans on writing a story for it. Then I got this idea last night, and the next thing I knew, I had two and a half chapters written that were actually pretty good. I guess the idea of Grime having to deal with a teenage boy instead of Sasha was something I thought was worth exploring, so here's the first few chapters of my AU Amphibia story.

Enjoy!

Rated T for violence, frightening situations, grittiness and language. Frankly, this story's more of a TV-14 rating as compared to its normal kid's rating, so please keep that in mind as the story progresses.

Prisoner

Ethan Day woke up in a puddle of mud, not quite sure how he got there.

"Anne," the brown-haired boy muttered, sitting up and trying to wipe the mud off his arms, legs and head. His backpack, which he was still wearing, was covered in the stuff, and the thirteen-year-old quickly checked its contents to make sure they were still dry; his gymnastics bag was nowhere in sight. His notes and books were fine, and he gave a small sigh of relief, his dull grey eyes looking around to see where the heck he was.

It looked like some sort of swamp. Towering trees and bushy shrubs were in every direction, their branches and leaves blocking the sky, making it look darker than it really was. There was some dry patches of ground, but most of it seemed to be mud, like what he was still sitting in. He climbed out, standing on a dry patch of land and trying to find his bearings.

"Okay… where am I," he muttered. This definitely wasn't California; he was not even sure they had swamps in California. There were no roads, only a nearby path leading deeper into the swamp, and no sign of life, save for distant cicada calls. "Well… no use standing around."

Ethan started up the path, figuring it might lead to a town or something. There, he could figure out where he was and call someone for help [there was no signal on his phone]. He tried remembering how he could have gotten here, but the last thing he remembered was being in the park with Marcy, Sasha, and-

The young teen stopped, remembering what had happened. Anne's birthday… the weird music box… Sasha's phone.

"Impossible," he muttered, recalling the bright flash of multicolored light that came from the music box. "I can't be… no." There was no way that thing was magical. Absolutely untrue. Maybe… he was dreaming. He pinched himself to make sure.

"Ow!"

Okay, he wasn't dreaming. But if this was not a dream, then how did he get here? Marcy would probably say it was something magical like in one of her RPGs, but he would not believe it. He was more into science fiction; teleportation to another place could exist, but needed to be based on science, not superstition. There must be some logical explanation as to how he got to where ever this was. As he was pondering this, he heard a noise up ahead. It sounded like someone was approaching fast via horse-drawn cart, the sound of wheels going through puddles reaching his ears.

"Perfect," Ethan muttered. "Maybe they're Amish or something." Because those were the only kind of people he could think of that still used carts. "HEY! Hey, help me! I need help!"

The cart rolled into view, and the teen's relief died, his mouth dropping open with shock.

It was being pulled by a tarantula.

A TARANTULA!

Not a tiny one, but one bigger than a horse. It was taller than him, its pincers or whatever it had in its mouth looking like they could snap him in half. As if that was not shocking enough, the occupants of the cart were not human; they looked like talking toads, and they stood on two legs and wore some sort of armor. They looked to be a few inches shorter than him, though stockier, and had medieval-type weapons strapped to their belts.

"What are you," one of them demanded, dropping the reigns to the spider and frowning at him.

"I don't think it can speak," his friend suggested. "Maybe it's a new kinda creature? Think we can eat it?"

"N-No," the human said quickly, taking a few . "I… You're t-talking… T-Toads c-can't…"

"It can talk," the first toad said, looking a little bit surprised by this fact. "Think it's smart?"

"Who knows," the second toad said. "Doesn't look dressed for th' swamps. Ain't even gotta weapon on 'im!"

The first toad grinned, drawing a sword from its belt. "I've always wanted a pet! Get the rope!"

The young teen yelped and fell backwards, turning and running into the swamp to get away from the talking toads. He heard heavy footsteps running after him, but he did not look behind him. He slipped on the mossy and uneven ground, but quickly got back up, his flight or fight response on full blast as he jumped roots and dodged branches.

Suddenly, the toad landed in front of him, sword in hand and a grin on its face. For some reason, the toad had sharp teeth, almost like a piranha. Ethan screamed, trying to backtrack and falling to the ground. The creature pointed the weapon at him, sneering at the terrified human.

"Nice try, whatever you are," the toad said as his friend approached with a length of rope. "You ain't gettin' away that easy!"

Fifteen minutes later, the human was walking behind the cart, his hands tied together and a rope looped around his neck, the other end tied to the back of the cart. He kept trying not to slip or walk too slowly, not wanting the rope to become taunt and choke him. The first toad sat in the back of the cart with several barrels, watching him while his friend steered the tarantula through the swamp.

"I think I'll call ya Frumpy," the toad told him. "Ya look like a Frumpy."

"My name is Ethan," the young teen retorted, trying not to show how scared he was.

"Nah, Frumpy's better." He smirked at him. "Ya know any tricks, monster?"

"I'm not a monster! And I don't know any tricks!"

"Then maybe you'll be better spider food. They's always lookin' ta try new things!" The human gulped, looking at the giant tarantula ahead of him.

Finally, they left the swamp, and the teen looked out at the flat stretch of earth in front of him, which ended in a cliff not to far ahead. In the distance, he could see several mountains that seemed to stretch on forever. Immediately in front of him, however, was a large tower made of stone, sitting on a separate, isolated piece of land. It was maybe five stories tall, built like a tower from medieval times, and even had a drawbridge crossing the chasm that separated their side from the tower.

They crossed the bridge, a tall wooden gate opening to let them inside. A courtyard full of these toad creatures greeted them. All of them were ugly, dressed like warriors, and carried some kind of weapon. Some were sharpening blades, others were working at a stable with more spiders, and some were simply laying around, tongues shooting out to eat the occasional fly. They looked up with interest upon seeing the human, walking over to him. The teen tried to look brave, but seeing that the small army was armed to the teeth, and given what he had read in various books, he had reasons to be nervous.

"What is it," a female toad asked, poking him with the butt end of her staff.

"Whatever it is, it's ugly," another toad commented.

"Think the spiders'll like it," someone asked.

"NO," Ethan yelped, backing away from them, stopping when he hit the cart. The group of toads gasped, murmuring to themselves as they reacted to him talking.

"I says it's a spy of some kind," a toad suggested, drawing an ax from his belt and pointing it at the teen. "I says we kill it!" This got a few cheers from the group of toads, and a few more drew their weapons, starting to look like an angry amphibian mob.

"No way," the toad that had captured him yelled, kicking the human in the back and sending him sprawling, and when he tried to get up, he felt a boot press down on his back; apparently, toads were stronger than they looked. "I caught 'im fair and square! It's gonna be my new pet!"

"How come you get a new pet," someone complained.

"Yeah! I want one of those freaky things too!"

"Well it's mine! Get yer own!"

"Where we gonna find one?"

"Maybe they grow outta the ground like a plant," the ax toad suggested. "Someone hold down its arm so I can chop it off! We'll plant it an' see what happens!"

"NO," Ethan screamed, finally finding the courage to fight back. He stood up, knocking the toad off his back, kicking at the ax toad in front of him. It flew backwards into the crowd, taking out several other toads. The teen jumped into the back of the cart, not taking his eyes off the annoyed crowd of toads while he tried to figure out a way to free his hands. Suddenly, he felt a knife against his throat.

"I'm startin' ta think you're more trouble than it's worth," the toad who captured him rasped in his ear. "Maybe they're right about not keepin' ya as a pet. Besides, we ran out of spider food this mornin'!" He raised his voice. "Help me carry him to the stables!"

"NO, STOP! LET ME GO," the teen protested as the rope tying him to the cart was cut, and several toads came forwards, picking him off the ground. It was like one of those funny jokes in movies where the smaller characters carried off the bigger character to be eaten, but it wasn't as funny when you were the meal. He struggled to break free, but they had him in an iron grip. "Please! I don't wanna be spider food! LET ME GO!"

Right when he was about to give up hope, the toads suddenly dropped him, no longer cheering or laughing at him. In fact, it had become too quiet, as if everyone had turned into statues. Ethan looked up, seeing that all the toads were now standing at attention, hands up in a salute, staring at someone behind him. The teen felt a boot tap his shoulder, and he turned, gasping when he saw who they were all looking at.

A single toad with greyish, warty skin stood over him, glaring down at him with a look of contempt. His armor was nicer and cleaner, and a cloak dangled from his neck, part of it spilling over his shoulder. If anyone was in charge of these talking toads, it would be this guy, with his stern expression and his perfect stance. His eyes were the scariest part about him; both were pupil-less, his left one glowing green while the right one glowed a pale blue, a long scar running over it.

Yep, that's the grizzled, no-nonsense leader, Ethan thought. He had read enough sci-fi books to recognize that this was someone with power that everyone else feared. He definitely scared the teen, especially when he approached him, drawing a dagger from his belt.

Ethan flinched, waiting for whatever attack that might end his life, but was shocked when the toad cut his hands free instead.

"Th-Thanks," the human muttered, looking at the toad leader with a wary yet grateful expression.

The toad smirked cruelly, which could only mean trouble for Ethan.

"Don't thank me yet," it said in a dark voice, and clamped a set of handcuffs on his wrists. "Take him to one of the cells!"

[][][]

While Marcy would probably love being held prisoner in a tower cell, living out a scenario from one of her fantasy games, Ethan disliked it immediately.

In sci-fi books, prisons were clean, had mediocre food, and at least a toilet for him to use. This place had none of that; the walls were grimy and covered in bits of algae in some places, with only a barred window bringing in fresh air. A bucket in the corner was obviously the toilet [he was thankful he did not have to go yet], and the food he had been given was some stew with crickets and other bugs in it. He had not touched it, not wanting to have to use the bucket so soon. A drain in the ground was probably for the bucket, given the horrible smell coming from the grate covering. A toad skeleton hung on one of the walls, which did little to cheer him up.

"They're smart, I'll give them that," the teen muttered as he looked at his ankle, which was shackled and attached to the floor by a chain. Even with his hands no longer cuffed, he would not be able to pull the chain off of him. He tried bending the bars of the cell, but they would not budge; he was truly trapped. He even tried yelling for help, but gave up after ten minutes when someone hammered on the cell door for him to shut up; it wasn't like anyone here would let him go, anyway.

Ethan sighed, sitting back down and looking up at the window. It was now evening, the sun casting a red glow across the sky, a crescent moon visible in the distance. His stomach grumbled, and he gave the bowl of disgusting stew another look. He was starting to get desperate for something to eat, and cautiously picked up the food, taking another tentative bite. It was awful, but he managed to choke it down, coughing and sputtering the whole time. He was not looking forward to eating the rest of it, but between starving to death and eating crap, he would go with the latter. Mainly, he wished he had his backpack; he could read one of his many books to help pass the time, and could use his hoodie as a blanket or a pillow.

The sound of a key turning caught Ethan's attention, and he looked up in time to see the cell door open. He froze as the toad leader walked in, eyes glowing in the semi-darkness. The human couldn't help but flinch as the toad approached him, stopping just on the other side of the bars.

"Comfortable," the toad asked sarcastically, leering at him through the cell bars.

"Very," Ethan said, the sarcasm evident in his voice. "Give the chef my compliments."

The toad grinned, and the teen noticed the sharp teeth in his mouth. "So the creature has a tongue that can do more than beg for mercy… let's see if it can give me the information I require." The human bristled a little at the comment, but said nothing. "What are you?"

"I'm a human. My name is -"

"I don't care," the toad interrupted. "Where are you from?"

"California."

"Cali-for-niah? What part of Amphibia is that?"

"Amphibia," Ethan asked. "Never heard of it. California's part of a country called the United-" He paused. "Wait, am I even on Earth?"

The toad ignored his question. "Why are you here?"

"I wasn't planning on being here," the human said. "I just… ended up here by mistake. I wanna go home."

"Are there any more of your kind here?"

"No," the teen said, though he was unsure if Anne or any of the others had ended up here. Even if they had, it was probably better for them if the toads did not know about them; no sense having them captured and locked up too [though he would have loved to see what would happen if Sasha met this bunch].

"Mmm-hm," the toad said, crossing his arms. "I wouldn't be surprised if you're a spy from some enemy land."

"I'm not a spy."

"Yeah, I've heard that before, and then someone tries to stab me in the back."

"I wonder why," the teen muttered, taking another tentative bite of the buggy stew.

"You've got some courage, though I can tell you're scared of me," the creature taunted him.

"No I'm not," the human replied a little too quickly. "And even if I was, I would never admit that to some overgrown one-eyed toad!"

The toad glared at him, then his neck swelled, like he was taking a deep breath. Ethan realized a second too late what was about to happen, but he still tried to back away. A long, slimy tongue shot out of the creature's mouth, wrapping itself around his arm and yanking him across the cell, slamming him head-first into the bars. The bowl of food fell to the ground, splattering the muck across the floor. Stars danced in Ethan's vision, but before he could fall back, the toad grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him so that their faces were inches from one another.

"I'm only gonna tell you this once," the toad said, his rancid breath making the teen want to pull away, but the toad held him fast. "As the captain of this army and commander of this tower, I will do whatever it takes to keep order in the Valley. Any threats to the order I have maintained for years have been crushed under my heel, and it all starts here, in this tower. Try anything to undermine me, and I will not hesitate to cut out that sharp tongue of yours." His eyes were narrowed, the glow in them anything but warm. "Am I making myself clear?"

"Y-Yes," Ethan stammered, still trying to pull free from the toad's grip.

"Yes, Captain Grime," the toad corrected, pushing the human away from him, walking towards the door. "Enjoy your dinner." He left the human alone, slamming the door behind him.

The teen slowly climbed to his feet, the chain rattling a little across the stone floor. He looked at the bowl of food which was overturned with its contents all over the dirty floor. There was no way he was eating it now, so he walked over to the corner of the cell, sitting down and hugging his knees. He quickly wiped at his eyes, but did everything he could to not break down crying.

Ethan liked being in control. He liked knowing how everything worked, what every minute of his day looked like, and hated being thrown off his daily rhythm. Wake up, training, school, more training, and on the occasional weekend, a meet. And finding himself in another world with talking toads definitely threw him off. It was hard not to be scared, especially when he heard the toads in the courtyard below, training and viciously attacking practice dummies. And that Captain Grime toad was not someone he wanted to cross.

He had been scared of the Captain; most people would be if a one-eyed toad threatened to cut out their tongue. However, he tried to push his fear aside and get some sleep, since it was now nighttime outside. Ethan laid down on the cold stone floor, hugging his arms to keep warm. To himself, barely above a whisper, he started to mutter the same thing he said before every meet, as well as whenever he was having a nightmare. It was a mantra from his favorite book [Dune], and it usually helped him ignore his fear and focus on doing a perfect flip and dismount.

"I must not fear.

Fear is the mind-killer.

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.

I will face my fear.

I will permit it to pass over me and through me.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.

Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

However, it did not make him feel better then, and he fell into a restless sleep half an hour later, hoping that when he woke up, it would be nothing but a nightmare.

And that's chapter one! I hope you liked it! More to come next chapter!

And yes, the whole Dune bit is inspired by the new movie and my love for the book.

Note: I do NOT own Amphibia or Dune at all.