3. Ch 3 - Little Chats

Hey everyone! I hope you like the story so far!

Just wanted to show some Ethan and Grime interactions after the failed escape attempt, as well as explore how they would act around one another versus Grime did with Sasha.

Enjoy!

Little Chats

A week after the failed escape attempt, Ethan was carving his name into the wall with his fork, wincing at the pain in his leg.

The cell still looked the same, except two new chains had been attached to the wall, each one looped around one of his ankles, and a new cell door had been installed. Next to his name, several tics marking the number of days he had been there were in a neat row; two groups of five and one group of four. His empty dinner bowl and cup sat nearby, and he needed to empty the bucket out the window before he went to bed.

He sighed, laying on his back and looking at his name with a neutral expression. It did not cheer him up like he thought he was, so he turned to look at the ceiling, figuring he could count how many cracks criss-crossed it again. He had turned off his phone, wanting to save the battery, but for what, he had no idea; it was not like he could call anyone to help him.

Ethan had woken up the morning after his escape, a nasty bump on his head and a bandage around his leg. Percy had informed him that someone had hit him with a shield before he could kill the toad captain, and he had been bandaged up and dragged back to his cell, which now had two guards outside the door. They came in once a day at random times, weapons drawn, to check the cell and make sure that he was not trying to escape. This usually came with a few insults and the occasional kick to the side, but the human did not fight back.

His books… his notebooks… heck, even his homework, which he should not care about but for some reason wish he had now. All gone. Burned and destroyed by some vindictive, lying toad. The captain had not shown up since then, and Ethan was fine with that; the last thing he wanted was for the amphibian to come in, mocking his crude fighting skills and reminding him of his destroyed backpack.

If I only hadn't dropped that stupid shield, he kept thinking, knowing that he would not have run into Grime if he had not spent those few minutes in the war room, waiting to see if someone would come for him. He could not help but feel that he was responsible for what had followed, though he could not have known at that time how downhill things were going to go.

He heard the cell door open, but he continued to lay there and stare at the ceiling. Why not make it easier for the guards to kick him when they checked the cell? He would probably get an extra one for carving his name on the wall, and clenched his stomach in anticipation. However, when only one pair of footsteps entered, he immediately knew who it was without looking. The steps stopped by the bars of his cell.

"Get it over with," Ethan said wearily, still not looking at the toad.

"With what," Captain Grime asked neutrally.

"Please, have some mercy on me. Just get to the part where you brag that you won and I lost, and then go about your merry way."

"If I want to take my time, I will," the toad said. "You're in no position to give me orders."

The teen sighed. "I figured."

"The guards tell me you haven't made any attempt to escape," the captain continued. "What happened to wanting to go home?"

"I can't escape."

"You did it last time."

"I don't have any other plans to escape, and even if I did, I just don't feel like escaping."

"Really," Grime laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Believe it," Ethan snapped, the anger starting to grow in him. "And why do you even care? I'm still your prisoner, and I haven't been causing any trouble."

"Because you've given up," the toad said bluntly. "And you're still scared."

"Really?"

"Yes," the creature persisted. "You're scared of loosing again, scared of what lies beyond that gate because you know you can't face it, and scared that, no matter how hard you fight, you will never be able to go home."

The human sat up with a start, finally turning to face the toad. If he was not chained to the wall, he would had run forward and tried to choke the captain through the bars. Instead, he opted for yelling.

"I get it, I'm out of my league," he shouted, glaring at Grime. "I don't know where the hell I am or how to survive in whatever wilderness is outside this fortress, and I know jack shit about fighting! You were right, is that you want to hear?! I have nothing left from home, I'm stuck in a cell eating bugs to survive, and you have the nerve to come in here and tell me that I'm scared and have given up! Of course I'm scared, and why shouldn't I give up? I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, so stop reminding me of how screwed I am, and leave me alone!"

He flopped back onto the floor, staring up at the ceiling as his eyes stung with unshed tears. He would not give Grime the satisfaction of seeing him cry, so he furiously tried to count the various cracks, hands clenched in fists. The toad said nothing in reply, and a minute later, the teen heard him walk out of the room, closing the door.

Ethan let out a pent up breath of air he was not aware of holding, his shoulders drooping as he hugged himself, a few tears leaking from his eyes. A small sob escaped him, but he turned away from the door, not wanting the guards to hear. He covered his face with his hands, trying to calm himself down. The Dune mantra against fear echoed in his head, but it did little to comfort him.

The door reopened two minutes later. The young teen quickly wiped at his face, his crying ceasing as he prepared for the guards to come in. He heard the cell door open, heard something land on the ground, then the cell was shut once again. The human turned in time to see the back of Grime's cloak disappear through the main doorway. Confused, he looked around, freezing when he saw his slightly-burned backpack sitting on the ground by his feet.

Immediately, Ethan crawled over to it, opening it to find all his books and belongings in there, unharmed. Dune, Frankenstein, Ender's Game... his favorite books were still intact, and he pulled out his school hoodie, immediately swapping it out with his dirty shirt, glad for the warmth. Smiling, he took out his school binder, looking through his notes and homework. It was hard to believe it had only been two weeks since he was last in school; it felt like a lot longer than that.

"Why did you -"

He looked up, forgetting that the toad had already left the room. His smile faded, and he turned back to the backpack, wondering why the captain had returned it and even bothered saving it after he tried to kill him. Was this some sort of bribe, or did Grime have some other motive in mind? Whatever it was, he didn't want to think about some sour toad any longer; he immediately took the Frankenstein book, going over to the patch of moonlight streaming in though the window, opening it to chapter one.

[][][]

Grime returned two nights later, when Ethan was halfway through Dune.

"About time you showed up," the human said, looking up from his book. "I've been wanting to ask you something."

"No need," the toad said, standing on the other side of the bars, glowing eyes cold and calculating. "I know what you're going to ask, and I will not give any reason for returning your worthless junk."

"Well… thanks," the teen said awkwardly, his mom's lessons in manners still ingrained in his memory. "It helps the time pass, having something to read."

"Your hooded tunic has the same symbol as your other shirt on it," the captain noted, pointing at the shield on his chest.

"It's my school logo," Ethan explained. "St. James Middle School."

"School?"

"You've never heard of a school before?"

Captain Grime frowned. "We have schools here," he said condescendingly. "How did you think I became a captain in charge of my own army?"

"Captain Crunch gave you some tips," the teen suggested.

"I sense that you're no longer scared to speak your mind or trade insults." He pulled out a dagger. "My warning to cut out your tongue still stands, so you should watch what you say." He grinned when the human immediately shut his mouth. "Good creature.

"My name is Ethan, you know," the human said. "If I have to call you Captain Grime, the least you could do is call me Ethan."

"It probably is, Creature," the toad continued, not caring about his request as he sheathed the dagger.

"May I at least get a response as to why you're rewarding me with your warty presence?"

"I've come to ask some more questions."

"About what?"

"About wherever it is you're from."

"Why?"

"If you're a spy -"

"I'm not a spy."

"- then I want to make sure more of your kind don't show up."

"Trust me, you're not gonna hear about another human," Ethan promised.

The toad surveyed him suspiciously. "We'll see. Do you have an army?"

"Not personally."

"You know what I mean," Grime said exasperatedly.

"Yeah the U.S. has an army… though I'm afraid it's a little more than you can handle."

"Really," scoffed the toad. "My soldiers may be imbeciles most of the time, but we rule this Valley with an iron fist!"

"We have about 1.3 million soldiers."

"... Son of a-"

"And we don't use swords," the teen continued, grinning at his shocked expression. "We have machines that shoot tiny pieces of metal that can pierce flesh and break bones."

The captain wiped his mouth with his hand, trying not to imagine how his current army of four hundred would fall against 1.3 million. "That's…"

"A lot, I know. Good thing I'm not a spy, or else your army would be screwed."

Grime glared at him. "Then what are you here for?"

"Again, I'm not here for anything," Ethan explained. "I don't even want to be in this… Amphibiland world."

"Amphibia."

"I was in my own world, minding my business, and then there was this music box-"

"Music box?"

"It's a device that plays -"

"I know what a music box is," he said exasperatedly, "but they can't transport you from one world to another!"

"Well this one did. I opened it, there was this flash of light, and then I woke up in a mud pile in the middle of a swamp."

"Interesting… Do you still have the music box?"

"No," Ethan said. "Wouldn't I have used it to go home long ago?"

"Think it's still in the swamp," Grime asked.

"I don't think so. I had my backpack here with me when it happened, and I didn't see the box anywhere. With my luck, it's probably back in my world." He paused, looking at the toad. "Is there anything like that from this world?"

"Some amphibians believe in magic," the captain said. "I don't, or at least didn't until you showed up."

"Sorry to disappoint," the human said, turning back to his book.

"What are you reading?"

"Dune. It's about this teen who lives on another planet 10,000 years in the future."

"Writing about the future?" Captain Grime gave him a confused look. "How do you know what's going to happen before it happens?"

"We don't. It's a work of fiction." He looked up to see the creature's blank stare. "It's a made-up story," he explained. "Don't you have those here?"

"Mainly whatever tall tales the locals like to spin," the toad said. "The only thing we write down here at the Tower is history and facts, not fiction."

"Interesting. Anything else?"

"No you're good... for now." Grime stalked towards the door, giving him one last look. "Though if I've found out you lied to me -"

"Let me guess, you cut out my tongue," Ethan asked. The toad growled with annoyance and slammed the door before him, leaving the teen to return to his book. "I guess I should hold off from telling him about the Air Force and the Marines."

[][][]

"So how long have you been a Captain," Ethan asked, taking a bite of something called a beetle burger. Despite appearances, it was actually quite good.

"About seven years ago," Grime replied, now sitting on a small stool by the bars of the cage. It was easier for him to sit during his interrogations, especially when the human started going on about 'gym-nast-ics' or whatever 'sci-fi' book he liked.

The toad captain was not sure why he started talking to the human creature more; maybe he just wanted a break from dealing with his idiotic soldiers. Plus, he could figure out if the human was a spy or not if he could trick him into revealing something about his past.

"The king of Newtopia appointed me himself."

"Newtopia?"

"It's the capital of Amphibia. Big city, mainly inhabited by newts."

"Okay... so does he make all the laws, or do you get to vote on how your government functions?"

"He makes all the laws, of course. Why would we vote for it?"

"It's how we do it where I'm from," the teen explained.

"Impossible!"

"It's not. We elect people who think like us to pass new laws that will benefit our society as a whole. Well, I don't get to vote; only adults."

"Good thing," the toad muttered, imagining some of the country children having the right to choose how the country was run. He would be out of a job if the world ran like that. "Well he appointed me, like I said, to look after this valley; keeping peace, collecting taxes, and so on."

"And given your charming personality, you must be a hit with the locals," the human quipped.

Grime spat to the side, his acidic saliva eating through the stone a little.

"They're stupid," he complained. "The only thing they're good for is farming and paying taxes! I put up with them because I have to."

"But it's getting harder, isn't it? Some of them are rebelling?"

"... How did you-"

"Percy and Braddock, plus a few other guards told me. They said that some of them are fighting back or something."

"Remind me to take away their meal privileges for a week," he muttered angrily. "What a bunch of imbeciles!"

"You know," Ethan said, "you shouldn't yell at them all the time. They don't really like it when you do that."

"Oh really," Captain Grime said, glaring at him. "So how would you suggest I maintain order in my army, if you're so smart?"

"I dunno... try being nice to them? In my experience, people are more likely to want to help you if you treat them with respect."

"Respect," the toad laughed. "They're the ones that have lost the respect of the frogs when they come back from tax collecting empty-handed! They loose mine every time I walk into the mess hall during meals!"

"I'm just saying, a kind compliment can go a long way."

"I don't believe you."

"How'd you think I learned about the rebelling?" Grime stared at him with shock, and the human grinned. "Braddock loves her garden, and Percy's really good at music and telling jokes. A few compliments and questions whenever they were in here, and now we're best friends."

"You're quite the deceiver," the captain told him.

"No. I just know that calling someone stupid all the time ruins their self-esteem. I should kno-" He paused abruptly, his cheeks reddening a little. "... Anyway, try it out sometime. You might be surprised."

"Yeah, sure," the toad said, standing up and walking to the door. "It may take time; I gotta find something about them to compliment."

"You can handle it, Captain," the teen called after him. "And if you run into Tilly, could you let her know this beetle burger's the best?" The amphibian muttered something under his breath, closing the door behind him. "I'll take that as a yes?"

[][][]

"Gymnastics is all about the mind," Ethan was explaining one evening, pacing around his cell as his chains rattled behind him. "Most people aren't cool with the idea of flipping through the air, especially if one wrong move could paralyze them for life."

"Though it helps to be strong," Grime asked. "I noticed during our fight that you had some strength."

"Yep. It's not as easy as doing a few back flips or spinning on a horizontal bar. My coach always said that if you can't conquer your fear in here," he said, pointing to his head, "you shouldn't be in the gym."

"But you're very easily scared," the toad said.

"I am not!"

"A dragonfly flew by last week, and I'm pretty sure the guards on swamp duty could hear you scream."

"Because it was bigger than me! Where I'm from, they're the size of my finger!"

"Excuses excuses," the captain said, rolling his eyes at him. "So how do you ignore your fear?"

"Everyone has different ways. Me, I just tell myself that fear is something that can't physically hurt me, and that I shouldn't let it take over me. I should take the fear, let it was over me... and then I let it go." He walked over to the wall, carving his tenth 'Ethan' into one of the bricks. "There's no use holding onto fear."

"That sounds like something my father once told me," Grime said, leaning forward in his seat a little. "Did your father tell you the same?"

The teen paused mid-chisel, his face falling. The toad instantly sensed that he had said something upsetting, and wondered why his father was a sore topic of discussion.

"I... My dad left when I was little," Ethan explained.

"Left? I don't understand-"

"He abandoned my mom, sister and I," the teen suddenly snapped, his sudden change in tone almost startling Captain Grime. "We heard he later died in a car accident up north in Oregon. I never grew up with a dad."

Grime's mouth dropped open in shock, unsure of what to say for a few moments.

"That's... impossible," he finally said.

"Really," the human asked sarcastically, carving his name with extra force. "Because I'm pretty sure I would remember having a dad."

"I mean... if your father wasn't around, then who taught you how to fight and be brave and stand up for yourself?"

"My mom, mostly, along with my older sister; she's a doctor now. But it was mostly on me; I had to go and figure out how to do the things every boy should learn from their dad." He paused. "If we could not talk about this again, I would really appreciate it."

"...Sure," the toad found himself saying. Not liking the awkward atmosphere, he quickly got up. "I should be going. I have to... run some inspections of the army."

"Goodnight," the teen said, not looking at him, but instead looking at the moon outside his window. Hesitating for a moment, debating if he should say something more, Captain Grime finally left the cell, making his way back up to his room as soldiers saluted him.

He had grown up with his father; loving him, playing with him, learning from him. It was because of him that Grime was the toad he was today. To not grow up with a father... it was something he couldn't imagine.

The toad felt a pang of pity for the human, which surprised him, and he pushed it away. Maybe he was getting too soft, going to the cell every week, trying to find out some information about the human's world that he could use. Standing up straight, he yelled at a young guard to ship up, and stomped to his room, not giving the pity another thought.

This was fun to write. It shows the slowly-building relationship between Ethan and Grime, as well as fills in the time before the Prison Break episode. My version of that episode should be coming soon. Until then, I hope you liked this chapter!

I do NOT own Dune, Frankenstein, Ender's Game or Captain Crunch at all.