7. Ch 7 - Tales of Toad Tower

Hey Readers!

I hope you all are doing well! Here's another chapter, but this one's gonna be a little unique. Instead of one story, this chapter features many short stories about Ethan's first few weeks as a soldier-in-training for the toad army. They are not in any particular chronological order, though I tried to give some hints in each story about when it takes place. Each story is separated by [] icons, so you know which stories are which.

I hope you enjoy them!

Tales of Toad Tower

A week later, Ethan was starting to get used to being a soldier in the Toad Army, but that did not mean he liked it.

Besides being the only human, he was the only kid in the entire group. The youngest toads were around twenty years old, the oldest being in their fifties [the teen had no idea how old Grime was, but would guess that he was in his early forties]. So, besides being treated differently because he was not a toad, Ethan also had to deal with comments about a kid joining the army.

Not only did he have to spend several grueling hours rebuilding the tower, there was also daily group training. They had an obstacle course the soldiers were required to go through at least three times a week, which consisted of mud pits, pillars of wood, and other obstacles they had to get across. Ethan would have had no trouble going through an obstacle course… if it had been designed for human use. Toads, he learned, could jump a lot higher than him, meaning he had to somehow find a way to climb over certain obstacles the other soldiers could leap with ease. Also, instead of a rope, they used their tongues to swing across the mud pit, so the teen had to trudge through it, ignoring the jeers as the other soldiers swung above him. If they had any gymnastics equipment, he would show them just how athletic he was.

Then there was the hazing. Someone put a strange centipede in his bedside trunk, and Ethan quickly learned that the bugs were like mini tazers [the only bright side was that his phone was now charged to 10,000%, incredibly]. Someone also put mud in his bed, tied his shoes to the rafters of the ceiling, and one morning, he woke up to find he and his bed had been transported to the highest tower of the fortress [he had no idea how they managed to carry it and him up there without waking him]. Also, there were the insults about his appearances, especially with the tiny bite marks that still covered most of his body from his time in The Hole. He wanted to complain, but he could not tell Grime, and Bog would just laugh and tell him to toughen up.

There were some bright spots, though. Being on another planet [because there was no way Amphibia was on Earth] was the closest Ethan would probably ever get to living out his sci-fi dreams, so he spent what little free time he had researching it. He collected small plant samples from around the Tower, studying them and seeing how different they were from Earth plants. Braddock, having a garden of her own, was happy to talk to him about the hidden benefits of these plants, and he wrote down his findings in his old school notebooks. He also talked to Percy about how life worked here in the Valley, and the toad soldier [who ended up not quitting], told him all about it.

The valley they lived in was surrounded by mountains which, at the current time of year, were impassable due to ice and bad weather. The capital city of Newtopia was a couple weeks journey outside this valley, and, like the name implied, was home to anthropomorphic newts. Here in the Valley, Captain Grime technically worked for the king of Amphibia, making sure the laws were followed in the valley, collecting taxes from the inhabitants, and so on. The majority of the valley citizens were frogs, which according to Percy, were a lot smaller than toads, and not as warty. They mainly served as farmers and trade workers, going about their daily lives with little concern for anything happening outside whatever small town they came from. It was the job of the toad army to maintain order in the Valley, which seemed like an easy job to the teen, especially since the soldiers became more serious fighters after the heron attack.

So, living in another world had its pros and cons, that much was certain. However, Ethan decided to take it one day at a time, doing his best to not mess up while learning as much as he could about this new place he found himself in.

[][][]

"Take this," Grime said gruffly, tossing a sheathed sword to Ethan, who flinched and nearly dropped it. It was the start of another evening of sword training, and Grime showed up earlier than usual, startling the teen as he practiced attacks with a stick. "We start with real swords today."

"Really," the teen asked with surprise, feeling the heavier weight of the weapon as he unsheathed it a little, revealing a dull gray blade. "It's only my third training session."

"Your point being," the toad asked, frowning at him.

"Nothing, sir" the human said quickly, standing several feet away from the captain, trying to remember how to parry and block attacks before he lost an arm. "Just… I'm surprised that you think I'm ready."

"You're definitely not ready," Captain Grime informed him. "But we cannot have you falling behind everybody else, and there are no more basics I can teach you. Now, you need some experience with a real blade." He drew his own sword. "Don't worry; I'll prevent myself from maiming you too badly."

"You're too generous, sir," Ethan said, drawing his sword, momentarily amazed by the sight of it. It was not as nice as the toad captain's, but it still looked cool. He stood in the ready position, glad that he was wearing armor. "I'm ready."

"Good," the captain informed him, instantly attacking with a swing that the human quickly blocked, nearly dropping the weapon as it jarred in his hand. He dodged another attack, returning with one of his own, blades clanging in the evening air. It was a lot more difficult than fighting with sticks, since real swords were heavier and would hurt a lot more if he got hit, but he was glad to see that the blade cut easily through the air, and now understood why people used swords for so many centuries.

"Not bad," the toad said, stepping back after disarming the human moments later. "A decent enough parry near the end, though you're leaving yourself open to attacks at times."

"I realized that," the teen replied, wincing at a small cut on his leg. "You were right about me not being ready."

"But you managed to defend yourself adequately," Captain Grime conceded. "Though you are far from being a good soldier."

Ethan stood back up. "Yeah, not all of us were trained from birth to be perfect soldiers," he muttered.

"Who said I was trained from birth," the toad asked, frowning at him.

The human froze, forgetting that it was probably stupid to anger the dude with a sword.

"Uh… What I meant, Sir… I just assumed-"

"Stop being so pathetic," Grime interrupted. "Though you are learning to grovel as good as the rest of them."

"Thank you, Captain," Ethan said with some slight sarcasm.

The toad captain walked over to the teen's fallen sword a few feet away. "I wasn't trained from birth, per se, but I started training pretty young; since I was a tadpole."

The human shuddered, trying no to think about Grime as a tadpole. "Were your parents soldiers?"

"Of course. My mother was the Captain, my father her second-in-command. They taught me everything I know, and when my father died, I took his spot. Then, when my mother died, I became Captain of this army." He picked up the teen's sword. "Though I must warn you that they did not cut me any slack because I was their child; I had to go through the same trials and training as everyone else." He held out the sword to Ethan. "Do you see the moral of this story?"

"Uh… you don't play favorites?"

Grime looked surprised. "Correct." The human took the sword. "And being another species or younger than everyone else does not excuse you from any expectations I have for your training."

The teen could not help but listen and learn from what Captain Grime was saying. For once, he seemed like a decent individual, taking the time to explain what was expected of him, unlike the other soldiers who mocked him for not knowing. And saying that he was not going to be cut any slack… it was almost as if the toad captain was acting like a… Teacher? Mentor? The thought was too freaky to think about, and he pushed it from his mind.

"I understand, Sir," Ethan said, stepping back and holding his sword in a ready position. "So, if I'm already behind, I guess I better get to more training."

The toad actually smiled, though he still looked evil when he did so [it was probably the sharp teeth and glowing, pupil-less eyes that did the trick].

"I'm glad to hear that, Ethan." He stepped back as well, holding his sword at the ready. "Now attack!"

It was not until after their sword-training session that Ethan realized, since he arrived here over a month earlier, it was the first time Grime had called him by his actual name.

[][][]

"So once a year on this 'Hiber Day,' the temperature gets so cold that you all freeze into blocks of ice," Ethan asked incredulously, taking a bite of his beetle burger.

"That doesn't happen for humans," Percy asked curiously.

"We have winter weather, but we don't turn into popsicles."

Ethan ate all his meals with Percy and Braddock, since they were the only toads who did not treat him like dirt. They sat at a table in the back of the mess hall, the two toads telling him all about what life in Amphibia was like. No one bothered them, though most gave the human dirty looks, some whispering to one another whenever he stood up to clean his tray.

"It could be because we're cold-blooded," Braddock suggested. "You once mentioned being… warm-blooded, I think?"

"Yeah. Our bodies naturally warm or cool down to counteract the temperature," the teen explained. "We shiver to keep warm, and sweat to cool down."

"Gross… but cool," Percy said brightly. A bunch of toads at a nearby table started laughing, as if someone said something funny. Ethan looked over and saw they were looking at him, and started to laugh even harder when he noticed.

"Just ignore them, Ethan," Braddock said. "They're just being stupid."

"I know," the teen muttered, picking up his cup of water. "It's just… I didn't do anything to hurt or anger them."

"They're not exactly the brightest toads, anyway," Percy said. "Though then again, I'm also not the smartest toad. Most people think I'm pretty dumb."

Braddock put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "I don't think you're dumb at all," she said.

Percy blushed a little, and Ethan could not help but smile at the obvious crush the two toads had one one another.

Suddenly, one of the laughs from the other table turned into choked coughing. A tan toad stood up from the table, holding his neck as his eyes bulged out of his sockets. A few other toads at nearby tables turned around, wondering what was going on.

"He's choking," one of his friends yelled, instantly brining the attention of the entire mess hall to their table. The toad's other friends stood up, looking at him with horror as he tried to dislodge the piece of food from his throat. "C'mon Trak, just cough it up!"

"Yeah," a female toad said with little enthusiasm. "You can do it!" The choking toad sounded like a fish out of water, and he continued to choke on the piece of food.

"Isn't someone going to help him," Ethan asked Percy and Braddock. "Do the Heimlich Maneuver or something?"

"The what," Braddock asked with a confused expression.

The human turned back to the toad, who had fallen to his knees, his face turning blue. All the toad soldiers in the area were simply watching with worried expressions, as if the piece of food in his throat would magically dislodge itself. It was apparent that no one else knew what to do, and, despite his feelings towards the majority of the toads, he decided to do the right thing and help him.

The teen jumped to his feet, going behind Trak and pulling him to his feet [which was not an easy task; toads were not exactly lightweights]. Fortunately for him, everyone was too surprised or horrified to stop him from helping the soldier, and he put his arms around the toad, trying to remember how to position his hands so he could perform the abdominal thrusts. The choking toad made some confused coughing noises, but Ethan continued to try to force the food to dislodge itself until with one loud, hacking cough, a piece of beetle burger flew from the toad's mouth and landed on the ground.

"AAAH," the toad gasped, pushing the human away and falling to his hands and knees, taking deep, shuddering breaths as his friends rushed to his aid. A lot of the soldiers watching started to talk, and one started towards Ethan, looking ready to fight.

"Back off," Braddock snapped, stepping in front of the teen, hand on the hilt of her sword. "He just saved his life!"

"That creature nearly killed him," the unruly soldier snapped back. "It probably wanted to eat him!"

"No I wasn't," Ethan said, reaching for his own sword, hoping that this soldier was a lousy fighter.

"W-Wait," someone gasped, and everyone turned to Trak, who was shakily getting to his feet, still taking deep breaths. Everyone in the mess hall was now looking at the group, waiting to see what would happen next. The toad soldier he had saved, one who Ethan recognized as a hazer and mocker, looked at him with a confused expression.

"Ya… Ya saved my life," the toad soldier said quietly. "…Why?"

"I helped you because it's the right thing to do," Ethan explained, a little self-conscious of everyone watching him. "And I wasn't just gonna sit there and let you die."

"Why do you even care," another toad asked, frowning at the human. "You're not even a toad."

"I helped because we're both soldiers," Ethan explained. "We're supposed to help one another out."

"But again, you're not a toa-"

"Do I look like I give a shit that I'm not a toad," the teen finally snapped, his voice raising without him meaning to do so. "He was dying, and no one else was doing anything to help him! I helped him because it's the right thing to do! I get that none of you would have probably helped me if I was choking, but I was raised to treat others with respect, no matter what they look like! And the last time I checked, we're all supposed to help one another and be a stronger army!"

The mess hall was unnaturally quiet, the eyes of about two hundred toads on him. Ethan, suddenly feeling like he said too much, simply turned and left the room, leaving his half-eaten burger and going up to the barracks. Sitting down on his bed, he took a few shaky breaths, trying to keep calm. No one bothered him, and half an hour later, the bell signaling the start of afternoon training sounded, and he got up to go, deciding that hiding out would not make a good impression to the other soldiers.

This was another obstacle course day, and Ethan prepared himself for the torture that was sure to come with it. None of the other soldiers said a word to him, and when the sergeant yelled for them to start, they took off towards the first obstacle. Eventually, the teen reached the first wall, instantly trying to scale it while the other toads simply hopped to the top of it. By now, he knew where to place his hands and feet, but the mud splatters made it difficult, and near the top, he lost his balance and started to fall.

A hand reached out and grabbed his wrist, preventing him from falling. Surprised, Ethan looked up to see a random toad he did not know straining to pull him onto the top of the wall. Surprised, the human quickly found his footing and climbed onto the top of the obstacle. He looked over at the toad, who looked back at him with a grim expression. Then, silently nodding at him, the soldier turned and dropped to the other side of the obstacle, running along the path. Momentarily confused, Ethan followed suit, not about to complain.

Later on, he reached the infamous mud pit, watching a few toads ahead of him use their tongues to swing across the mire. Knowing what to do, the human sat down on the side of the path, quickly starting to take off his socks and shoes so he would not have to clan them later. He was just about to take off the first sock when two shadows fell over him.

"Hey, Creature," someone said, and Ethan looked up to see two toads, one male and one female, standing over him. For a second, the teen wondered if they would attack him, but to his surprise, the female continued.

"Need help crossin' the pit?" It took a few seconds for the offer to sink in and for the human's mind to accept it as reality.

"Uh… y-yes," he stammered, unsure if he should put his shoes back on or not. "I mean, I don't have a tongue that… I mean my tongue's not long enough to swing across-"

"We get it," the guy toad said. "On your feet; we'll each take a side and help carry ya across."

"...Okay."

Half a minute later, both toads stood on either side of Ethan, shooting their tongues out at the bar high above them. The teen realized this might be a trick, and they were probably going to drop him in the mud, but before he could back out, they each grabbed one of his arms and jumped, carrying him with them as they swung across. Ethan could only gasp, not used to swinging through the air. They landed on the other side, and the two toads let him go, retracting their tongues.

"I…. Thank you," Ethan said, not sure of what else to say.

"Nothin' to it," the female toad said. "What ya did for Trak… that was somethin'."

"Yeah," her friend agreed. "You ain't that bad, Creature."

"Uh… thanks. But… it's Ethan."

The two toads exchanged looks, and the human wondered if he had overstepped their hospitality. To his surprise, the male toad stuck out a hand for him to shake, and even smiled. "E-Ethan," he sounded out, making sure he got the name right. "I'm Wornick. This here's Rilly."

After a moment of shock, the human shook the toad's hand. "Nice to meet you both."

[][][]

"Surprise," Percy exclaimed happily, turning to Ethan to see his reaction. "Whaddya think?"

"Wow. You guys… actually built it," Ethan said, looking at the make-shift pommel horse, running a hand over the leather covering. They were back in his old cell, though the door was open and unlocked; Grime had finally allowed him to practice his gymnastics in there, so long as it didn't interfere with his other training. It still had a hole in the wall from the heron attack, but the human didn't mind. "How did you…"

"Found a couple buddies who had some free time," Braddock said, looking a little nervous. "Is it… Is it gonna work? We tried to follow the picture you once drew for us, and what ya told us about it."

The teen grinned. "Definitely," he agreed, turning towards the two toads. "I don't know how I can repay you-"

"Think nothing of it," Percy said, grinning at him. "We're thinking of building the horizontal bars next."

"Take your time," the human said, turning back to the pommel horse. It had been so long since he had been on any gymnastics equipment, and he wanted to try out the pommel horse so badly, but knew he couldn't. It would be unwise to try to immediately try it out after a month of not practicing with it. Plus, he didn't have any wrist guards. "I'll have to ask the leatherworker to make me some wrist guards, and I have to take my time re-training with it."

"Of course," Braddock said. "Though… how exactly does it work?"

"It requires a lot of upper body strength," Ethan explained. "I hold up my entire body weight with my arms, all while swinging my legs around the horse. I can't bend my legs, and if my hand slips, it's game over."

"Game… over," Percy asked with confusion. "Is that a human expression?"

"Yeah. It means I'd get hurt if I fell off." He looked at the pommel horse again, then turning back to the soldiers. "But seriously, thanks you guys… I really don't know what else to say."

The two toads gave him kind smiles. "Nothing to it, Ethan," Percy said. "You were the first person to believe that we could be more than soldiers."

"And you treated with us with respect," Braddock added. "It's only right that we do the same for you."

Ethan smiled in reply, feeling that he was no longer alone for the first time in over a month.

"Thank you… It's all I can say." He looked back at the gymnastic equipment, feeling that his time in this world was about to get a little bit brighter. "I can't wait to get back to training!"

[][][]

Apparently, Grime had not been kidding or lying about considering Ethan to be his Lieutenant someday. Every Wednesday, the human had to follow the toad captain around, observing the duties of the leader of the toad army so he could learn what it was like to lead. But Ethan found out very quickly that, despite being a skilled fighter and okay leader, Captain Grime spent most of his time going through scout reports in the war room.

"How many scouts do you have," the teen asked one afternoon, trying not to die of boredom.

"At least thirty-six," the captain replied. "And sit up; this is important work." Ethan did so, grumbling a little, which did not go unnoticed by Grime. "Would you rather be outside rebuilding the tower with the rest of the army?"

"At least I'd get some fresh air and can move my limbs," the human muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, sir," Ethan said out loud. "I just thought that leading an army would involve less paperwork and more… leading."

"When there aren't any rebellions to crush or enemies to fight, we do paperwork," the toad said. "These pieces of paper contain the sum knowledge of how life operates in the Valley, allowing me to control every aspect of it."

The teen raised an unbelieving eyebrow. "Really?"

"Take this for instance," the captain said, holding up the piece of paper with two stubby fingers. "Mossville had a good crop this year, meaning that I can increase their taxes and know that they'll be able to pay it. If they refuse, my soldiers put them in jail, and put their bail at nothing below a hundred gold coins."

"You're allowed to raise taxes," Ethan questioned. "Without the king's permission?"

The toad snorted. "That doddering fool doesn't know what goes on in my Valley," he said. "I raise taxes as I see fit, and pay the king the original rate he asks for."

"So… you pocket the rest?" The human was both disgusted and impressed. "You… are so evil."

"What," Captain Grime asked, glaring at him.

"Sorry. You're so evil, sir."

"That's not what I-" He sighed. "Never mind. But I would show more respect and pay attention if I were you; if you become my lieutenant someday, you'll be a part of this little scheme."

Ethan sat up a little straighter, more awake for the first time in the last couple hours. "I get a cut of the money? How much?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Why?"

"I have to keep some leverage over you," the toad explained with an evil grin. "But I see that I now have your attention."

"Of course," the teen muttered irritably. "If I can't do anything besides sit here, can I at least watch Suspicion Island?"

"Suspicion what," Grime asked irritably, turning back to his papers.

"It's a popular TV show back in my world," the human explained. "I have all the seasons on my phone, including the newest one; it must've pre-downloaded before I came here."

"I don't know what a 'TV show' is, but I can only assume, since it's from your world, that it's probably a stupid."

"No it's not," Ethan said. "They put all these people on an island, and they have to always stay suspicious or they lose. Whoever stays suspicious the longest wins."

The toad made a small scoffing noise. "I stand by my earlier statement."

"Whatever. Can I at least watch it since I'm not doing anything but sit here?"

The toad captain glared at him, but nodded. "Fine," he conceded. "It is on that magical device of yours?"

"Not magic, but yes, it's on my phone," the teen explained, taking his phone from his pocket. "I'm still on season four, but-"

Captain Grime suddenly shot out his tongue, snatching the phone from the human's hand. He did not eat it [fortunately], but caught it with one hand, examining it briefly before setting it on the table next to him, now out of the teen's reach.

"It's pathetic how dumb you are," the toad said, snickering a little as he turned back to the scout reports. Ethan groaned, laying his face on the table in front of him.

[][][]

"C'mon, Creature," Bog taunted, side-stepping when Ethan charged him, tripping him and sending him tumbling to the ground. "Try again!"

The teen growled, getting back to his feet with his fists raised. It was now two weeks after he started training with Bog, and he had yet to beat the toad soldier in a fight. A lot of times, he came close to winning, but the soldier would always find some way to trip him up or knock him down, dashing his hopes. It had gotten old very quickly, and Ethan was getting annoyed by the fact that he was not really learning anything about self-defense.

Yelling with frustration, the human ran forward, but the soldier stepped back, Ethan's fist hitting nothing but air. The toad shot out his tongue at the teen's leg, but Ethan stepped back, not wanting to fall for that trick again. He ran forward, aiming another punch at his face, but the toad blocked it, kicking at him. The human dodged it, aiming a kick of his own. The soldier caught his foot before it could connect, twisting it so the teen lost his balance and fell.

"That was the best you've got," Bog asked, laughing a little. "C'mon, Creature; let's try again and this time, don't mess around."

Ethan glared at him, getting to his feet, hands clenched in fists. He wanted to beat the soldier to a pulp, but would probably fail at that too. He was getting tired of not learning anything, and he was not going to waste his time trying.

"No," he said.

The red toad gave him a surprised look, then his eyes narrowed.

"No," he repeated.

"No," the teen said again. "I'm not gonna waste my time anymore! I'm not learning anything, and I'm sick of loosing!"

"Maybe if you tried a little harder, you wouldn't loose all the time," Bog suggested.

"Maybe if you were a competent teacher, your student wouldn't be walking out on you! I quit!" He turned away from the soldier, starting to walk back towards the Tower.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Bog warned him. "What's Captain Grime gonna say?"

"He's probably gonna get mad at you for not doing your job," the teen retorted. "And I've already been a prisoner, and been in The Hole! Either punishment is better than training with you!"

"Are you serious," the soldier asked, running after him and grabbing him by the shoulder, turning him back around. "You'd rather get punished by Grime than deal with me?"

"Don't act like you want to spend the time training me," the human accused him. "I can tell you don't like me: the snide comments, the name-calling, the fact that you literally spend hours beating me up, using training as an excuse to mess with me!"

"It's to teach you to be tough and fight back," the toad explained.

"Well it's not working! I fight back, I come up with new ways to attack, and I still loose! What's the point of fighting if I'm just gonna loose every time? No bad guy's gonna let me keep trying to fight them; like you said, I'd be dead after loosing the first round!" He pushed the toad's hand off his shoulder, turning back to the fortress.

Ethan got a few feet away when he felt something wrap around his arm. He looked down to see Bog's blue tongue around his arm, holding him back. The teen turned back towards the soldier, who was giving him an adamant look, as if daring him to try and leave.

"I'm not playing your games anymore," the human said, trying to pry the creature's tongue off of him. "I'm not gonna fight you!" It was slimy and hard to unwrap, and after a few seconds he gave up and simply tried to walk away, hoping the toad would let him go. However, he noticed that the tongue went slack, and turned to find the toad walking behind him. "Let go of me!"

"Nuh-uh," Bog said, his voice distorted.

"I said, let GO," Ethan snapped, yanking on the tongue with all his strength. The toad flew forward, and when he got close enough, the teen punched him in the face. Yelling, Bog's tongue slackened, allowing the teen to free his arm. As the toad soldier staggered back, the human turned back to the Tower, his hand stinging from the punch.

He managed to get closer to the gate this time before being tackled from behind, the two of them rolling back towards the swamp. Ethan was angry, if not enraged, trying to push the toad off of him while clawing and hitting at him, trying to gain the upper hand. However, he found himself in a headlock a few seconds later, unsure of how he got there.

"Listen, Creature," Bog said in his ear, not even sounding out of breath from the brief skirmish. "It's true I don't like you; frankly, I would have rather fed you to some swamp monster or left you in that cell to rot if I was in charge. However, we have both been given direct orders by Captain Grime, and I will not be punished because you don't like my teaching method. Understand?" The teen couldn't nod, but the toad let him go anyway, and the human fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"I…" Ethan choked out, hands clenched in fists on the ground, his breathing heavy. He was angry, annoyed, and upset that he had been tricked into fighting the toad again, and was just plain tired. He looked up at the toad, glaring at him with all the hatred he could muster. "I… I hate you… And… and… " The teen's face suddenly fell, and he looked down at the ground. "... I… I wanna go home," he said quietly.

And that was as far as he got before bursting into tears, shoulders shaking as he hugged his legs and cried. All of his exhaustion and frustration, everything he had been through since arriving in this world… it all came out at once. The teen shivered a little as he cried, too upset to think about the toad possibly making fun of him, and he frankly didn't care even if he did.

Bog was not expecting the Creature to suddenly start crying, and stared at him with surprise for a few moments, unsure of what to do. He had occasionally seen soldiers break down from stress and exhaustion [and he may have done so himself, in his early days], but not after a few weeks of training. After the two other humans in Wartwood beat him and his friends, the toad had assumed that all humans were tougher than they looked, but it was apparent Ethan was not. He had the potential, like Captain Grime said, but he was a slow learner when it came to fighting. Sure, he was getting better, and his face stung from here the human had just punched him, but it would be a while for him to become a better fighter.

Maybe if you were a competent teacher, the Creature's voice rang in his head. I quit! He sounded so childish and whiny and-

Bog looked down at the sniffling soldier wannabe in front of him, realizing that the Creature was a child. A child that was in a strange world far from his own, thinking he was the only one of his kind, and clearly not strong enough to survive on his own in Amphibia. For some reason, he suddenly felt pity for the human, and felt bad for being so hard on him for the past two weeks. Still, he was a prideful toad [his mother used to say it was his fatal flaw], and wasn't about to just mellow out.

He sat down on the ground next to the creature. "So… you wanna go home," he asked.

Ethan's sniffling died down, and he wiped at his teary face. Since Bog was not known to be the caring kind, he was suspicious of the toad's sudden change in attitude.

"N-No shit," he muttered. "I h-h-hate living in a world where j-just about everything could kill m-m-me."

"Must've had it pretty soft in your world," Bog said.

"... Kinda. We're the only dominant species on my world, and most of us don't have daily threats to our lives. Giant birds, giant plants, talking amphibians, magic… none of that exists where I'm from." The teen looked up at the sky. "Our moon isn't red, either."

"Really? Do you have a sun?"

"Yeah, just like yours." The human hesitated before continuing to speak. "Sorry for acting like this… I don't think soldiers are supposed to cry or complain."

"Soldiers can cry and complain," the toad informed him. "We're only amphibians; we're not perfect. We've just learned to not cry or complain in front of others." He looked at the creature. "Though I can be the bigger person and admit… I may have taken the wrong approach training you."

"Really," Ethan asked sarcastically, still not trusting the toad soldier.

"Really. You… were right, saying that I wasn't doing a good job of training you. It's not how I was trained, and… whether I like you or not, you're a part of this army, and need to be trained like the rest of us. We only as strong as each individual toad, or… whatever you're supposed to be."

"Human," the teen said, starting to wonder if Bog's attitude change was actually genuine. The toad wasn't attacking him or slamming his face into the ground, and since he seemed to be struggling to get his comments out, it was obvious the soldier was trying. "But… you were right too; I'm soft, and I'm not a fighter. I just want to actually learn how to defend myself, since everything I've been told about this world could hurt and or kill me."

Bog thought back to Captain Grime's plan of manipulating the Creature into being their pawn, and was impressed to see that it was coming along great so far. Sure, the human was still soft, but the toad was starting to see that the captain's plan might actually work. What was it Grime had said… the human needed the right guidance so he could be molded into the perfect soldier for the army. It would take a lot of work, but if Bog was the one to make him great, he would probably become greater by association, and a fresh idea popped into his head.

"I'll make a deal with you, human," Bog said. "I'll train you for real, teach you everything I know so you don't die in the first five minutes out in the real world. But no more complaints, no more tantrums… none of that. We both follow Grime's orders so none of us get in trouble. Understand?"

"How do I know you're gonna keep your end of the deal," Ethan asked suspiciously. "Or that this isn't a trick?"

"We both know I don't need to trick you in order to kick your ass," the toad informed him. "But if you don't believe me, you're welcome to go tell Grime you're quitting and accept whatever punishment comes with it."

"You seemed eager to stop me earlier."

"Call it being hot-headed. Besides, do you really want to go back into the Hole?"

The teen's face blanked, and he was silent for a few seconds; Bog noticed him run a finger absentmindedly over the bumps on his arm. "... Fine," he said. "But if you go back on your promise, I'll make you wish you were in the Hole."

Bog frowned at him. "Did you just threaten me, Creature?"

Ethan flinched a little under the stare. "Uh… yes?"

The soldier was silent for a few moments, then started to laugh.

"Not bad," he said appreciatively, slapping him hard on the back. "Though we need to work on your intimidation!"

"Yeah… thanks," the human said, hoping that he was not making a big mistake.

I hope you liked this chapter! Kind of different, writing a bunch of shorter stories, but something I thought would be kind of cool to help show the passage of time.

Follow/Favorite this story, and leave a review if you want! See you all next chapter!

-aggiefrogger