25. Episode 25: Hammer Quest

Finally, the day had arrived. All their build up and rumor spreading had led up to this moment. Sasha, Grime, Percy, and Braddock were at the North Toad Tower, where a summit had been called, gathering the other three Toad Lords. There were still carriages arriving from where Sasha could see through a window, and the auditorium was practically almost filled to capacity. If they could pull this off, they would be one step closer to their goal, and Sasha would be one step closer to making this world what she wanted. A place for her to rule, a place where her, Anne, and Marcy can live as they pleased. A place where…where both of them would be hers.

Sasha peeked through the curtain on the other side, spotting the three assembled Toad Lords. The first Toad Lord was Captain Bufō, lord of the East Tower. His armor and hairstyle reminded Sasha of the ancient samurai of Japan; he even had a couple of katana strapped to his belt. The second was Captain Beatrix, lord of the West Tower. She had a more traditional military uniform, she also had her hair braided into a ponytail, and had a scar over her left eye, which strangely mirrored Grime’s scar. The third and final Toad Lord was Captain Aldo, lord of the North Tower, the very one they were in. This one looked old, really old. There were vines growing over him, and there were some cobwebs on him as well, as if he was a fixed statue that had not moved in ages. His black eyes stared into nothingness, but Sasha retracted that thought, as she saw a bug crawl onto his face, through his right eye and out of the left, which made her realize that he in fact had no eyes.

Okay, that’s just nast…

“So, the disgraced Captain Grime’s called this council meeting. Does anyone have any idea why?” Bufō asked.

“Maybe he wants to be surrounded by friends when he gets arrested,” said Beatrix. “What do you think Aldo?”

The elder toad said nothing, did nothing. In fact, he just sat there, still as a statue.

Bufō turned to Beatrix and asked, “Uh, is he asleep or dead?”

“Definitely smells dead,” Beatrix remarked.

The whole room broke out into laughter at the old toad’s expense, and yet he still said and did nothing.

Braddock joined Sasha as she looked through the curtain, her face scrunching up in worry. “Not exactly a welcoming crowd…”

“Especially that Captain Beatrix, what’s her problem?” Percy asked.

“Her problem is that she’s my sister…and I maaaay’ve teased her quite a bit when were tadpoles.” Grime admitted.

“WHAT?!” Percy shouted.

“That’s it, stick a fork in us! We’re done!” Braddock panicked.

Sasha smirked as she stood behind Percy and Braddock, placing her hands on their shoulders as she got down on one knee. “Hey, c’mon, enough of this loser talk! We can do this! Just remember what we practiced and keep your eye on the prize.”

Percy and Braddock smiled up at Sasha, feeling more confident thanks to her words.

“Yeah, we’re a team, and we’ll get this done!” Percy exclaimed.

“That’s what I like to hear,” said Sasha, “Hands in everyone!”

Grime, Braddock, Percy, and Grime put their hands together.

“Now let's go out there and impress some toads or we all die!”

“YEAH!”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the curtain, Bufō and Beatrix, along with the other toads, were getting restless as they waited for Grime’s team to make their presentation.

“Dang it, Beatrix, what’s taking your brother so long?” Bufō asked in annoyance.

The waiting was over as the curtains behind Aldo closed, the lights dimmed, and a spotlight was placed on the stage. The spotlight in this case being Sasha’s phone light. The stage curtains rose, revealing Sasha and Percy, and an easel with some paper on it that Sasha had setup. Music began to play as Percy dabbed and bopped to the beat, causing the attending toads to gasp. Braddock raised the light up, showing Grime positioned at the top of the stage holding a rope. The former Toad Tower captain swung down from the rope, flipped in the air, and landed hard on the stage, causing a plank to spring up right under Percy. All according to plan. Percy, while in the air, whipped out a t-shirt gun and began firing one shirt after other into the crowd, a shirt that had stylized writing that read, “Toadz Rule!!”

After their little intro was done, Grime cleared his throat, took out a microphone, and began the presentation. “My fellow toads, for years we have kept the kingdom’s servants in line! But are we not just servants ourselves?!”

While this was going on, Sasha was tearing off pages of paper, showing a drawing of King Andrias held at spearpoint.

“I say it’s time that we toads had it our way! Enough with taking orders from those arrogant, know-it-all newts! I propose a future where toads overthrow King Andrias and take our rightful place as rulers of ALL AMPHIBIA!”

Sasha scooted closer and whispered, “Psst, drop the mic!”

“Oh, oh, right.”

Grime dropped the mic.

It was deathly silent in the room, so quiet that you could literally hear the crickets chirping. Sasha was starting to worry, although she made sure she was not showing it. After all this prep work and build up, this could not fail.

Bufō glared at Grime and his team as he said, “You all took a huge risk calling us here to gain support for your rebellion.”

“And it paid off! WE FROGGIN’ LOVED IT!” Beatrix shouted, both to the delight of Bufō and the rest of the toads.

Every toad inside the auditorium shouted with approval and excitement for this plan, apparently, they felt the same way, and were just waiting for someone to finally bring this topic up, for someone to have the guts to say that it was time for a regime change.

Beatrix sat back down in her chair as she looked at Grime. “Nicely done, Grimity.”

Grime turned red.

Sasha eyes widened as she glanced down at her captain. “No way, is your real name really–?!”

“WE’RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THIS!” Grime interrupted.

“So, tell us, tell us, who’s leading this revolution?!” Bufō asked.

Grime looked at the Toad Lords and then back at his team. “I was thinking…us?”

The elation from Beatrix and Bufō suddenly died on the spot as they got closer and whispered between themselves. After a few seconds, they ended their secret conversation and stared down at the team with displeasure.

“Yeah, I don’t think so. We love your vision, don’t get us wrong. But no toad is going to follow the command of a fugitive and his humus,” said Bufō.

Sasha deadpanned. “Humans, we’re called humans.”

“Bufō is right, just because King Andrias is working with a couple of humuses who ‘saved the world’, doesn’t mean we have to work with one, too,” Beatrix added.

Sasha was stunned when she heard that. “Wait…What do you mean, working with two humans and ‘saved the world’?! What happened in Newtopia?!”

Beatrix raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? Have you been living under a rock? Well, if you’re with Grimity, guess that’s to be expected. Yes, some creature from another world invaded Amphibia, specifically, Newtopia. Brought an undead army with ‘em, too.”

“Three humuses used some kind of strange power to transform into powerful warriors, and somehow managed to defeat this monster before it could overrun our world with the living dead. Ugh, I did not enjoy having to be called to clean up corpses,” said Bufō.

Anne…Marcy…so they really do have powers. They both have Kamen Rider powers like me…but who’s this third human they’re talking about?!

“I can’t believe this…they’re Kamen Riders, too…and they’ve been working together…without me!” Sasha growled.

“And it seems aiding the crown as well, if they’re on the side of King Andrias then this might’ve gotten more complicated than we initially thought,” said Grime, but that’s when he noticed Sasha’s curling fists. “Lieutenant?”

“Now that I’m thinking about it, this whole endeavor is starting to sound far too risky,” said Bufō as he snapped his fingers. “Guards, arrest them.”

Several toads garbed in armor and wielding spears came out from the entrances to the auditorium and began to surround Grime and his team.

I can’t believe this…I don’t believe this! They really do have powers! And they’ve saved the world on their own! Without me to help them?!

Embers began to float around Sasha as her eyes shifted to magenta, the guards paused in their advance as they saw this.

“Why don’t I show you idiots why we should be the ones leading this rebellion!” The MetamorphRing appeared around her waist, prompting Grime, Percy, and Braddock to back up. “Henshin!”

Sasha pressed down on both of her hip devices. A dome of fire appeared around her, making the toads gasp in shock. When the fire died out, there stood Kamen Rider Bellona. One of the toad guards, either out of fear or sheer stupidity, decided to charge Bellona with their spear. Bellona placed her hand near the center of the Driver, and immediately a sword hilt materialized. Bellona dashed forward and drew the sword as if from a scabbard, slicing the spear tip off the pole, leaving it singed on both ends.

Bellona was now armed with her signature weapon, the Phoenix Wing sword, and she was not in a good mood. Another couple of guards attacked, but she easily sliced their spears in two, and kicked two toads away. A fourth came at her, but Bellona threw her sword into the air as she spun around and hit him with a backhand fist, sending him flying into the stands. The fifth attacked, but Bellona ripped the spear out of their hand struck that toad in the gut with the blunt end before impaling it into the floor. Three more toads came at her, but Bellona just stood there and let them hit her. As soon as their spears hit her armor, nothing happened, their weapons barely made a scratch on her armor at all.

The Rider of fire held up her right arm and caught her sword as it fell back to her, and with it she slashed in a circle, creating a ring of fire that bellowed out and blasted the three toads away. Bellona jumped into the air, flipped once, and then landed before the final guard, her glowing eyes peering down at him as her sword flickered with embers. The last toad guard made some whimpering sounds and dropped his spear, surrendering.

“Smart move.” Bellona glared at the Toad Lords and said, “I have the power to help Grime and this rebellion get off the ground! Are you still not going to let us lead you?!”

Bufō and Beatrix had another little discussion, which ended after a minute.

“Yeah, no, still no,” said Bufō.

Percy and Braddock were flabbergasted, how could they not want to follow Sasha and Grime after what they just saw. And this was not even the most impressive stuff they have seen Sasha do as a Kamen Rider. However, Grime understood why, but he relegated the task of informing his lieutenant to Bufō and Beatrix.

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! WHY THE HELL NOT?! I just whupped ten of your guards, and I’ve fought monsters ten times stronger than any of you here! Not one of you would last a second against a Fallen! And I’ve fought several of them already! If you have me, then the forces of Newtopia would be nothing!”

Beatrix sighed. “Not about how strong you are, humus. We respect strength for sure, and you’re fighting ability is impressive to say the least. But you haven’t earned the right to lead us. Anyone can become powerful with the right training and weapons, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re the right person for the job.”

Bellona growled in frustration as she marched up to the three Toad Lords and asked, “Then tell me! What will it take for you buffoons to acknowledge that we should lead this rebellion?!”

Suddenly, Aldo began to move, snapping the vines that had gown on him as he leaned forward, and spoke with a voice like it came from a shallow grave, deep and gravely, “Barrel’s Warhammer.”

Bufō looked up at Aldo and said, “Barrel’s Warhammer?! You’ve finally gone senile, Aldo!”

“Yeah, that’s a suicide mission!” Beatrix added.

Aldo raised his left hand, ordering silence, which Bufō and Beatrix obeyed. Despite looking old and decrepit, Aldo apparently still commanded quite a bit of respect among his fellow toads.

“It is said that one who wields this hammer is the true leader of all toads. It is the one thing, the only thing, that will prove that we should follow you,” said Aldo.

Grime quickly rushed to his lieutenant’s side and said, “Sasha, calm down and listen–!”

“Great! Done! You’ll have it in your ‘Crypt Keeper’ hands by morning!” Bellona declared.

Bufō and Beatrix gasped, and then laughed raucously at Bellona’s boasting.

“No toad who has gone after the hammer has ever come back alive, this I’ve got to see,” said Bufō.

“Same here, this outta be froggin’ fun,” Beatrix chuckled.

Bellona released her transformation, returning her to civilian form. “Oh, you’ll be eating your words come dawn!”

Sasha turned around, her cape flapping in the air from her swift turn as she marched through the entrance, making Grime, Percy, and Braddock follow after her.

Against the better judgement of all involved, and really left with little to no choice, Grime’s team set off on their quest to retrieve Barrel’s Warhammer. Apparently, the hammer was not too far from the North Tower, at least that’s what the map from Aldo showed them. The hammer was in the area, but as Bufō had said, no toad had ever returned after setting off for the hammer. But those toads did not have Kamen Rider powers, so Sasha was confident that they would make this work. Currently the blonde was finishing setting up the sail of their boat, she jumped down from the mast and tied them to the rigging itself and then looked to Grime.

“So, what’s this hammer and why’re y’all so scared of it?” Sasha asked.

“Oh, yes, now you ask that question!” Grime complained. “I know you were upset about what you heard, but you could’ve thought that out a bit more before you went berserk!”

Sasha lowered her gaze. “Sorry…I just lost it.”

Grime sighed. “Nothing we can do about it now. We either come back with the hammer or not at all.”

“So…again, what’s the deal with the hammer?” Sasha asked.

Percy decided to fill in her. “It’s the weapon of the legendary toad warrior, Barrel the Brave!”

“Barrel gave his life saving a helpless village from a terrifying beast,” said Braddock

“And legend has it that this very same beast guards that weapon to this day!”

Grime rolled his eyes. “Enough with the whimpering! We don’t even know if this tadpole tale is real!”

“Wait, you said his name was ‘Barrel’, does anyone know what he looks like?” Sasha asked.

Braddock thought for a moment as she said, “The stories are kinda of a mishmash, but some of the ones that I have heard that are consistent, describe Barrel as a greenish toad with horns, and a few scars.”

Sasha blinked. “Wait, that’s who he was?! I didn’t think it was the same Barrel!”

Grime, Braddock, and Percy looked at Sasha in confusion.

“Okay, here’s what happened…”

[3 minutes later]

“And that’s how I beat Barrel and I guess set him free from whatever brought him back to life against his will,” Sasha explained.

The three toads before her just stared at Sasha with their mouths hanging open. Not only did Sasha battle the legendary warrior, but she managed to defeat him and return him to the land of the dead.

“YOU DIDN’T TELL US IT WAS THE BARREL! SASH!” Percy yelled.

“Sorry, I didn’t know he was someone important, but the fact that he existed means that his hammer is out here somewhere,” said Sasha.

Grime stroked his chin as he thought on Sasha’s tale. “If it weren’t for all the strange things I’ve seen you do recently, I’d say you were crazy. But given recent events, I have no reason to disbelief you. And you do raise a good point, if Barrel was real, then that means his hammer is here!” Grime jumped straight up to the crow’s nest as he kept an eye out for the hammer’s location.

“Um, I don’t want to spoil that train of thought, but if Barrel’s Warhammer is real, then that means the monster that guards it is real, too!” Braddock exclaimed.

“Oh crud, I didn’t even think about that,” said Percy with dread.

Sasha could see that her friends were getting scared, and this might get more intense than they were probably prepared for. So, Sasha decided to put their minds at ease.

“Hey, listen, if things get too wild out here, just give me a signal and I’ll call the whole thing off.”

“A signal? What kind of signal?” Percy asked.

Sasha thought about it for a moment, and that’s when an idea struck her. “Oh, I know! How about this? Do your best kawaii pose! It’s something we do for photos in my world, like this.”

The young teen twirled around and smiled at her friends, winking with her right eye while throwing up two peace signs. And somehow, she was able to generate a rainbow and sparkles around her.

“Uh, what’s a photo?” Braddock asked.

“Just try it.”

Percy and Braddock shrugged. The couple twirled around in the same way Sasha did and mimicked her exact pose. Sparkles and all. Sasha could not help but laugh at seeing their pose, which in turn made Percy and Braddock laugh, and for a moment they forgot their fear of this quest.

“No giggling! We’re here,” Grime announced.

Sasha, Percy, and Braddock watched as the swamp shifted. This area was more desolate, with dead trees jutting out from the red, brackish waters, and several small islands that littered the area. Leech-like creatures flew overhead, releasing horrible screeching as they glided through the night sky. Sasha could feel something was off about this place, it was as if something did not want them here. It was not the same feeling she got when she battled a Fallen, it was more like a primal instinct, something that Sasha had honed due to her training and the battles she fought thus far.

Since they needed to start somewhere, Grime landed the ship against one of the islands so that they could begin their search. Grime and Braddock were the first to disembark, swords drawn and at the ready, Sasha was about to join them, but Percy grabbed her cape and gave a small tug to get her attention.

“Hey, Sash, thanks for that. I feel better already,” said Percy.

Sasha smiled down at Percy and replied, “Hey, my pleasure. And don’t forget, strike a pose and we’ll leave.”

Percy nodded and hurried with Sasha to catch up to Braddock and Grime. Sasha reached for the rolled-up map secured to her belt, unfurling it to see how far they were the hammer was supposed to be located.

“Okay, according to the map Aldo gave us, the hammer was last seen somewhere around here, keep your eyes peeled,” said Sasha.

“Given that it is possible that it exists, this endeavor is insane! We could spend months or years out here and never find it in this wasteland!”

“Oh, I found it!”

“What?!” Grime exclaimed.

Everyone looked in the direction where Percy was pointing, and there, stuck in the ground, was the legendary Warhammer of Barrel the Brave. The hammer was huge, which was unsurprising given how big Sasha remembered Barrel was. The hammer had a long winding shaft, with oddly shaped back half at the top, and a flat end that had a few metal studs around it, and the insignia of Amphibia engraved on the flat of the hammer itself. The group ran towards the hammer and gathered around it.

Grime just gawked at the fact that it was there, right in front of him, the legendary weapon of the legendary warrior was right there in front of him. “I can’t believe it! It’s here! It’s really here! This is our ticket to revolution!”

“And no beast in sight? Could life really be this easy?” Percy asked in elation.

“Quick, Grimesy, yank that thing out and let’s head back! I wanna rub it in those toads faces,” said Sasha.

“With pleasure!” Grime wiped his hands, grabbed the handle, and pulled. However, the hammer did not budge an inch. Grime tried several more times, but the hammer refused to rise. “Uh, a little help, please?”

Dang, no wonder Barrel was ripped. If I had to lug that thing around, I would be, too.

“Alright gang, let’s do this on three!” Sasha grabbed the hammer, along with Percy, Braddock, and Grime. “One…Two…THREE!”

The three toads and one human pulled the hammer with all they had, and when they did, the hammer moved. But not a moment after that, the entire island began to shake and rumble, something was coming. Braddock, Grime, and Sasha unsheathed their swords in preparation for battle against the incoming foe.

“T-T-T-THE BEAST!” Percy exclaimed.

“Look alive, there’s no telling where it will attack from!” Grime cautioned.

However, something unexpected happened. The entire island rose suddenly, throwing the group off and into the swampy waters. All four of them swam back to their boat and hurried aboard, only to bare witness to the legendary beast that guarded the hammer. It was huge worm-like creature, the small islands that littered the area were in fact the beast’s armor plates. It was a dark swamp green color, with moss growing atop its brown armor plates. The top of this thing’s head, where the Warhammer rested, had a curved horn and vents that released steam. The huge creature opened its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth as it released a trilling roar that echoed throughout the area.

“HOLY CRAP!!!” Sasha yelled as she laid eyes upon the monster.

“AHAHAHA! What a great way to go!” Grime exclaimed as he drew his sword.

You’ve got to be kidding me! Not one single Fallen I’ve fought so far has been as big as that this thing! It’s a freakin’ kaiju! Can…Can I even beat this thing?!

Sasha glanced over to her right and saw Percy and Braddock to their beast kawaii pose, signaling that they wanted to leave right now. The young teen looked back up at the Narwhal Worm, probably the biggest thing she has ever seen in her life, and atop its head was Barrel’s Warhammer, their ticket to getting this rebellion started. Beatrix’s words echoed in her head, remembering that Anne and Marcy were Kamen Riders, and were battling monsters and getting by without her. Marcy was such a klutz, and Anne, she barely ever stood up for herself if it did not involve protecting Marcy or Sasha, not like Sasha herself needed it, but somehow, they were doing alright without her there. This was not going to stand, no, they had come too far – she had come to far to fail now.

“Sorry, guys, but we’re way to close to bail! I am not going back emptied handed!” Sasha declared.

Percy looked shocked at hearing Sasha’s words.

“But you said–”

“Keep the ship nearby,” Sasha interrupted, “I’m going to try and bring this thing down!”

“I got the helm, Lieutenant! GO!”

Sasha summoned her MetamorphRing Driver and cried out, “HENSHIN!”

Once again, she was shrouded in a dome of fire, and when she emerged, she had transformed into Kamen Rider Bellona. The warrior of flames summoned the Phoenix Wing sword and jumped straight up into the air and landed atop of the beast’s back. Bellona ignited her sword and slashed it creature’s armored hide. While it did leave a burning groove, the cut was not that deep. The Red Warrior set her sword ablaze again, and slashed forward, sending a crescent wave of flames straight towards a raised section of the armor. The flames struck against the armor and melted some of it, but just like earlier, her attack barely managed to cause any damage to the monster.

“What the heck is this thing made of?! Okay, okay, guess I’ll just have to go full attack!”

Bellona pressed on the left hip device. Purple marks appeared on her armor as her entire right arm changed, creating a gauntlet as she entered Cestus Form. Now armed with the Cestus, Bellona jumped into the air and cocked back her left fist, the jets on the gauntlet roared to life and propelled her forward as she came down with rocket propelled punch against the armor of the beast. She did manage to leave a small dent, but that’s all she managed to do. Bellona growled in frustration as she deactivated Cestus Form and jumped back down to the boat below.

“UGH! I can’t hurt it! That armor’s too thick!”

“Wait, you can’t hurt it?!” Braddock asked.

“I managed to dent it a little, but only a little. I’d have to wail at this thing all day if I wanted to take it down. I’ve never fought something this big before,” said Bellona.

“So, what do you propose, Lieutenant?!”

Bellona glared up at the beast, it did not even notice that she did anything to it. The worm probably regarding her as nothing more than a flea. “Steer us closer! We need to get it to attack us!”

“WHAT?!” Percy and Braddock exclaimed.

“Trust me!”

Grime raised the sails and took control of the rudder, steering the boat closer to the side of the Narwhal Worm. Once they were right up next to it, Sasha slashed at the worm’s side with her sword, cutting grooves into it. While she doubted it was causing it any pain, at the least she was hoping this was irritating it. Bellona stopped when she noticed the worm’s head slither around and glare straight down at them.

“Good, now we got its attention. Get ready!”

“Ready for what?!” Percy asked.

“Three…Two…ONE! JUMP, NOW!”

The Narwhal Worm dove headfirst towards them, ramming its curved horn straight into the boat, smashing it to pieces. Bellona, Grime, Percy, and Braddock all jumped high into the air at the last second, the latter two screaming their heads off as they all landed on the beast’s back. The Rider of flames raised her sword and stabbed it as deep as it would go into the armor plated hide of the beast, anchoring herself to that spot. The Narwhal Worm raised its body, causing Grime, Percy, and Braddock to fall down the slope of its back. Bellona quickly reached out and grabbed Grime’s hand before he could fall, and at the last second, Grime caught Braddock by her hand, while Braddock caught Percy by his jester’s cap, forcing Percy to grip it tightly.

Percy looked down and saw the wreckage of the boat and said, “Ah, man, that was my Mom’s boat…”

The Narwhal Worm finally leveled itself out as it began to swim through the swamp at its own leisurely pace. This allowed Bellona and the others to run straight for the monster’s head where the hammer was still lodged. All four of them gathered around the hammer and began to pull again. But the result was the same.

“ARRGH! I’m way stronger like this! And it’s still not budging?!” Bellona exclaimed. “Grime give me your rope!”

“What?!”

“JUST DO IT!”

Grime reached behind his back and threw Bellona the rope she wanted. After catching it, Bellona ran as fast as she could for the Narwhal Worm’s head. She dismissed the Phoenix Wing and tied the rope into a lasso loop. Bellona skidded to a halt a few feet from the base of the beast’s horn. With a twirl of the lasso, Bellona threw it straight for the Narwhal Worm’s horn, looping it around, and pulling. The loop closed tight around the beast’s horn, securing it. And now that that was done, Bellona widened her stance and used her great strength to pull the worm to the right.

The Narwhal Worm tried to fight it, but in the end, it raised its head and began to turn its whole body. An action that made Percy and Braddock fall back while Grime held onto the hammer for leverage. The toad couple bounced on the monster’s back for a couple of seconds before managing to get a grip on its armor to stop themselves from falling, all while screaming their heads off. The worm eventually turned its entire body in the direction that Bellona wanted, which seemed to be the North Toad Tower.

Once the beast had leveled out, Grime released the hammer and crawled over to Bellona, asking, “What do you think you’re doing?!”

“What’s it look like?! If we can’t get the hammer there ourselves, then we’ll just take this thing and the hammer to the tower,” said Bellona.

Grime paused for a moment before a maniacal grin broke out across his face. “YOU’RE INSANE AND I LOVE IT!”

Bellona grinned under helmet, Aldo never said specifically how he wanted the hammer brought to him. He just said to bring the hammer to the tower, so, what did it matter if it was still stuck to the back of a giant monster, so long as the hammer got to the tower, it was the same difference. The Narwhal Worm continued to slither forward, its speed gradually increasing. Percy and Braddock were stuck on one section of its body that had them going up and down with each undulation, like a rollercoaster ride from hell.

“SASHA! PLEASE! STOP THIS!” Percy begged.

Bellona turned her head back to her comrades and yelled, “But we’re almost there! Just hang on a bit longer!”

Grime’s eyes widened as he realized just how fast they were going. “NO! HE’S RIGHT! The tower’s coming up too fast, Sasha! We’re going to crash into it! Go left! GO LEFT!”

Bellona turned her gaze forward, and that’s when she saw that Grime was right. They were coming up way too fast on the tower, the beast was going to smash right through it at this pace. “OH, SHIIITAKE MUSHROOMS!” Bellona tugged hard on the rope, trying to force the Narwhal Worm to come to a stop.

The Narwhal Worm was not going to stop, in fact, it just jetted forward even faster. Ignoring the tugging of Bellona on its back.

“I can’t stop it! I’ve lost control of it,” said Bellona in a panic.

Grime rushed to her side and began pulling on the rope as well, but even with their combined strength, they were not able to make the Narwhal Worm change course.

“There must be another way to stop it!” Grime exclaimed.

Bellona glanced over her shoulder at the hammer, even with her attacks, she barely managed to cause any real damage to the beast. But Barrel, a toad, and that hammer, were able to hurt this monster and put it down for a time. “We need the hammer! It’s the only thing that can hurt it!”

Grime and Bellona abandoned the rope and headed back to the hammer, Both the girl and toad grabbed the handle and began pulling at it, desperately trying to dislodge it so that they could stop this beast from plowing through the tower and killing all the toads inside. After a few more tugs, Grime, regrettably, stopped.

“It’s no use! Sasha, we have to get out of here or we’ll all die,” said Grime.

“NO! I CAN DO THIS! I AM NOT GOING TO FAIL!” Marcy, Anne! You two left me behind! I won’t let you get ahead of me! I will find you! I will get our friendship back on track! No! I will get US on track! “AND MAKE SURE THEY KNOW THAT THEY’RE MINE!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!”

Bellona’s body erupted with flames as her helmet eyes glowed in tandem with the glowing lines on her armor. The wing frills on the side of her helmet flared out, as she pulled on the hammer with every last bit of strength she had. And, like a miracle, the hammer broke free of the armored hide of the beast, and Bellona held the hammer high overhead in triumph. The moment this happened, the hammer began to glow. Ancient Amphibian runes appeared in the form of magenta light all up and down the hammer itself. And that’s when a feature of the hammer made itself known. The back end of the hammer suddenly had three jets ignite. The hammer threatened to take Bellona on a ride, but the warrior of flames held her ground, she was not about to be taken by this weapon, she was going to take it.

“GRIME!!! MOVE!!!”

Grime did as she commanded and jumped out of the way.

Bellona’s sigil appeared beneath her as she channeled her power through the hammer itself and jumped straight into the air. With a savage war cry, Bellona descended from the sky and came down with a booming, thunderous drop of the hammer atop the Narwhal Worm’s skull. The power and force of the blow sent a concussive blast that rang the monster’s head, making it release a painfilled trilling roar as it lost consciousness and stopped moving, but unfortunately its momentum carried it forward, sliding on the muddy swamp floor as it came closer cand closer to the tower.

Within a matter of seconds, the Narwhal Worm’s horn smashed through the window above where the three Toad Lords were seated. Bellona huffed and panted from the effort, she looked at the Warhammer, somehow it reacted it her power, and it seemed to carry a bit of it now that she had held it. But this was not hers to wield.

Bellona motioned for Grime to come with her, and together the two of them walked the length of the Narwhal Worm’s horn until they were back inside the tower, making every toad gasp when they saw Bellona and Grime, the former holding the fabled hammer.

“One Warhammer, as promised.” Bellona chucked the hammer down towards the center of the auditorium. “Grime, it’s yours.”

“Are you sure? After what I just witnessed, I think it’s better in your hands,” Grime remarked.

“I already have a lot of different weapons and powers; you need something to help fight back against the Fallen. And something tells me that warhammer has the power to do it now. So go.”

Grime nodded and jumped off the horn. He ran up to the hammer and grabbed it, holding it over his head with little effort. This action made all the toads cheer loudly, no one had ever managed to retrieve the hammer, and now here it was for all to see. Bellona jumped off the horn as well and landed next to the three Toad Lords as she changed back to her civilian form.

“Huh, got it here before morning. How do you like them apples?” Sasha asked smugly.

“AHAHA! You’re insane, humus – sorry, human! But I like it,” said Beatrix.

She’s definitely Grime’s sister.

 “Human.” Sasha glanced at Bufō, who crossed his arms and smirked at her. “Nicely done.”

Aldo raised his hand, silencing the room. “It is done, the hammer has been found, and returned to its rightful place among toad kind.” The old toad turned to Sasha and continued. “We hereby grant you the support of all three towers, for your rebellion.”

Sasha broke out into a huge grin as she did a little victory dance.

Grime walked up to Sasha and nudged her with his elbow. “Well, Lieutenant, I had my doubts, but we did it!”

“Of course, we did! After all we’re the best team in this or any other world!” Sasha proclaimed. “Right Braddock, Percy?!”

She got no reply.

Sasha turned around and watched as both Braddock and Percy were carefully trying to get off the horn of the Narwhal Worm, only to fail as both of them fell off it and landed hard against the floor. The cheerleading captain saw this and rushed to them when she saw how messed up they were.

“Whoa, you guys okay?!” Sasha asked, concerned.

Percy looked up at Sasha with a furrowed brow. “Okay? Okay?! Sasha we almost died back there because of you!”

Sasha looked shocked to hear the anger in Percy’s voice. “P-Percy…I’m sorry, but we did it, didn’t we?”

Now it was Braddock’s turn to get angry. “We trusted you, Sasha! But you didn’t care one dang bit about what happened to us so long as you got what you wanted!”

“Braddock, that’s not true! I-I do care about you guys…I…I know things got intense out there, but I did it for us! I did it so we can accomplish our goal, and we did it together,” said Sasha.

“No, Sasha, you did it.” Percy retorted. “And I think me, and Braddock are done with this. With all of this.”

“Wha-What…?” Sasha watched as Percy and Braddock walked past her, prompting her to quickly turn around and call out to them. “Where are you going?!”

They kept walking.

“Guys come back! You’re not actually going to throw this all away, are you?! We are so close I can feel it! We can do this together! Just trust me!”

Braddock and Percy looked over their shoulders, at the human girl whom they had grown to care about and had been honored to fight by the side of such a powerful person. But it just was not worth it anymore.

“Goodbye, Sash, we hope you pull it off, really. And we’re still grateful to you for helping us figure out our passions, and bringing Braddock and me together,” said Percy.

“Good luck, Sasha,” Braddock added.

Sasha stood there stunned as she watched the backs of Percy and Braddock get further and further away.

Come back…

Sasha felt her heart hurt as her mind replaced Braddock and Percy with the image of her parents.

Please…don’t leave…

Their forms shifted again, and this time they took on the form of Anne and Marcy.

Please don’t leave me behind…I want us to stay together…Please, don’t go away!

Sasha was about to run after them, she had to convince them, she had to try and convince those two that they belonged together as a team. As…As a family. But before she could make a move, Grime blocked her path.

“That’s enough Lieutenant,” Grime ordered.

“No! Get out of my way, Grime! I have to bring them back!” Sasha argued.

Grime could see the hurt in Sasha’s eyes, he did not pretend to know what Sasha was going through. But in the time he has spent with her, there was one thing he did learn about Sasha. Even though she did the things she did, she did it with everyone in mind, to keep those she cared about together. Grime had no idea what happened in Sasha’s life before she came to Amphibia to make her this way, but he had to do something otherwise she might not stop trying to get those two back.

The former toad captain reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder as he said, “It’s best to let them go, Sasha. We all have our limits, and it appears that they finally hit there’s. There’s no shame in it.”

“But…!”

“I know it hurts, but remember, every dream has its price. And not everyone is willing to pay it. Now, come, Lieutenant. We’ve got a world to conquer, and I need you at my side!” Grime stated as she walked away and to the Toad Lords.

Sasha stood there for a moment and then looked at the retreating forms of Percy and Braddock for the last time as they walked through the doors and left, for good. The young teen felt like she wanted to cry, but she gritted her teeth and balled up her fists, she could not afford to cry in front of all these toads, not after everything they did to finally gain their respect. But on the inside, she was truly sad.

“Goodbye, Percy. Goodbye, Braddock…”

Sasha turned around and headed to Grime’s side, all the while thinking.

It won’t be the same way. Not with Anne. Not with Marcy. Wait for me, girls, we’ll be together soon.