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Chapter Text

Marcy always knew she was annoying and weird. Her parents told her that, her older sibling, Darcy, told her that, even her friends told her that! She figured out that people weren't interested in the games and stories she was interested in. In fact, most people got annoyed when she rambled on and on about a topic. So Marcy learned to stop. She didn't tell people about the new books she read, or the new board games she got. Instead she decided to listen to what the other kids were talking about, then she would learn about that topic so she could join their conversations. She managed to mold herself into a 'better' copy, still not perfect, but 'better'.

At the age of 7, Marcy started learning how to fly. Her wings were smaller than normal, and they seemed to be weaker. She never quite got the hang of flying, always too weak to get off the ground or fly for long distance. The only thing she was good at was gliding, and even at that she wasn't the best. The other kids started playing all the fun flying games, leaving Marcy behind.

"If you can't fly, then you are pathetic and useless! What kind of Avian can't fly?" told her Darcy.

"B-but! I-I'll try harder! I promise! Please! Don't leave me!" cried out Marcy, as her sibling left her.

Marcy ran back to her room. Darcy was right, she was useless. The only thing she was good at was being smart, but nothing else. When she made it to her room, she slammed the door shut and hid under the blanket. After a few minutes of laying there and crying her heart out, she heard a knock on the door.

"Princess Marcy? Are you alright? May I come in?" asked a soft voice from the other side.

Marcy recognized the voice, it was Lady Olivia! He nanny. She loved her nanny like her own mother, sometimes even more, which made her guilty. Slowly she got up from under the blanket and opened the door.

"Sweet child, look at your eyes, they're all puffy! Have you been crying?" asked Lady Olivia.

Marcy nodded. Lady Olivia walked into her room and gently closed the door, then she turned back to Marcy and pulled her into a hug.

"What happened Princess Marcy? Why are you crying?" she asked.

"I-I can't f-fly! N-non of t-the other k-k-kids w-want to p-play with m-me!" Cried Marcy.

"Oh dear. Don't worry Marcy, they're missing out, because you are the greatest person I have ever met. Come, shall we got for a walk?" reassured her Lady Olivia.

Lady Olivia wasn't an Avian. She was a hobbit. Marcy didn't know how or why she was working for her parents, since her parents only ever hired Avians. The only other non Avian that Marcy knew was General Yunan, an Elf. General Yunan and Lady Olivia were married. While Lady Olivia was Marcy's nanny, General Yunan was, as the title suggests, a general.

Marcy grabbed onto Lady Olivia's hand and together they walked into the garden, from there, Marcy saw world outside castle walls. She longed to go there, to explore, but she wasn't allowed to. Still, she always give it a chance.

"Lady Olivia, can't we go out? I want to see the world outside of castle walls. Please!" Marcy begged.

"I'm afraid not, your parents forbid you from going outside of the castle walls" explained Lady Olivia.

"Please! Can't we sneak out? They won't know!"

"We can't, the King and Queen will be furious!"

Marcy pouted, but decided against more arguing, instead opting to learn about the different vegetations in the garden, taking out her journal to jot them down.

When Marcy turned 8, Lady Olivia told her about sexuallities. Marcy quickly figured out that she was gay. It wasn't hard, with all the crushes that she had on all the girls in the castle. When she told her mother about it, her mother was very proud of her. Marcy couldn't believe it, her mother was actually proud of her! It was such a rare occurrence, especially about something so small.

"Mother? Why is it so important to know your sexuallity?" she asked her once.

"Dumb child, don't you understand?" her mother hissed.

"N-no, I d-don't" the words stun, and Marcy tried her best to hold back the tears threatening to spill out.

"It's so that when we are looking for a suiter for you, we know who to look for" explained her mother.

"O-oh"

The conversation ended on that, and Marcy wondered what her suiter would be like. Would she be kind? Would she love her? Or would they be like mother and father?

At that age, Marcy also finally saw the world outside of the castle walls. She had told Lady Olivia that she would be busy until 8pm, and would appreciate it to not be distributed. Then she sneaked of into the garden and took the side staircase onto a lower platform. This platform was closer to the walls, and would allow Marcy to glide right over the wall, without being noticed. She waited until the all the guards looked away. Then she stepped closer to the edge, opened her wings, and jumped. She glided over the wall, thought she almost didn't make it. Then she aimed at the forest, that would cover her, so no one would see her. As she neared the ground, she got ready to land, but instead got tangled in a low hanging wine.

"Oh come on! It was going so well!" she whispered angrily.

After untying herself, she set out into the town. In the city she saw a school, and then a playground nearby. On the swings was sitting a small Reptile boy. He had short, brown hair, with leaves and twigs poking out of it. He looked bored, but when their eyes met, he smiled. He had light blue eyes, and long eyelashes. His scales were different shades of blue, from light blue to dark blue. Marcy saw his tail wag a little when he noticed her.

"Hi!" Yelled the Reptile boy and ran up to Marcy.

Marcy froze up, she wasn't the best at interacting with people. Most of the times she missed all the basic hints that everybody else seemed to notice instantly. She had a hard time figuring out what someone meant, when they were angry, or sad. She almost never understood jokes or sarcasm, always taking things too seriously. 

"My name is Danny Boonchuy! What's yours?" asked the boy, he stuck out his webbed hand.

Marcy shook it.

"O-oh, umm... I'm Marcy Wu" Marcy answered shyly.

"Nice to meet you!" smiled Danny. "I'm waiting for mom and dad! Want to play together?"

"S-sure!" Marcy smiled.

They spend the rest of the day playing with Danny, until the clocktower showed 7:30pm.

"Danny! I have to go home" shouted Marcy.

"Ok! Let's play more tomorrow!" Danny replied, waving at her.

"Sure!" Marcy said and raced away.

Once she made it to the small forest, she stopped at the wall, she hadn't planned on how to get back in. She looked around, panicking, before she saw the carriage that was heading for the gates. The carriage stopped, waiting for the gates to open. Very quickly, Marcy rolled under it and grabbed onto the bottom, when the carriage started moving again, she clung to it with all her strength, until they made it inside the castle walls. Then she quickly rolled from under it and jolted for the backdoor. She raced up the stairs and made it to her room before being noticed.

"I'm all dirty! I have to change before Lady Olivia notices!" she muttered to herself.

Marcy quickly changed into clean, comfy clothes and combed her hair. Then she opened one of her journals, this one was for her adventures, thought she didn't have many yet. The other journals were for all kinds of information on plants, animals, people (especially interactions), history, and so on. Marcy grabbed her pen and wrote down about her day:

XX/XX/XXXX

TODAY I FINALLY WENT OUTSIDE OF CASTLE WALLS! CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS! Honestly, I can't. I met a Reptile boy named Danny in the town. He was nice, we played for hours! He also wanted to play more tomorrow! Can you imagine! Danny wants to spend more time with me! I DIDN'T MESS THIS UP! I actually have a friend now! I wanted to tell him about a cool book I read, and we could totally play as the characters from it! But I don't think that's a good idea, everyone always found it annoying, maybe I shouldn't do that? I don't want to scare him away. You know what's so cool about Danny! He didn't ask me to fly! All the kids in the castle always asked me to fly with them, or show them how I could fly, but I always disappointed them... maybe I'm broken. I need to find of a way to get back other the wall, I didn't think about it when I was going over it. I'm think maybe a grappling hook? Hmm... maybe that'll work, i'm not sure.

Marcy heard a knock on her door. She closed the journal and placed in on her shelf, with all the other journals.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Lady Olivia, may I come in?" answered Lady Olivia.

Marcy opened the door and beamed at Lady Olivia. 

"Good afternoon dear, I was wondering, aren't you hungry, I don't believe you went down for lunch" pointed out Lady Olivia.

Marcy suddenly noticed how empty her stomach is, she hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that was more than 8 hours ago. 

"O-oh, I guess I haven't, I... umm... got distracted by my work" lied Marcy.

Lady Olivia chuckled, it wasn't unusual for Marcy to get in the zone and completely forget about everything else.

"Come on dear, how about we have something to eat" suggested Lady Olivia, holding out her hand.

Marcy grabbed it and they made their way to the kitchen. After grabbing some a plate of food, they made their way back to Marcy's room. Marcy ate her food and then opened her "plants" journal. She also grabbed the big plant encyclopedia and opened on a random page. The page was about boomshrooms, an explosive mushroom. She started jotting down different facts about the mushroom.

"Is this what you were doing all day?" asked Lady Olivia.

"Well..." Marcy started, trying to think of a good lie. "Yes and no? I have been learning more about plants, but that's not the only thing I did, I also read some books on the history of Amphibia."

"Of course, you are a very smart girl afterall" said Lady Olivia.

Marcy couldn't help but puff up her chest a little, it felt good to be complimented. Especially since her father never paid any attention to her. Her mother believed she was mostly a failure, and prefered Darcy over her. Darcy didn't care much about her, always calling her pathetic or a failure, or both, mostly both. Marcy knew that they were all right, she was a failure, why wouldn't she be, but it still hurt. Lady Olivia and General Yunan were the only two who actually praised her. Although she hadn't really interacted with General Yunan a lot.

"Marcy! Now that you have turned 10, you will take up self defense classes, although I doubt you'll be any good at it" announced the Queen.

"Of course mother" Marcy said, bowing her head, trying to keep the tears from falling.

The Queen shooed her away, and Marcy made her way to the training grounds. She wondered what she learn. Darcy had learned how to use a scythe, and then they made their own scythe, which was made of fire. Marcy wasn't sure if she would get a weapon, after all, it was a self defense class, so maybe she wouldn't use a weapon. Then again, Marcy looked down at her hands, then her feet. She wasn't exactly strong, or athletic.

"Princess Marcy! You're here! Great! We shall start our class then" said General Yunan.

Marcy relaxed, she was afraid that someone else would teach her, but luckily, she was wrong.

"Come kiddo, I was up all night thinking on how to teach you, and I think I have the best weapon for you!" said General Yunan.

"A weapon?" asked Marcy, she didn't expect to get a weapon.

"Well of course, I wasn't sure how much strength you had in a punch, so I decided a weapon would help you deal more damage" explained General Yunan.

"O-oh" whispered Marcy, she tried to get angry at General Yunan.

She knew that General Yunan wasn't trying to be mean, she was just very straightforward, which was actually rather nice, it meant Marcy never had to second guess what she meant. 

"Here! A small and light crossbow!" General Yunan showed her a small crossbow, which could be strapped to her arm.

"A crossbow!" Marcy repeated, surprised.

"Yes. I decided that you probably needed something light, but it still needed to do enough damage. Also, since you are the smartest person I have ever met, I think you'll have a pretty easy time aiming."

General Yunan strapped the crossbow to Marcy's right hand. Then she showed her how it could fold and hide an arrow. While General Yunan explained how to aim, Marcy couldn't help but feel proud. General Yunan had called her "the smartest person I have ever met", and it made Marcy puff up her chest in pride. When she was finally allowed to try shooting the crossbow at one of the targets, Marcy instantly hit the bull's eye.

"Nice shot kiddo! You're a natural!" cheered General Yunan.

Marcy beamed at the general and looked down at the crossbow. She wasn't a natural, she just had a lot of practice. After her first tripe outside the castle walls, Marcy made a working grappling hook, to get over the wall. She then proceeded to practice for a long while to get her aim just right. Now, with the crossbow, Marcy already had a plan to add a grappling hook function to it. So she wouldn't need to carry both of them around.

They spend the rest of the day aiming at different targets, small ones, big ones, moving ones, and so one. Marcy hit the bull's eye everytime, impressing General Yunan a lot.

Marcy placed the buns into her backpack. She placed a few arrows into it, including the ones with rope tied to it, to climb over the wall on her way back. She put on her boots and comfy clothes for playing on the playground. She had told Lady Olivia that she would be working on a project and that she had grabbed herself some food, so she wouldn't attend lunch. Marcy carefully climbed out her window, to the platform from which she would glide over the wall. There was a blind spot on the wall, from which she wouldn't get spotted, and would be able to get to the town. She stood on the edge and glided over the wall, then she gracefully landed on the ground, something she has been practicing to do for a few months now. It was useless, because she ended up tripping on air and falling right on her face, which wasn't unusual for her. Marcy was very clumsy, often tripping and falling, or crashing into things because she was busy writing in one of her journals.

Marcy made her way through the forest and made it into town, where Danny was already waiting for her. He waved at her and patted the swing next to him.

"Hi!" called out Marcy as she got closer.

"Hey! I saved you a swing!" replied Danny.

She sat down and pushed off, for a while, they swung in peaceful silence. Just then, something pushed her on the back, causing her to fall right on her face, again. She groaned and rubbed her nose. 

"Look at these losers! Pathetic" laughed the two girls behind her.

Marcy looked at Danny, who was also pushed off the swing. The bullies were both Elfs, much older than them, and bigger. Marcy stood up and helped Danny of the floor, she saw tears fall down his cheeks.

"Crybaby!" shouted the bullies as Marcy and Danny walked away. Just then they heard a yelp come from behind them. They both looked back to see a Canine growling at the bullies.

"Get. Of. The. Swing" growled the Canine girl.

The bullies backed away from the girl, and then muttered something and left. The girl turned around and smirked at the two. She had blond hair, tied in a ponytail. Her eyes were pink, which was rather strange to Marcy. She had heard that some Canines had a rare chance to get red eyes, but pink? The Canine was a Wolf, with grey fur. 

"Hey there! I'm Sasha Waybright, what's your name?" asked the Wolf.

"I'm Danny Boonchuy!" said Danny, wiping away his tears, then he pointed at Marcy and added "And this is Marcy Wu!"

"Cool, want to play together?" suggested Sasha

"Sure!" Danny said excitedly.

They ended up playing together for the rest of the day. Marcy shared the buns that she kept with her, and they chatted for a while, before continuing to play, until Danny had to go home at 6pm. Marcy decided it was better to head back to.

"Bye! Let's meet up tomorrow!" called out Sasha.

Marcy waved goodbye and then ran through the forest, she was tired by the time she made it to the wall. She aimed and shot, the arrow stuck in between two bricks. Marcy tugged at it, to make sure it was safe to climb, then she started climbing up. Once she was on the wall, she glided to the platform and then climbed back inside through the window.

Marcy was so excited, she couldn't believe that she got a second friend! Sasha Waybright, she though, and blushed. Now that she thought about it, Sasha was very beautiful.

"Wait! No! She is my friend! Plus she's probably straight, and even if she does like girls, why would she like a nobody like me?" told herself Marcy.

Marcy opened her "adventure" journal, ever since she started sneaking outside more, the journal started filling up faster and faster. She would have never caused that she would go on so many adventures everyday! With her two new besties!

XX/XX/XXXX

I met a new friend today! Her name is Sasha Waybright! She is very beautiful, I love how her eyes seem to sparkle in the sun, and her hair! It's so soft! a Canine! She has unusually pink eyes, I think it might be that her eyes were red, but because of low melanin levels in her eyes, they turned pink. I really love spending time with her and Danny. It's so fun! I never expected to get TWO besties! It's amazing!

Marcy looked at the clock, she could still probably join dinner with Lady Olivia. She made her way down and joined Lady Olivia and General Yunan for dinner.

"Hey kiddo! How are you doing? Heard you're doing a project of some kind?" asked General Yunan.

"I'm doing great!" said Marcy "It's not exactly a project? Just some research"

"Here dear, eat some of this, you look awfully thin!" exclaimed Lady Olivia.

Marcy smiled at them, sometimes she couldn't help but wish that she was their daughter, but that was selfish, right? She already had a great family! Now she just had to repay them, that's why her mother was always so strict. Lady Olivia and General Yunan were eating and happily chatting, it felt so happy and calm. 

"I love just listening to them talk to each other, there is so much love between them! Unlike mother and father... Well nevermind that! It's not important, it doesn't matter"  Though Marcy.

"G-guys? I have something very important to tell you" mumbled Danny.

"Sure, spit it out" Sasha said casually.

Danny had just turned 12 years old, and was now fidgeting with his t-shirt. He kept his gaze focused on his 'paws', so Marcy couldn't see his expression. Over the past few months, Danny had been growing out his hair, it was much longer down, which only made more leaves and twigs get stuck in it.

"So um... lately I have been, um... feeling more like..." he trailed off. Then, taking a deep breath, he quickly blurted out "I feel like a girl!"

There was a moment of silence between the three. Danny's hands shook in fear.

"So... you use she/her pronouns now?" asked Sasha.

Danny nodded.

"Sure" shrugged Sasha.

Danny looked up at her in surprise.

"Y-you mean... you're ok with it!" asked Danny.

"Yeah!" answered Marcy.

She didn't really care what gender her besties were, they were her besties after all.

"O-oh, well then... could you call me Anne?" whispered Anne.

"Sure, Anne!" replied Sasha.

"You need a new nickname then! Hm... how about Anna-banana!" suggested Marcy.

Anne was beaming at them, she looked so happy. Then she pulled them into a group hug and tears fell down her cheeks. Marcy and Sasha hugged her back and laughed. Then Sasha gasped and pulled away from the group hug, which made Marcy a little sad. Sasha grabbed Anne by the shoulders and grinned at her.

"Anne! We have to change your whole wardrobe!" Sasha was grinning so hard, Marcy was sure her cheeks were hurting.

"Your right! I do need to change my wardrobe!" agreed Anne.

The three of them made it to the nearest clothes store and went right into the women's section. Anne walked around, looking at different skirts and dresses. She grabbed a few and went to the changing rooms. Marcy and Sasha sat down at the bench, waiting for Anne to return. At last, Anne opened the curtain and stepped out. She was wearing a light blue dress, it was simple and went just below her knees. Marcy's heart skipped a beat, she felt a blush appearing on her face. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from blurting out how beautiful Anne was.

"H-how do I look?" Anne asked nervously.

"G-great! Amazing!" Blurted out Marcy.

Marcy caught a blush on Anne's cheeks before she disappeared behind the curtain, to try on a different dress. Marcy shook her head, there was no way Anne was blushing, right? She must have imagined it, or maybe it was the lighting. Marcy glanced at Sasha, noticing how she hadn't said a thing since Anne changed into the dress. Sasha was looking slightly away from Marcy, but Marcy could still see the Sasha's pink cheeks. 

"I-is she blushing? Does she like Anne?"  Though Marcy, then she looked back at the curtain and smiled "Honestly, I'm not surprised, Anne is very beautiful. They wouldn't make a great couple. Though I didn't know that Sasha liked girls"

"She looked really nice it that dress, right?" asked Marcy.

She glanced at Sasha, who looked even more flustered. 

"Y-yeah! She looked great!" Sasha blurted out.

Sasha muttered something else, but Marcy didn't quite catch it.

"What? I didn't hear you"

"N-nothing" muttered Sasha.

In the end, they ended up buying the blue dress, and two skirts, a pink one and an orange one. Anne told them that she would be going shopping with her parents another time to get more clothes.

"Guys?" Anne whispered.

"Yeah?" asked Sasha and Marcy at the same time.

"Thanks" said Anne "Your acceptance, it... it means a lot to me"

Marcy pulled them into another group hug.

"No problem, Anna-banana!"

The three of them laughed and then each of them headed home.

"Well if it isn't Marcy Wu! The failure of the Wu family" laughed Darcy.

Marcy froze up, she was going to go meet her friends, but she had bumped into her sibling on the way to her room.

"Where are you going?" asked Darcy, her voice dangerously quiet.

"I-I'm going to my room. I'm working on these insta vines, they grow instantly as soon-" muttured Marcy.

"Blah blah blah" said Darcy.

They looked down at Marcy. Though they were siblings, they were also very different. Darcy was three years older, taller, stronger, and pretty much perfect. They knew how to rule over people, how to manipulate them. They were smart, though not as smart as Marcy, they were one of the best fliers, they never failed, never disappointed their parents, they weren't socially awkward, and had the respect or fear of all the people they met. The perfect child to take over once their parents retire. The only problem was how Darcy looked. They had unnaturally orange eyes, unlike most members of the Wu family, their feathers were black. Their spine was damaged when they were born, so they always walked around in a black wetsuit, that held them together, without it they wouldn't be able to stand or even sit.

"The only reason you are here is because you're smarter than me, and you look normal" hissed Darcy.

They grabbed Marcy by the throat, not enough to choke her, but enough to hurt.

"Remember that, you are nothing" Darcy's voice boomed on the last part.

They sounded as if multiple people were speaking at once, each voice overlapping with each other. It was scary, when ever their voice changed like that. Darcy let go of Marcy, pushing past her and walking away. Marcy coughed, grabbing at her throat, she quickly got up and ran to her room. She curled in her bed. She was sure Sasha and Anne would be annoyed that she didn't come. Afterall, she had promised them that she would come, but she didn't. Marcy tried getting out of bed, she had to come, she promised, but she couldn't get up. She felt so tired, tears fell down her cheeks, onto the bed.

"I-I'm sorry! I-" Marcy started, but was interrupted as a sob escaped her lips.

She cried herself to sleep, only waking up when Lady Olivia had knocked on her door, calling her to dinner.

"I... I don't feel so good, I think I'll go to bed early" she said weakly.

Lady Olivia let her be, and Marcy was very grateful. 

Chapter Text

Sasha covered her ears, she refused to cry, no matter how hard she wanted to. Her parents were arguing again. She wasn't sure what they were arguing about, but there was a lot of shouting and swearing. She heard something crash and shatter. Sasha stood up, she climbed out the window and jumped to the nearby tree branch, carefully she slide down the trunk and ran.

"Hey! Isn't that the brat!" she heard her dad shout.

"Ungrateful brat!" growled Sasha's mom.

Sasha ran as fast as her little legs could, but she knew she couldn't out run them. A 6 year old couldn't out run two adults, no matter how much she wanted to. Instead she dived into a nearby bush. What she didn't notice, was that there was a slope right behind it. She tumbled down the slope, and huddled there, hoping that her parents wouldn't find her.

"Where is she!" roared her dad.

"Why are you asking me!" shouted back her mom.

"I'm not asking you! Why are you even looking for her! You never cared about her, bitch!"

"As if you ever did! WE BOTH KNOW THIS IS YOUR FAULT"

"YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT BRAT IS A MISTAKE! YOU KNOW WHAT! I'M LEAVING"

Sasha heard his footsteps fade away as her dad left.

"ASSHOLE!" shouted her mom, then she turned back and muttered under her breath "Where is that brat? Useless shit! Whatever, she'll return anyway"

Sasha felt a single tear slide down her cheek, she rubbed her eyes, she wouldn't cry, she promised herself she wouldn't. If she did, she would only prove how weak she was. After another few minutes of sitting there, she got up and dusted of her skirt. She noticed blood on her knees and elbows. Sasha limped through the forest. The sun was setting when she finally made it to a tower. Around the tower she saw a group of Dwarfs. They were sitting around a campfire, roasting some meat. Sasha's stomach growled, and she noticed how hungry she was. Carefully she made it around the group without being noticed. She accidently stepped on a branch, letting out a loud crunch. All the Dwarfs fell silent, looking in her direction. She froze up, too scared to move.

"Whatcha doing here kid?" Asked one of the Dwarfs.

"She's bleeding! Get her some bandages" gasped another Dwarf.

"Come here, kid, we'll patch you up"

Sasha didn't move, instead she eyed them suspiciously, why were they acting so nice? What did they gain from this? Slowly, she limped closer to them, she didn't mean to do it, but she was just so tired and hungry. The Dwarfs cleaned her wounds and bandaged them up nicely. It hurt a lot, but Sasha didn't dare cry, she only flinched every now and then. Sasha was so tired, the rest of the night flew by in a blur. She only remembered the Dwarfs giving her some roasted meat. They covered her with a fluffy cape when she started shivering from the cold wind. Then one of them left and returned with another Dwarf. He looked important, respected and feared. The Dwarfs whispered together about something, but Sasha couldn't quite catch what they were talking about. Then the one of the Dwarfs took her by the hand, she was telling her something, but Sasha didn't hear anything.

They walked to the tower and got inside, then they made it up the stairs, to the top floor. The Dwarf opened on of the doors, inside was a small bed, desk, chair and rug. She led her in.

"You can stay here for the night, we'll figure something out tomorrow" whispered the Dwarf.

Then the Dwarf left. Sasha closed the door. She turned back and looked at the bed. Slowly she made it to it and flopped down on it, the bed creaked under her, it wasn't very soft and it smelled weird, but right now she was too tired to care. She fell asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

Sasha slowly opened her eyes. She looked around in confusing, not understanding how she got there. Then she remembered, how she ran from her parents, how the Dwarfs patched up her wounds, fed her, gave her a place to stay at. Sasha stood up slowly, she was still confused, why had they helped her? They didn't gain anything form, right? People only helped others if there was something in it for themselves, right? If there was one thing that she learned from her parents, it was that people were selfish, they always had their reasons to help. 

Sasha looked around the room. It wasn't that small. Inside was a desk and chair, a bed, a rug, and an unlit lantern. The walls, floor, and ceiling was made of stone. She glanced out the window. It had a view of the forest and the front of the tower. Just as she was about to leave the room, she noticed a trapdoor in the ceiling. Sasha walked up to it, she climbed onto the bed and tried to reach it, but she was too short. Just then she heard a knock on the door.

"Hello? Kid? You awake?" asked the same Dwarf that led Sasha to her room last night.

Sasha carefully opened the door and peeked through.

"Um... hello?" she murmured.

"Hi! I'm Braddock, what's your name?" asked Braddock

"I-I'm Sasha Waybright" whispered Sasha.

"Nice to meet you, Sasha! Come on, let's eat some breakfast and then we can meet Captain Grime" said Braddock.

Sasha followed Braddock down the stairs, into the big dining room. The ceilings were really high, and the room was already filled with all the other Dwarfs. Braddock sat down next to another Dwarf, she looked back at Sasha and patted the seat next to her. Sasha walked over and sat down, eating breakfast with them.

"Sasha, this is Percy, my boyfriend" said Braddock.

Percy waved at her, smiling softly at her. Sasha smiled back, and then went back to eating breakfast. She could feel the other Dwarfs staring at her, they were are whispering about her.

"Who is Captain Grime" asked Sasha.

"He is our captain" answered Percy.

"Oh? And who are you? Soldiers?" asked Sasha.

"We are warriors, we protect the villagers nearby" explained Braddock.

Sasha's eyes sparkled. They were warriors, protecting the weak! She only ever heard about them in stories. Percy must have noticed how Sasha's eyes sparkled, because he smiled and asked her:

"If you don't have anywhere else to go, would you like to stay here?" 

"Wait really! I would love to! Can I really do that?" asked Sasha.

"Well... we'll have to confirm with Captain Grime, but I think if you impress him, he'll let you stay" answered Braddock.

Sasha looked down at her hands, she had to impress Captain Grime. Just then the whole room fell silent, Sasha looked around in confusion. Then she saw him. The Dwarf she saw last night, he had an aura of importance. From the look of all the other Dwarfs, he was respected and feared. He had a scar on his right eye. His left eye seemed to glow a greenish-yellow. He was only a little taller than the other Dwarfs, but looked much stronger.

"That's Captain Grime" whispered Braddock.

Sasha stared at him as he made his way to her.

"So, child, what's your name? What are you doing here" Captain Grime asked.

"I'm Sasha Waybright. I ran away from home, and I want to join you" answered Sasha bravely.

Captain Grime raised an eyebrow, staring at her in surprise.

"You want to join us? Ha! You're a child!" Captain Grime howled with laughter.

The other Dwarfs joined in with his laughter. The only ones not laughing was Percy and Braddock, who looked at her apologetically. Sasha looked around, then she climbed onto the table, looking down at everyone. She kicked the wooden plate across the table, it crashed loudly on the floor, getting the attention of all the Dwarfs in the room.

"What? Are you too scared I'll turn out better than all of you and take over your place as Captain?" she challenged.

Captain Grime glared at her, and Sasha tried her best not to shy away from his glare.

"How about this. If you can beat one of my warriors, you get to join us, if not, you scram" suggested Captain Grime.

"Sure" agreed Sasha.

Percy and Braddock gasped. 

"Sasha! Don't do that! You could get hurt!" whispered Percy.

"Shall we shake on it, and make it official?" asked Captain Grime, he spit on his palm and waited for Sasha to shake it.

Sasha looked at his hand in disgust, before spitting on her and shaking it. Captain Grime looked surprised at that, but then he grinned.

"Well then, who wants to fight this kid!" he shouted.

All the Dwarfs raised their hands, shouting over each other, they all wanted to fight her.

"Quiet!" Shouted Sasha over the other voices.

The Dwarfs quieted down. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Captain Grime nod approvingly and smiled softly at her. 

"You, in the front, I'll fight you" she said, pointing at the woman with green hair, tied in a braid.

The woman was holding a spear, she smirked at all the other Dwarfs and then at Sasha.

"I'm Fens, the best warrior from around here!" Boasted Fens.

There was a murmur of protests, but Sasha ignored them all. Instead she looked and Captain Grime.

"So, where can I choose my weapon" Sasha asked casually.

Grime gestured Sasha to follow him, so she did. All the other Dwarfs also did that. When they made it to an open field, with all the Dwarfs surrounding the field, excited to see the fight, Grime showed her the weapons. There were swords, axes, daggers, hammers, spears, and many more. Sasha tried the swords, but they were two big for her, so she went for something smaller, two daggers. She held one in both hands, and looked over at Fens. Fens was holding a Kanabō, a bat with metal spikes on it. A single hit from that would knock Sasha out with sheer force, even without the spikes.

"Don't actually hurt each other too much. The one who steps out of the ring first, loses" explained Braddock.

"What? Afraid?" taunted her Fens.

"Pfft, and here I thought this fight will last long" laughed Sasha.

Fens growled at her, her fist tightening around the Kanabō. One of the Dwarfs hit the bell, and the fight began. Fens charged right at Sasha, ready to swing at her as soon as she made it close enough. Sasha rolled out of the way, then she blocked another attack from Fens using her daggers. Sasha knew she couldn't win with sheer force, Fens was much stronger, so she had to use her wit. She was smarter, faster, and more agile. Sasha jumped away, to the other side of the field, she needed space between them. 

"Running away? Coward!" taunted Fens.

"Come and get me if you can!" shouted Sasha.

Fens charged at her, time seemed to slow down. In that moment, she saw Fens smirk at her. Sasha gripped the daggers harder, and braced herself. Blood roared in her ears. As Fens got nearer, Sasha suddenly worried that maybe this wasn't a good plan, but it was too late. At the last second, she ducked and rolled, causing Fens to crash into the Dwarfs that were standing behind Sasha. The Dwarfs groaned in pain and annoyance at being tackled.

"Hey! Get off me!" shouted one of the Dwarfs.

Sasha saw Percy help Fens up, but Fens pushed him away.

"Get away from me! I can get up myself!" snapped Fens.

Percy stepped away, then he looked at Captain Grime.

"Does this mean Sasha won?" he asked.

Captain Grime looked at Sasha, then at Fens, his face was unreadable. For some reason it made Sasha nervous, because for whatever reason, she wanted his approval. Strange, she never wanted her mom's or dad's approval, but his, she wanted him to be proud of her. She wanted him to gave her a nod of approval, the kind that said that she did good, that she wasn't a mistake. Grime walked up to her, he looked down at her, grabbed her by the hand and raised it.

"And the winner is Sasha Waybright!" He roared.

The Dwarfs cheered. Sasha saw Fens scowl at her, but she didn't care. She won, she was now part of their group, she belonged.

"Sasha Waybright, I want you know, if you join us, you will become a warrior, a soldier. This isn't easy life, you won't have much free time, you'll have to train day and night. You will most likely get hurt, or even killed. As you can see, many of us have scars or a missing limb. Are you sure you want to join?" said Grime.

Sasha looked him dead in the eye, she couldn't help but grin.

"Yes. I'm sure" she said.

From that day on, Sasha became part of their group, a warrior. The Dwarfs became her family, especially Braddock, Percy, and surprisingly Grime. Grime seemed to have a soft spot for her, though she would never say it outloud.

Sasha followed Grime, Fens, and Mire into the town. She was bored, they did it every month or so, selling good and buying supplies, honestly, she didn't know why she was dragged into it. 4 years have passed since she joined the Dwarf army, almost 5, but Fens was still pretty cold to her. Sasha knew why, she had embarrassed her in front of the whole Dwarf army. Still, 4 years had passed, she could have gotten over it. Sasha hated being around Fens, and Mire wasn't any fun either. He was always silent, and he was weird, in fact, Sasha had never even seen his face. She glanced over at the playground nearby, she saw two kids on the swings, a Reptile and an Avian. She longed to go there, to play with them.

"Sasha?" called Grime.

"Yeah?" asked Sasha.

"You know, we'll be here for a while, so how about you go do something, since you aren't doing anything" suggested Grime.

Sasha looked at him in surprise, her eyes sparkled, she couldn't help but grin.

"Sure! Thanks!" she said and raced off.

"Be at the gates by 7pm!" shouted Grime.

Sasha waved at him to let him know that she heard him. As she made it closer to the playground, she slowed down, she wasn't sure how to approach the kids. Then she saw two Elves come from behind the kids on the swings, they pushed them off.

"Look at these losers! Pathetic" laughed the Elves.

Sasha's blood boiled, she made it closer to the wings. She saw the Avian help the Reptile up, the Reptile was crying.

"Crybaby" shouted the Elves as the kids started walking away.

Sasha jumped in front of the Elves that were now sitting on the swings. She glared at them and growled, showing her sharp teeth and claws.

"Get off" she commanded.

The Elves didn't move, looking at her in confusion.

"Get. Of. The. Swing" growled Sasha.

"Fine, whatever" muttered the Elves.

They got up and left, muttering something to each other and glaring at Sasha over their shoulders every now and then. Sasha turned around to face the Reptile and Avian. Reptile was a boy, he had short, fluffy, brown hair. There were twigs and leaves poking out of his hair, which Sasha found rather cute. He had light blue eyes, like the sky. His scales were different shades of blue, both dark and light. Sasha loved the way they shined in the sunlight. The Avian girl was standing behind him, almost like she was hiding. She had bright green eyes, they sparkled in the sun. Sasha's heart skipped a beat, but she ignored it. The Avian's hair was short and black, it looked so soft, Sasha caught herself wondering if she could ruffle it, but she pushed that thought away. The Avian was shorter than both Sasha and the Reptile, but Sasha was taller than both of them.

"Hey there! I'm Sasha Waybright, what's your name?" asked Sasha.

"I'm Danny Boonchuy!" said the Reptile, wiping away his tears, then he pointed at the Avian and added "And this is Marcy Wu!"

"Cool, want to play together?" suggested Sasha

"Sure!" Danny said excitedly.

Sasha suggested a game of tag, and then another game, and another. After that Marcy shared some buns with them. They finished eating and played some more. Before long it was 6pm. Danny needed to go back home, and Marcy left soon after.

"Bye! Let's meet up tomorrow!" called out Sasha.

Marcy waved her goodbye and then ran into the forest. Sasha tilted her head in confusion, where did she live? Why was she going to the forest? She didn't know, but it didn't matter too much. Sasha looked at the clock, she still had about one hour, but she wasn't sure what to do with it. She had a few coppers in her pocket, so she might as well use it. Sasha made it to one of the smaller stands, they were selling ice cream.

"One chocolate ice cream cone please" she said.

The ice cream man give her one chocolate ice cream cone. Sasha started walking to the gates of the town, where she would meet with Grime, Fens, and Mire. By the time she made it, she finished her ice cream. Sasha sat on the wall for a while, she was thinking of her two knew friends, Danny and Marcy. For some reason, her heart would fluter every time she thought about them. 

"Sasha! Stop sleeping and get on! We ain't stopping!" shouted Fens.

Sasha snapped out of her thoughts and saw the carriage that was moving towards her. On the carriage was Mire, driving, Fens and Grime were sitting in the back. As the carriage got nearer, Sasha stood up on the wall, jumping over and gracefully landing on it. She sat down on the edge, day dreaming about how she would meet Danny and Marcy tomorrow.

"Hey Grimesy, is there anything important tomorrow?" she asked.

"Hm... not really, just your training in the morning, and then you're free" answered Grime.

"Then I'll go out after training, if you need me I'll be in town" said Sasha.

She saw Grime raise an eyebrow, but he didn't ask, so she didn't mention it. As they made it to the tower, Sasha jumped off and bolted for her room. Once inside, she locked the door and looked around. She had gotten a new bed, it was bigger and didn't smell weird. She had a closet with a few shirts, skirts, and armor. Her desk was now covered in different papers, pens, and daggers. One of the walls was covered in different weapons. There were daggers, swords, spears, knifes, and many more. Her two favorite swords were a red heron sword and a silver heron sword, both of which were a present from Grime when she turned 10 years old. There was also a rock guitar hanging on the wall, since Sasha liked music, and was even writing some of her own. Sasha walked over to the rope ladder hanging next to her bed, it led to the trapdoor in the ceiling. She climbed up, pushing the trapdoor open.

"I need to oil these joints" muttered Sasha as the trapdoor creaks.

When she climbed through it, she was standing on top of the highest tower in the Dwarf tower. Only she had access to it, and she had placed a beach chair with an umbrella on it. Next to the beach chair was a small table, were she would place her drinks. Sasha flopped onto the chair, relaxing at last. She couldn't help thinking about those sky blue eyes, the way they sparkled in the sunlight, the way Danny's smile made her heart flutter, and her face flush red. She wasn't sure what theses feeling were, but she pushed them away.

Once Danny turned 12, he made them meet up one day, to tell them something important.

"G-guys? I have something very important to tell you" mumbled Danny.

"Sure, spit it out" Sasha said casually.

She looked up at Danny. Danny was fiddling with his t-shirt, staring at his feet. Sasha noticed how long his hair had gotten, he never allowed it to get that long before, it caused even more leaves and twigs to get stuck in it. Sasha thought that the longer hair suited him better.

"So um... lately I have been, um... feeling more like..." he trailed off. Then, taking a deep breath, he quickly blurted out "I feel like a girl!"

There was a moment of silence between the three. Danny's hands shook in fear.

"So... you use she/her pronouns now?" asked Sasha.

Danny nodded.

"Sure" shrugged Sasha.

Danny looked up at her in surprise.

"Y-you mean... you're ok with it!" asked Danny.

"Yeah!" answered Marcy.

Sasha didn't care much. The only thing in her head was that maybe, now that Danny was a girl, she wouldn't be crushing on them? 

"O-oh, well then... could you call me Anne?" whispered Anne.

"Sure, Anne!" replied Sasha.

"You need a new nickname then! Hm... how about Anna-banana!" suggested Marcy.

Anne was beaming at them, she looked so happy. Then she pulled them into a group hug and tears fell down her cheeks. Sash and Marcy hugged her back and laughed. Then Sasha gasped and pulled away from the group hug. She grabbed Anne by the shoulders and grinned at her.

"Anne! We have to change your whole wardrobe!" Sasha was grinning so hard, her cheeks hurt.

"Your right! I do need to change my wardrobe!" agreed Anne.

The three of them made it to the nearest clothes store and went right into the women's section. Anne walked around, looking at different skirts and dresses. She grabbed a few and went to the changing rooms. Sasha and Marcy sat down at the bench, waiting for Anne to return. At last, Anne opened the curtain and stepped out. She was wearing a light blue dress, it was simple and went just below her knees. Sasha felt her heart skip a beat, her face flushed red. Sasha looked away, she didn't want Marcy and Anne to see her blushing.

"Damn it Boonchuy, why do I still have a crush on you? You're a girl now" thought Sasha.

"H-how do I look?" Anne asked nervously.

"G-great! Amazing!" Blurted out Marcy.

Sasha wanted to say how beautiful she was, but a thousand thoughts flooded her brain.

"What if she caught on that I have a crush on her? Wait, but I'm straight? I think? Whatever, I'll figure that later. We are friends, if she figures out I like her, it'll destroy our friendship" worried Sasha.

Sasha was panicking, she bit her tongue, stopping herself from blurting out stupid shit. 

"She looked really nice it that dress, right?" asked Marcy.

Sasha turned a darker shade of pink. She cursed silently.

"Y-yeah! She looked great!" Sasha blurted out before she could stop herself.

Sasha glanced over at Marcy, Marcy was blushing as well. 

"Oh? Does she like Anne? I wouldn't be surprised she looks good" thought Sasha "Does Anne like Marcy? Honestly, who wouldn't, she is adorable"

Sasha froze up, why would she think that.

"You look good too" she muttered, instantly regretting it.

"What? I didn't hear you" said Marcy

"N-nothing" muttered Sasha.

Sasha relaxed a little, at least Marcy didn't hear her. She wanted to slap herself, why was she having such thoughts? Why was it when she looked at Marcy, her heart would flutter and she felt dizzy. Could it be? Does she like both Marcy and Anne? 

"But... I'm straight? Or maybe not, maybe I'm... bisexual? I... I like both women and man?" Sasha's face lit up, it was like all the puzzle pieces were put together. "I'm bisexual! Oh! That explains so much! I didn't want to be them! I wanted to be with them!"

In the end, they ended up buying the blue dress, and two skirts, a pink one and an orange one. Anne told them that she would be going shopping with her parents another time to get more clothes.

"Guys?" Anne whispered, as they left the shop.

"Yeah?" asked Sasha and Marcy at the same time.

"Thanks" said Anne "Your acceptance, it... it means a lot to me"

Marcy pulled them into another group hug. Sasha hoped they couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating.

"No problem, Anna-banana!"

The three of them laughed and then each of them headed home. As Sasha walked up to the Dwarf tower, she wondered if it was worth asking them out on a date. She shook her head. No way they felt the same. But if they did? But if they didn't then Sasha wouldn't have any friends left, she couldn't risk it, she had to keep them close, otherwise they would replace her.

Sasha finally turned 13 a few months after Anne came out as trans. She was excited. Grime had said that once she turned 13, he had something important to give her.

"Sasha Waybright!" he said, his voice booming across the hall.

They were standing in the dining hall, with all the other Dwarfs as well. The Dwarfs were sitting at the tables, Grime was in his throne, and Sasha stood in front of him. Everyone except Grime looked confused.

"Now that you have turned 13..." continued Grime "I have decided to make you my lieutenant!"

There was a second of silence, before the whole hall erupted with cheers, Sasha looked back in surprise, she saw Braddock and Percy waving at her. She grinned back at them. Grime stood up, and took a step towards her. Sasha looked down on him, over the years she had easily grown taller. 

"You have proven yourself to be a great leader! I am proud to call you Lieutenant Sasha" he said, smiling proudly at her.

Sasha was on the verge of tears, happy tears, but she wouldn't allow herself to cry.

"Thanks Grimesy" she whispered.

She was overflowing with pride that night, she made Grime proud. Someone was actually proud of her. She smirked.

"Look at that mom and dad, guess I'm not so useless anymore, hm?" she said "Guess I'm not pathetic huh?"

Sasha couldn't wait to tell Anne and Marcy about it.

The next morning, they met up on the playground, as usual. Sasha was going to tell them two knews. First, she turned 13 yesterday, making her officially a teenager. Second, she was now Lieutenant of the Dwarf army! How cool was that! There was no way they would replace her now!

For once, she had come early, usually she was the one who came late, while Marcy always came right on time, she hated being late. Anne usually came a little after Marcy, but today, neither of them were there. 

"Great, the day I have something important to tell them, both of them are late" grumbled Sasha.

"Sash! Wow! You're early" shouted Anne, running up to her.

"Hey Boonchuy. Where's Marbles, she hates being late" asked Sasha.

"No idea, I thought she was with you" replied Anne.

They waited for Marcy for 10 minutes, Sasha wanted to tell the news to them at the same time, but Marcy never came.

"Do you think something happened to her?" asked Anne, she looked worried.

Sasha couldn't help but feel worried as well. 

"I don't know, maybe we should check on her?" she said.

"Oh! You know where she lives?" asked Anne.

"No" deadpanned Sasha, and then added "I thought you did"

The girls sat in silence for a while, they had been friends with Marcy for a few years now, yet they didn't know where she lived.

"Then again, I don't entirely know where Anne lives either, all I know is that she lives in the ocean, and sometimes lives with the Plantars for a few days" thought Sasha.

"Oh well, if she isn't here, I might as well tell you"

"But Mar-mar..."

"Come on, she's fine!"

"Wait! But-"

"End. Of. Discussion" growled Sasha.

"Oh sure. Sure."

Sasha grinned, she was going to tell more important news.

"So... yesterday I turned 13! I'm officially a teenager!" 

"Oh my frog! That's great! Happy late birthday!"

"I know right! And Grimesy made me his Lieutenant!"

Anne's mouth fell open in shock.

"What? Can't wrap your head around it, Boonchuy?" teased Sasha.

Anne got up and hugged her. Sasha's heart skipped a beat, she gently wrapped her arms around Anne.

"Congrats!!!" shouted Anne.

Chapter Text

What was Danny doing? Why was he here? Where was he!  

"M-mom? Mom! Dad!" called out Danny.  

He was standing at the shore, lost. Earlier that day Danny had been playing outside, he swam too far from home and got swept up by a current. Danny wasn't sure where he was, after looking around, he tried to return, but he spotted sharks nearby. He swam up to the shore, hoping that the sharks would go away, but they didn't. In the end, he decided to find the way home above water, but he wasn't familiar with the place, he had hardly ever been above water.  

"Mom! Dad!" he called out again.  

Danny shivered. The sun was setting, it was getting colder, scarier. Danny could see perfectly well in the dark, the only thing that changed was that he couldn't tell apart similar colors. Still, it was eerie and unwelcoming. He glanced at the direction of the forest, unsure of what to do. On one hand, he could stay here and wait for the sharks to leave, on the other hand, he could go look for help, or find his way back. Just then, he heard a twig snap loudly. Danny twirled around towards the sound; he was trembling with fear.  

"H-hello? I-is anyone there? Show yourself!" shouted Danny.  

He saw someone's dark figure run between the trees. It was a small figure, smaller than Danny. The figure disappeared. After a second of thought Danny ran after it.  

"What am I doing? Why am I following them?"  worried Danny.  

Against better judgement, he kept running. The figure was fast. Danny wasn't very good at running, preferring to spend most of his time under water, still, he was able to just keep up with the figure. Danny was out of breath, his heart was beating in his ears, his legs screamed at him to stop, his lung hurt so badly, but he still ran. The forest thinned. Danny could make out the figure's features. They were shorter than him, their short orange hair poking out from under a beanie. They were wearing shorts and a dirty green, worn out jacket. The figure jumped over a fence and disappear into the village. Danny slowed down, he leaned against the fence, breathing heavily.  

"W-what is this" huff "place?" huff "a v-" huff "village..." said Danny between gasps for air.  

He was so tired. He looked at the small village, the houses were small and torn down. He could see the people living in the village walking around, none of them seemed to notice him. He noticed that almost all of them were Hobbits, with a few Elves every here and there. Once Danny got his breath back, he nervously climbed over the fence and looked around. Most of the people were heading home, but there were still a few out. Danny walked up to the closest one.  

"E-excuse me?" Danny begun, but the Hobbit didn't pay any attention to him.  

Danny felt tears prick at the edges of his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and walks on. Then he sees a run-down house, at least more run down than usually. It had stone walls with a wooden roof. It was two stories tall. There was a farm on the right and a sign with the letter "P" hanging by the door. Out of the top window was poking out a telescope. Danny saw a small orange haired figure pass by the window, for a second he wondered if it was the same figure from the forest. Danny gently knocked on the door, not sure if he wanted someone to answer or not.  

"Um... Hello! Anyone home!" he asked.  

The door creaks open, revealing an elderly Hobbit with grey hair. He was slightly taller than Danny. The elderly Hobbit raised an eyebrow.  

"Who are you?" he asked coldly.  

Danny shivered. He opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by loud footsteps, someone running to the door. From behind the elderly Hobbit poked out a young Hobbit boy. He was shorter than Danny, wearing a dirty green, worn out jacket, black shorts and a brownish green beanie with goggles. Danny noticed orange hair poking from under the beanie.  

"Is that... the boy I saw in the forest" wondered Danny.  

"Hop Pop! That's who I saw in the forest!" whisper-shouted the Hobbit boy.  

"Sprig, did you leave Polly all alone!" asked the so called 'Hop-Pop'.  

The Hobbit boy, Sprig, pouted at Hop Pop. Then looked back at Danny.  

"What are you doing here? Are you stalking me!" asked Sprig.  

"What! No! I-I'm lost... could I stay the night? It's cold and scary..." begged Danny.  

Hop Pop glared at him suspiciously, then he sighed and moved out of the way, gestured Danny to walk in. Danny was relieved; he walked into the house, much warmer inside. Sprig jumped around him, grinning at him excitedly.   

"Sprig, get our guest a blanket" told the kid Hop Pop, then he turned to Danny "here, sit on the couch"  

Danny sat down at the soft couch, he watched as Hop Pop disappeared upstairs, while Sprig opened a trapdoor in the floor and ran down the stairs leading into what seemed like the basement. Soon enough Sprig returned with a big blanket. He helped wrap it around Danny's shoulders. Danny marveled at how warm and soft it was. He sank deeper into the couch, he noticed how tired he was, he wanted to fall asleep right there and then.  

"Sprig? Sprig! Come on, let's get our guest a place to sleep" said Hop Pop.  

"Sure! Where's Polly?" asked Sprig.  

"Asleep" answered Hop Pop, "Would you like to take the couch or the bed downstairs?"  

It took Danny a second to figure out that the Hobbit was talking to him.   

"O-oh! Um... I don't really mind either place... so... um... a-anywhere it's more comfortable for you?" mumbled Danny.  

"Sure, how about the basement then" suggested Hop Pop.  

He led Danny downstairs, Sprig followed. The basement was small, with boxes and other junk lined up against a wall. There was a bed pressed against the other wall, with a small cabinet and worn-out rug. Danny sat down on the bed, it creaked slightly under his weight, but it was sturdy enough to not fall apart.  

"Well, what's your name kiddo?" asked Hop Pop.  

"I'm Danny" answered Danny.  

"Cool! I'm Sprig!" said Sprig, he pointed at Hop Pop, who was already climbing up the stairs "This is Hop Pop, I also have a small sister, her name is Polly!"  

Danny nodded sleepily.  

"I'm 6! Polly is one!" added Sprig.  

"I'm 8" answered Danny.  

He yawned and rubbed his eyes.  

"Oh! You're probably tired! Sorry, I'll let you rest" sheepishly said Sprig.  

He hopped up the stairs and closed the trapdoor. Danny blew out the candle and crawled under the blanket, he stared into the room, then he closed his eyes, noticing how tired he was. Danny expected to fall asleep instantly, but he couldn't, not for a long time. It was too quiet, too loud, too dry and too humid. He tossed and turned, but couldn't get comfortable. He was used to hearing fish swim by, and seaweed sway in the current. Above water there was none of that, instead he could hear the leaves rustle in the wind, the branches with the windows and walls. Sometimes he heard footsteps from above, or something would crack or snap far away. Danny felt tears roll down his cheeks, before he knew it, he was sobbing into the pillow.  

"M-mom. D-dad. I-" hic "I'm s-so sorry!" hic "I didn't me-" hic "-an to get lost" he sobbed quietly.  

Danny cried himself dry. After what seemed like hours, or maybe it was only a few minutes, he was asleep.  

Danny rolled over sleepily. He heard loud stomping from upstairs. Something was knocked over and made a loud crash. It took Danny a minute to figure out where he was.  

"What? Where am I? This isn't home... oh! Right..." Danny remembered the day before.  

He pulled the blanket over his head and shut his eyes tightly. He breathed in deeply and then breathed out. It was going to be fine, right? He threw the blanket off and got up. The trapdoor suddenly flew open, revealing Sprig standing at the top of the stairs, smiling brightly at Danny.  

"Hey Danny! Sleep well?" asked Sprig.  

Next to Spig appeared Hop Pop, he was carrying a small Hobbit girl.  

"Careful boy! It could be hungry!" he told Sprig.  

The Hobbit girl glared at Danny, her brows furrowed, a frown on her chubby face. She was wearing baby blue overalls and a yellow polka dot bow. She too had orange hair. Danny guessed that she was Polly.  

"Well... I am kind of hungry" confessed Danny, his stomach growled.  

Hop Pop looked at him suspiciously and then grumbled something under his breath.   

"Breakfast will be done in a little" he told them.  

Hop Pop climbed the stairs, taking Polly with him. Polly glared at Danny with pure anger. Danny couldn't look her in the eyes, he was too scared. Why would the little Hobbit girl be staring at him like that? Did she already hate him? Was his first impression that bad? Once they were both out of sight, Danny turned to Sprig.  

"I think the little one hates me" he said.  

"Yep" Sprig agreed, popping the 'p', "that's Polly"  

Sprig grinned at Danny.  

"So! You must be so excited to be lost! You're so far away from home! Very jealous." Sprig told Danny, leaning in closer.  

Danny looked at him confused. Who would want to be lost? Far away from home, in an unknown place...  

"W-well... it's not all good..." pointed out Danny, "I miss mom and dad, and my stuff... I want to go back home... I'm... scared"  

Danny was once again on the verge of tears, but before he could cry, Sprig pulled him up, off the bed.  

"Well... how about we do something to distract you from that! You're a Reptile right! You must like water!" said Sprig.  

Danny nodded.  

"Great! We have a lake!" informed him Sprig.  

Danny instantly felt better. He loved swimming, being in water was great! A lake would surely make him feel better!  

"Yeah! To the lake!" he shouted.  

Both raced upstairs, almost at the door, but suddenly Hop Pop appeared in front of them, blocking the exit.  

"Where do you think you two are going?" he asked.  

"We're going to the lake!" answered Sprig.  

"Absolutely not!" said Hop Pop. He stepped closer to Danny and explained "Look Danny, we don't have visitors often, most of the time it's just us here. Sure, we have heard of Reptiles, but hardly anyone of us has seen one! You're a new, unsettling, strange, bizarre, horrifying-"  

"Thanks, I got it" interrupted Danny.  

"Point is" continued Hop Pop, "the Hobbits in this village can be pretty small minded... and paranoid..."  

Hop Pop twirled around and gave Danny a fake smile.  

"We just need to give them time to get used to you! I think it's best you stay put! So, no going to the lake!" with that Hop Pop locked the door and placed the key in his pocket.  

"What! B-but-" started Danny.  

"No buts!" interrupted Hop Pop "I'll be in the kitchen, don't do anything stupid!"  

Danny deflated; he was so excited to go to the lake. Sprig must have noticed how miserable Danny looked, because he grabbed him by the arm and led him to a window. Sprig opened the window and grinned at Danny. Danny's face instantly lit up; they were going to the lake! Then he frowned. Hop Pop had told them to stay inside, and not do anything stupid. That was doing the opposite of what he said! But the urge to go to the late overpowered the urge to listen to adults, so Danny slipped out the window after Sprig and followed him to the lake. They slipped by unnoticed by the other Hobbits. Pretty soon they were at a beautiful lake. The water was clear and the sun was bright. Danny ran the rest of the way to the lake, diving right into it.  

"Hey! Wait for me!" called out Sprig.  

Sprig took off his jacket, but kept his beanie and goggles on. He placed his goggles on his eyes and jumped into the water as well. Danny swam around underwater. He could breathe and see perfectly underwater. His webbed hands and feet helped him swim, his tail was also very helpful. He resurfaced to talk to Sprig, beaming at him happily.   

"Sprig! This is awesome! Like... the best!" he said excitedly.  

"Yay! So, are we like... friends now?" asked Sprig nervously.  

"Sure!"  

"Great!"  

For a while they just swam around. Then, they both decided to get back to the house, they wouldn't want Hop Pop to notice that they were missing. Plus, Danny was hungry, he could have easily caught a fish and eaten in raw, but he decided to see what Hop Pop had for breakfast. They slipped back inside through the window. Sprig pulled Danny into the bathroom. They dried off and Sprig marveled at Danny's waterproof clothes.  

"It doesn't soak in water, so it doesn't drag me down when I swim" explained Danny.  

"That's so cool!" said Sprig.  

"Kids! Kids! It's time to eat! You better be home!" shouted Hop Pop from downstairs.  

Danny and Sprig raced downstairs and beamed at Hop Pop proudly.  

"Oh! You're actually home!" he said surprised.  

"Yeah! And we are starving!" said Sprig.  

They sat down at the table. Polly glared at Danny, disappointment in her eyes. Danny gulped and turned away. Hop Pop passed out the plates, they were filled with bugs and something white. Danny picked at his food, he tried a little, decided that sea food was better and then waited for Sprig to finish his food. Once they both finished, they ran into Sprig's room. Sprig's room was medium sized. He had a hammock next to the right wall. A large window on the farther wall, in front of it was a wooden desk and chair. He had a closet next to the door and a shelf nest to the hammock. A bunch of different plants were hanging from the ceiling. Sprig also had a small green, circular rug. There was a high shelf with action figures on them, and toys scattered around the room.  

"Woah! This is your room!" asked Danny.  

"Yep! Isn't it great?" said Sprig.  

Danny grinned at Sprig.  

"I got a bunch of toys we can play with!" said Sprig.  

They ended up playing for the rest of the day, only taking breaks to eat. Hop Pop had knocked on the door at around 9pm. He found both Sprig and Danny asleep on the carpet, toys still in their hands. Hop Pop sighed, he knew he couldn't carry either of them to bed, he was old and had back pain. Instead, he grabbed the pillows, slipped them under their heads and covered the with a blanket.  

"Goodnight" he whispered and left the room, quietly shutting the door.  

It has been a week since Danny got lost. Hop Pop was doing everything he could to get Danny home, but so far, no luck. Over the week, the Hobbit's had slowly started to warm up to Danny. He met Sprig's best friend, Ivy Sundew, and the weird Hobbit girl Maddie Flour. Sprig told Danny that Maddie made potions and curses, so it was better to not make her mad. Danny quickly learned that Ivy loved ambushes, and would ambush one or both of them whenever she got the chance.  

It has been three weeks since Danny got lost. Turned out, Maddie wasn't someone who would curse you randomly, she was actually really sweet.  

"You can't just judge people by how they look!" she had told Sprig, when he thought she was the one that cursed them.  

Both Danny and Sprig were rather ashamed of themselves for assuming.  

It has been a month since Danny got lost. He began to worry if he would never be found. Sure, he loved the Plantar family. Polly and Sprig were like his siblings, Hop Pop was like a grandpa to him, but he missed his parents, more than anything. The past few days had been worse and worse. Danny would spend the whole day worrying, nothing would cheer him up, until one day, Hop Pop suddenly announced that they were going to the beach.  

"What? Why?" asked Danny, not because he didn't want to, but because he was confused.  

"Because we are getting you home!" explained Hop Pop.  

"What! How! I can't find my way even in the ocean, I've never been at this side of the ocean" argued Danny.  

"Come on! Hurry up!" said Sprig, he pulled him up and rushed him out the door.  

Hop Pop came out seconds later, carrying Polly. Polly smiled at Danny. Over the month she had grown to like him. Hop Pop led the way to the beach, when they made it there, Danny saw two tall, familiar figures standing next to the water nervously. They had their backs to him, talking about something nervously. Danny would recognize those figures anywhere. It was Oum and Bee.  

"Mom! Dad!" he shouted as he ran up to them.  

The Reptiles turned around, tears in their eyes. They pulled Danny into a tight hug, whispering about how worried they were. When Danny pulled away, he looked back at the Plantar family.  

"Mom, dad! Meet the Plantar family! Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly" he said, gesturing at each one.  

Oum and Bee thanked the Plantar family and they were about to all go home, when Sprig ran up to Danny and hugged him, crying.   

"Will we ever see each other again?" he asked, sobbing.  

Danny looked back at his parents, they looked at Hop Pop, Hop Pop looked at Sprig, Danny, Oum and then Bee.  

"I don't see why you can't all visit" he said at last.  

Danny hugged Sprig tighter.  

"I promise I'll visit soon!" he said.  

They said their goodbyes and the Boonchuy family swam off.  

It was two months after Danny got reunited with his parents. He had already visited the Plantar family twice. Right now they were in town, his parents had some kind of super boring business, so they let him play on the playground, as long as he promised not to leave.

"Don't follow any stranges" said Oum.

"Even if they say that they know us!" added Bee.

"Right, and stay on the playground, don't wander off" 

"We will be back as soon as we finish"

Danny nodded, he knew they were worried, but he still kind of wished they would trust him.

"We love you" said Bee.

They hugged him, said goodbye and finally left. Danny looked around, there weren't any kids on the playground, which was sad. Danny sat on the swings, he pushed of and gently swayed. He sat there for a while, wondering what in the world he should do, suddenly he saw a small Avian girl approaching the playground. Their eyes met and Danny smiled. The Avian girl was shorter than him by a little bit. She had small light brown wings. Her hair was short, fluffy and black. She had a green hair clip keeping it out of her hair. She had bright green eyes and white glasses. She was wearing a green jacket and brown shorts. She also had dark brown boots. Danny couldn't help but wag his tail in happiness, he was so excited! Someone to play with!

"Hi!" he yelled as he ran up the Avian girl.

He saw the Avian girl freeze up a little, she looked at him nervously.

"My name is Danny Boonchuy! What's yours?" asked Danny, he stuck out his webbed hand.

The Avian shook it.

"O-oh, umm... I'm Marcy Wu" answered the Avian girl shyly.

"Nice to meet you!" smiled Danny. "I'm waiting for mom and dad! Want to play together?"

"S-sure!" Marcy smiled.

They spend the rest of the afternoon playing. Danny noticed that she never once flown up to catch him, or to get easier access to the playground roofs, where Danny liked to climb up to so she wouldn't reach him. Danny felt relieved, he had worried that she would fly up, making the game unfair, but it seemed that Marcy wasn't going to. He liked that about Marcy, the way she would run around, just like him, though she was much clumsier.

"Danny! I have to go home" shouted Marcy and 7:30pm

"Ok! Let's play more tomorrow!" Danny replied, waving at her.

"Sure!" Marcy said and raced away.

Marcy ran off to the forest, while Danny waited for his parents. They came soon enough, and the three of them went to buy ice cream. They sat on the bench, Danny eagerly licking his ice cream.

"Sorry we took so long" apologized Bee.

"It's ok! I had fun!" answered Danny.

"Really? Did you make a friend?" asked Oum.

"Yeah! An Avian girl! Her name is Marcy!"

They went home soon after, back into the ocean. Danny couldn't wait to return the next day, maybe he would even introduce Sprig to Marcy.

When Danny turned 10 years old, his parents had agreed to let him go into town and play with his friends, as long as he came home by 6pm. He ran all the way to the playground, he came earlier than they had agreed on, but it was ok, at least he could save a swing for Marcy.

He sat there for a few minutes, before he saw Marcy running over.

"Hi!" she said.

"Hey! I saved you a swing!" replied Danny.

Marcy sat down and pushed off, for a while, they swung in peaceful silence. As Danny went up, he wondered if this is how it felt to fly, he would have to ask Marcy some other time. As the swing went back down, something hard slammed into his back. He was pushed off the swing, falling hard on his chest. Pain shot through his chest, the air knocked out of his lungs. For a second he struggled to breathe. His eyes filled with tears.

"Look at these losers! Pathetic" someone laughed from behind.

Danny sat up, Marcy was already standing, helping him off the ground. He looked back and saw two Elf girls, both older and bigger than them, now sitting on the swings. Tears were now falling down his cheeks.

"Crybaby!" taunted the Elves.

Marcy pulled Danny by the hand, they both turned and started walking off. Danny rubbed his eyes, trying to stop the tears, he wasn't a 'crybaby', right? As they were walking away, Danny heard someone yelp from behind, he turned around and saw the Elves, sitting on the swing, in front of them was a Canine girl.

"Get. Of. The. Swing" growled the Canine girl.

The Elves got off instantly, they walked away, glaring at the Canine every now and then over their shoulders. Danny stared at the Canine girl in shock, respect, and awe. The Canine girl had long blonde hair, tied in a ponytail. She was wearing a pinkish jacket. Danny noticed how her tail and ears twitched. She was taller than Danny. The Canine turned around.

"Hey there! I'm Sasha Waybright, what's your name?" asked the Canine.

Sasha had pink eyes, they were very beautiful. She had light skin. She also had a small pinkish red bat hair clip. Danny wondered if she was a model, since she seemed to glow in the lighting.

"I'm Danny Boonchuy!" said Danny.

He wiped away his tears. He noticed how Marcy was standing kind of behind him, almost like she was hiding.

"And this is Marcy Wu!" he said, pointing at Marcy.

"Cool, want to play together?" suggested Sasha

"Sure!" Danny said excitedly.

They played for a while. Sasha suggested a bunch of games, everytime she would get bored of one game, she would suggest another one. Marcy seemed kind of relieved that she wasn't choosing the games, but Danny kind of wanted to play on of his favorites. He decided to since they just met Sasha, and she helped them fend of bullies, he might as well let her choose. Soon enough they got tired and sat down on the bench. Marcy pulled out delicious duns from her backpack and shared them. They quickly devoured them and continued playing. They were playing another game when suddenly Danny noticed the time, it was 6pm.

"I gotta go! My parent's will be waiting for me!" shouted Danny.

He waved them goodbye and rushed home. He made it out of the town and then to the beach. He dived into the water, quickly swimming home, he was excited to tell his parents about Sasha!

"Mom! Dad!" he shouted when he made it home.

"What is it?" asked Oum, Bee wasn't home yet.

"I made a new friend! Her name is Sasha! She is a Canine!" 

"That's great! Did you have fun? Are you hungry?"

"I had lots of fun! And yeah, I'm hungry" 

"Dinner will be done in 10 minutes"

"Great!"

Danny rushed into his room. He had a bed in one corner, a desk and closet on the other side of the room. He had shelves with things on them and a small fluffy rug. Danny swam over to the bed, he laid down on it and grinned at the ceiling, tomorrow they would be going over to the Plantar family. Their families had grown very close over the years. He couldn't wait to tell Sprig about Sasha, and see Polly again, she was growing up so fast!

"Mom? Dad? I... I want to tell you something" said Danny.

He was worried, very worried. He was almost 12 years old, would be in a few days. He looked at his parents, who were sitting on the couch.

"What is it?" gently asked Bee.

"Well... um... you'll always love me, right" asked Danny.

"Of course!" They both answered at the same time.

"Well... I- I..." Danny begun.

His heart was pounding in his ears, he was fidgeting with the edge of his shirt. He bit his lower lip and inhaled sharply, before quickly blurting out:

"I feel like a girl!"

There was a moment of silence. Danny felt tears in her eyes, they wouldn't accept her, would they. Suddenly they pulled her into a hug. Danny yelped in surprise. She melted into their embrace, crying.

"We will love you either way, if you are our son or our daughter, or even our child" reassured her Oum.

"Thank you... thanks you..." Danny whispered.

"You know... I always wanted a daughter" joked Oum.

Danny laughed. They stood there for a while, just hugging each other. Then suddenly Bee gasped.

"We should come up with a different name for you!" he said.

Danny smiled, she hadn't really thought of anything, but she knew she wanted something similar to 'Danny'.

"What would you like, dear?" asked Bee.

"Something like Danny, but female?" said Danny.

"Right... give us a moment, we need to come up with a good name for our daughter" said Oum.

Danny would never be tired of getting called a 'daughter', it was just one of those things that felt so correct. She had always felt wrong about being a boy, but she thought that it was a phase. She remembered countless of times when she saw her reflection and hated the way she looked. Danny had even started growing out her hair, it made her feel better, but it still wasn't perfect. Everytime someone would use he/him pronouns for her, or mention her as male, it would hurt her. Everytime Sprig and Polly called her their 'brother' or how she was her parents 'son', it would make her want to throw up. Being called a daughter, that felt so right.

"How about Anne?" asked Bee.

'Anne'. It sounded kind of like 'Danny' but different. It was perfect.

"Yes!" squealed Anne.

Anne looked at her parents, they were smiling softly at her. Her mom gently ruffled her hair.

"Is this why you haven't asked for a haircut yet?" asked Bee.

Anne nodded. Then she gulped nervously.

"D-do you think the Plantar family will be ok with this?" she asked, gesturing to herself.

"Of course" reassured her Oum.

The next day, Anne was up early. She couldn't sleep very well, afraid of Sprig's, Polly's and Hop Pop's reaction.

"You ready?" asked Oum while they were eating breakfast.

Anne nodded. They swam over to the Hobbit village, where they were welcomed by Sprig. He was already 10 years old, eagerly waiting for them. He led them to the Plantar house. Once they were all inside, happily chatting, Anne wondered if she should really tell them, she didn't have to say it today, right? She could wait until next time.

"Danny! Come on!" called out Sprig.

Anne's heart sank. She felt sick and hurt. She glanced at her parents, they looked worried. Oum opened her mouth but Anne shook her head hard, she could do it herself... hopefully. She followed Sprig to the basement, which they kept as her room whenever she stayed over.

"See Polly! Told you he would come!" said Sprig.

He sat down next to Polly. Polly was five years old, she smiled at Anne and urged her to sit down next to her.

"Danny! Play with us!" she said.

Anne flinched, she wouldn't be able to survive the whole day if they kept misgendering her.

"Um... actually... it's Anne now" she said as casually as she could.

"Anne? But isn't that a girl name?" asked Sprig.

Anne's heart sank, maybe they didn't know about trans, maybe they wouldn't want to her anymore, maybe she wasn't going to be welcome anymore.

"Y-yeah... I um... I-" began Anne, her voice quivering.

"Oh! Are you trans?" asked Sprig.

Anne's eyes widened. They did know?

"Y-yes" she answered quietly.

"So... you're a girl now?" asked Sprig.

Anne nodded.

"Congrats Polly, you got a sister!" Sprig said.

Polly's eyes widened. She squealed and threw herself at Anne.

"Sister! Sister! Sister!" Polly shouted, arms wrapped around Anne's neck.

Anne sat their in absolute shock, then she got overwhelmed with emotions and broke down crying.

"Anne! Hey, hey! Don't cry... did we do something wrong?" asked Sprig.

"N-no! I-I'm just so happy!" Anne answered in between hiccups.

Sprig and Polly hugged her tighter, holding her as she cried. Suddenly the trapdoor opened. The three kids turned around sharply to see Hop Pop, Oum, and Bee standing at the top of the stairs. The adults looked shocked to see Anne crying they all rushed down to her.

"Danny! Whats wrong?" asked Hop Pop.

Anne felt like someone punched her. She knew he didn't do it on purpose, he didn't know, but it still stung.

"Actually! It's Anne now! She's a girl!" said Polly.

"Oh? You are a girl now?" asked Hop Pop.

Anne nodded. Hop Pop pulled her into a bone shattering hug.

"Sorry for misgendering you, I didn't mean to" he apologized.

Anne's parents and the Plantar family all joined in one big group hug, smothering Anne, who was right in the middle. Anne relaxed, she finally got what she wanted. The rest of the day went by in a blur. The news spread quickly, and soon enough all the Hobbit's in the village were addressing her by her new name and she/her pronouns. Maddie congratulated her on finally coming out, which caught Anne by surprise.

"W-what do you mean finally?" asked Anne.

She herself had only figured it out a few weeks ago, that wasn't that long.

"I've been waiting for like three years now" Maddie answered casually.

Anne's jaw dropped, had she made it that obvious while not even knowing herself? Or maybe Maddie could see the future, that didn't seem so far fetched, especially since it was Maddie. Ivy had ambushed her and said that she didn't have a girl friends yet, so Anne was the first. It warmed Anne's heart to know that everyone she cared about was so supportive. She begged her parents to let her stay at the Plantar house for a few days, and once both Sprig and Polly joined in, her parent's couldn't say now anymore.

"Fine, but only two days, we'll be here around lunch on the second day" told her Bee.

"Thanks!" shouted Anne as she ran off after Sprig and Ivy.

It has been a week since Anne came out as a girl, but she hasn't told her friends yet. She was nervous, once again. She had made them all meet together and was hoping to tell them as soon as they met. Now Anne was standing in front of them, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. Marcy was looking at her curriosly, while Sasha was distracted.

"G-guys? I have something very important to tell you" mumbled Anne.

"Sure, spit it out" Sasha said casually.

Anne breathed out nervously. She tried to stop her hands from shaking, but failed. 

"So um... lately I have been, um... feeling more like..." she trailed off. Then, taking a deep breath, she quickly blurted out "I feel like a girl!"

None of them spoke, they all stood there silently. Anne gulped and felt tears prick at the edges of her eyes, maybe they weren't going to accept her after all.

"So... you use she/her pronouns now?" asked Sasha.

Anne nodded, hope sparked inside of her.

"Sure" shrugged Sasha.

Anne looked up at her in surprise. No questions, no confused faces, no disgust, they looked completely ok with it. Like it didn't even matter what kind of pronounce Anne used, and maybe it didn't, cause they were best friends, and they cared about each other.

"Y-you mean... you're ok with it!" asked Anne

"Yeah!" answered Marcy.

Anne smiled. She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, they were besties, of course they would accept her.

"O-oh, well then... could you call me Anne?" whispered Anne.

"Sure, Anne!" replied Sasha.

"You need a new nickname then! Hm... how about Anna-banana!" suggested Marcy.

Anne beamed at them. Sasha instantly said her name, Marcy was already coming up with nicknames to suit her better. It was so great to feel accepted. She pulled them into a hug, crying happy tears. Then suddenly she heard Sasha gasp and pull away, Marcy looked a little sad by the movement.

"Anne! We have to change your whole wardrobe!" Sasha was grinning so hard as she said it.

"Your right! I do need to change my wardrobe!" agreed Anne.

The three of them made it to the nearest clothes store and went right into the women's section. Anne walked around a bit awkwardly. She had looked over at this section tons of times, but never had the courage to actually walk into it. She looked at the clothes. She wanted to grab all of it, but she knew she couldn't do that. Then something caught her eye, a simple, light blue dress. She absolutely loved the color, she grabbed it and a few other clothe pieces and made it to the changing room. Marcy and Sasha sat on the bench just outside, waiting for her. Anne started changing, trying hard to not look in the giant mirror, she still didn't like looking at her reflection. Once she was ready she accidentally glanced at the mirror, she winced, she didn't like her body a lot, but with the dress, it felt much better looking at herself. At last, Anne opened the curtain and stepped out.

"H-how do I look?" Anne asked nervously.

"G-great! Amazing!" Blurted out Marcy.

Anne blushed, she quickly went back in and closed the curtain, trying to slow down her heart, which was beating at 1,000 miles per hour. She was pretty sure she saw Marcy blushing as well, but maybe it was her imagination. She tried on another dress to keep her head from thinking about Marcy and Sasha.

"Guys?" Anne whispered.

They ended up buying the light blue dress and two skirts.

"Yeah?" asked Sasha and Marcy at the same time.

"Thanks" said Anne "Your acceptance, it... it means a lot to me"

Marcy pulled them into another group hug. Anne melted into the embrace, she felt her cheeks heat up, she was pretty sure they would notice, but she didn't care at the moment.

"No problem, Anna-banana!" said Marcy.

The three of them laughed and then headed home.

Anne was running a little late, as usual. Sasha had wanted them to meet up after her 13th birthday, she had something very important to tell them. Anne was going to come early, but ended up a little late. It's not like it mattered, Sasha always came later, while Marcy would always be right on time. When Anne made it to the playground, she saw Sasha.

"Sash! Wow! You're early" shouted Anne, running up to her.

"Hey Boonchuy. Where's Marbles, she hates being late" asked Sasha.

"No idea, I thought she was with you" replied Anne.

They waited for Marcy for 10 minutes, but she never came, Anne was getting nervous.

"Do you think something happened to her?" asked Anne.

"I don't know, maybe we should check on her?" Sasha said.

"Oh! You know where she lives?" asked Anne. She didn't know where Marcy lived, actually, she didn't know where either of them lived! 

"I guess it never really came up in our conversations" thought Anne.

"No" deadpanned Sasha, and then added "I thought you did"

For a few seconds they were both silent.

"Oh well, if she isn't here, I might as well tell you" said Sasha.

"But Mar-mar..."

"Come on, she's fine!"

"Wait! But-"

"End. Of. Discussion" growled Sasha.

"Oh sure. Sure." said Anne, her voice quiet.

Anne couldn't help but worry about Marcy.

"So... yesterday I turned 13! I'm officially a teenager!" announced Sasha

"Oh my frog! That's great! Happy late birthday!" Anne said, although she already knew that

"I know right! And Grimesy made me his Lieutenant!"

Anne's mouth fell open in shock, she new that Sasha was part of the Dwarf Army, but she wasn't expecting Sasha to become a lieutenant.

"What? Can't wrap your head around it, Boonchuy?" teased Sasha.

Anne got up and hugged her.

"Congrats!!!" shouted Anne.

Anne was happy for Sasha, she really was, but she couldn't stop being worried about Marcy, why hadn't she come? Where was she? Was she ok? Anne pushed those thoughts to the back of her brain and instead focused on being happy for Sasha.

Chapter Text

Marcy:  

"What?" squeaked Marcy. 

"Dumb child, stop repeating yourself" groaned the Queen. 

Marcy started at her mother and father. She hated being in the throne room. The flatform and the thrones made her parents look so much bigger and smaller. The tall ceiling and the unnecessary large things made her feel small and unimportant, not that she was important, she wasn't, she wasn't important, she was... Marcy shook her head, now wasn't the time for this. Instead, she looked up at her parents and summoned all the courage she had. 

"Y-you can't! You'll destroy everything! Everyone! Countless of people will die! And the land, the animals, the vegetation! It'll be gone! Please, you have to stop!" pleaded Marcy. 

She saw the look that her parents shared, she wasn't sure what it was. Annoyance? Anger? Frustration? All of the above?  

"Who cares about all that, what matters is that Avians will rule the world! We are the superior species!" said the King. 

"At least most of us" mumbled Darcy, just loud enough for Marcy to hear. 

"B-but we've lived in harmony with the Humans, Reptiles, and Canines! We have traded with them! They are our allies, they are important for our kingdom!" pointed out Marcy, she had to persuade her parents to not take over the world. "L-like... the Reptiles! They are the only ones that can gather all the underwater resources! The underwater plants are a big part of our medicine! We need them!" 

"Exactly, we have thought this through already, they'll just work for us" replied her father. 

"And in return for the resources, we'll spare their lives, we're not barbarians after all" added her mother. 

Marcy felt sick. She felt dizzy, like the room was spinning. 

"What is it, sis?" mocked Darcy. 

Marcy ran off to her room. She felt sick. She grabbed her journal. 

Jo... I... I don't even know what to say. 

My parents... they... they have been building robots and weapons to take over Amphibia. They plan to enslave all the other species. They want the Avian's to be the only ones with rights. 

I... I don't know what to do, they won't listen, I know it... I haven't even seen a quarter of Amphibia. There are so many places to visit, people to meet, research to be done. I've been wanting to write down everything I would find, I've been waiting for adventures, but... their going to destroy it, everything. All the cultures, the people. 

DO THEY NOT UNDERSTAND! ARE THEY STUPID! WHY WOULD THEY WANT SOMETHING LIKE THAT! 

I'm sorry for the tear stains, Jo.  

I just... I can't believe it. I... 

OH FROG! ANNE AND SASHA! THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THIS! I HAVE TO KEEP THEM SAFE! 

I-I d-don't know what to do! I must keep them safe. Actually, I haven't been able to see them in about a month, but life was busy! Everything was kind of hectic this month! How am I supposed to tell them??????? 

I can't just come up and say: "Hi! I know we haven't talked in forever, but my parents are going to destroy the world, so you got to come with me and live at the castle!" 

No no no no no no no. I can't save all of Amphibia, but I can save them! Maybe mother and father will let them stay? Hopefully? But... knowing them they'll refuse, they'll try to save everyone, especially Anne. She has such a big heart; she'll try to save everyone and END UP SAVING NO ONE! 

I... Jo... I'm going to bring them here and keep them safe. Anne, Sasha, Olivia, Yunan, they are the only ones that are truly important for me. 

Marcy heard someone knock on her door, she quickly stuffed her journal into the desk and opened the door, she was surprised to see Darcy. They stood there and smiled. 

"Hello sister, how are you?" asked Darcy. 

Marcy looked at them confused. 

"I... I'm ok?" she answered carefully. 

"Really? You looked quite distressed back there" pointed out Darcy. 

"Uh..." mumbled Marcy. 

She couldn't help but feel scared, why did Darcy suddenly care? Why were they acting all nice to her? 

"You know, I'm pretty sure mother and father will let you keep a few friends here, if you bring them and ask them real nicely" whispered Darcy. 

"What... how did you know!" asked Marcy, panicking. 

"I have my ways" they answered, then they added, "but don't tell your friends about it, keep it a surprise, they would like it much more as a surprise" 

Marcy wasn't going to tell them either way, to make sure they were safe first, but now it made even more sense. Before she could say anything, Darcy closed the door, leaving her standing there, in shock. Marcy grabbed her bag, she stuffed it with her journal, potions, pencils, water, and a few other essentials. Then she changed and put on some boots, she grabbed her cape and crossbow and climbed out the window. She quickly made it across the wall and ran to the town. She stopped. They would always plan where to hang out, but she hasn't really been in touch for a month, she had no idea where they were. She looked around all the usual places. The shops, the park, the playground, the favorite tree. Marcy couldn't find them. 

Anne:  

Anne sighed. Marcy wrote that she wasn't coming, again. She hadn't come to any of their hang outs in two weeks now. Marcy never disappears for so long, and without an explanation. Anne walked up to the meeting point. Sasha still wasn't there, which wasn't surprising, always running late. Anne sighed. Her relationship with Sasha was rocky, unstable, it was... the same... and that was the problem. 

"She is always leading, always controlling, I haven't really cared about it before Sprig pointed it out"  though Anne. 

Anne remembered that day perfectly. 

"Sash! Hi! Remember Sprig, Hop Pop, and Polly! They're also in town today! Sprig is going to hang out with us!" shouted Anne as she ran up to Sasha.  

Sasha turned around smiling, until her eyes landed on Sprig, and she frowned.  

"Um... Anne? Why is  he  here?" she asked, disgust in her voice.  

Anne felt hurt, Sprig was like her brother, why couldn't they just get along. It wasn't Sprig's fault, he had been trying really hard to get along, he made sure to try to understand Sasha, it was Sasha who just wouldn't understand, it was like she didn't even want to try, she didn't even give him a chance, instantly deciding to not like him.  

"Hi! I'm hanging out with you guys today! Where's Marcy?" said Sprig.  

"Mar-mar isn't coming, again" answered Anne.  

"Marbles keeps missing our hang outs" agreed Sasha, annoyed.  

Anne felt more nervous, what had happened to Marcy? They ended up spending the day together, just the three of them. Sasha kept ignoring or commanding Sprig, being extra mean to him. Anne didn't like it, but whenever she mentioned it, Sasha would cut her off. At the end of the day, Anne and Sprig were heading home when Sprig tugged at her sleeve.  

"Anne, is Sasha really your friend?" he asked.  

"What! Of course! She's my best friend!" said Anne, shocked.  

"Is she really? She doesn't really seem like a good friend. She always pushes you around, and does stuff that only she is interested in" pointed out Sprig.  

Anne paused for a moment, she thought over her and Sasha's friendship, maybe Sprig was right, maybe this wasn't a good friendship.  

"I... I don't know..." she mumbled.  

Sasha finally showed up. Anne looked up and give her a weak smile. 

"What's up, Boonchuy!" asked Sasha. 

"It's alright" answered Anne, then she added, "I was wondering if you wanted to go to the lake?" 

"Nah, let's go to the park instead! And then the shop! They've restocked the ice cream!" 

"B-but I was hoping to go to the lake..." 

Sasha glared at her. 

"Boonchuy? What the hell? You never argue back, is it because of that Hobbit boy? You were never like this before he came in the picture" growled Sasha. 

"I just want to go to the lake! We only ever do things you want. Sure, I enjoy many of them, but maybe I could choose where to go this time?" 

Sasha glared at her. 

"We. Are. Going. To. The. Park. End of discussion," said Sasha. 

"No you aren't!" shouted someone from behind Anne. 

They have been so distracted that they didn't notice Sprig. Anne turned around shocked. 

"Sprig! What are you doing here!" asked Anne. 

"Standing up for you!" answered Sprig. 

He stood in front of Anne, trying to make himself as tall and intimidating as possible. It didn't really work, since he was much shorter than Sasha. 

"What kind of friend are you! I'm not allowing you to bully Anne!" he shouted. 

Sasha looked absolutely pissed. Anne felt her heart speed up. Why was Sprig doing this, why was he standing up for her? 

"You're my sister, Anne, I'm not allowing her to be mean to you" declared Sprig, as if he read her mind. 

Sasha raised her hand, her claws shining in the sunlight a little, she brought it down fast, she was about to slash Sprig across the face. Anne pushed Sprig aside. She grabbed Sasha's wrist, stopping her hand. She felt her heart pounding in her chest, she panicked and couldn't breathe for a second. But then she felt the way Sprig grabbed onto her sleeve, grounding her. 

"Thanks Sprig" she whispered. 

"Sprang against the world!" he said. 

Anne looked back at Sasha, seeing her shocked face. 

"I'm not allowing you to push me around anymore! We are done!" Anne declared. 

She let go of Sasha's wrist and taking Sprig's hand, headed home.  

"This isn't over Boonchuy!" she heard Sasha shout before storming off. 

Marcy:  

Marcy started heading home, maybe they weren't here today, maybe she should try again tomorrow. Just then she crashed into someone. 

"Woah!" shouted the figure. 

Marcy fell back, landing on her butt. 

"Sorry!" she mumbled, getting up and dusting off her clothes. 

She didn't look at the stranger, afraid to make eye contact. 

"Marce? What are you doing here? I haven't seen you for a month!" said the figure. 

Marcy recognized the voice; she looked up and was surprised to see Anne. 

"Anna-banana! I was looking for you!" said Marcy. 

"What happened to you! You haven't hung out for a month!" stated Anne. 

"I... I was busy" mumbled Marcy. 

Suddenly, she was pulled into a hug, her heart skipped a beat, and hoped Anne couldn't hear or feel how fast her heart was beating. She forgot how to breathe for a second, before taking a deep breathe. Anne smelled of the ocean, fish, seaweed and wood. She really loved how cool Anne's scales felt, she also liked how they shimmered in the light. Marcy hid her face in Anne's shoulder, hugging her back just as tightly. When Anne pulled away, Marcy had to fight the urge to keep hugging her. 

"Where's Sashy? I have to tell you both some news!" said Marcy. 

Anne's smiled disappeared, replaced by a frown. She looked down at her feet, fidgeting with her fingers. Marcy tilted her head, she was pretty sure she was reading Anne's body language correctly, she was nervous, right? Marcy didn't like to assume other's feelings, mostly because of how wrong she was usually. She had been getting better. Reading Olivia and Yunan was easy, she had spent a lot of time with them. Sasha would always tell her how she felt right away, no guessing. Anne was very expressive, so it was pretty easy to read her. 

"Is something wrong?" Marcy asked. 

"Um... well... a lot has happened while you were gone" started Anne, she glanced at Marcy and then back at her feet, "we... kind of got into a fight?" 

"What?" asked Marcy, she blinked twice in confusion. 

Now that she thought about it, had Sasha and Anne ever gotten into a fight? Not really... they had short arguments sometimes, but those were resolved quickly. 

"You got to make up! You guess are best of friends!" said Marcy. 

"I... we haven't talked in two weeks actually, and... I don't think I want to make up" began Anne. 

Marcy felt her throat close up and she fought back tears, how could this have happened? 

"It's just that Sasha would always lead! She never gives me a chance! We always did the things that she wanted, and... Sprig showed me that true friendship doesn't work like that" explained Anne. 

Marcy looked at her in shock, wasn't that a good thing? Marcy always liked that Sasha was leading, it meant she didn't have to make choices, it meant she wasn't going to screw up everything by choosing wrong. Marcy's breathing became shaky, her hands shook. 

"Am I going to lose my friends? Is this it? Is it over?"  worried Marcy. 

She pushed that thought away, she could fix this later, right now she needed both of them safe and sound. 

"Well... can we meet up please? I have something to tell you guys" begged Marcy. 

"I..." started Anne. 

Marcy pouted and give Anne her best puppy eyes. Anne sighed and muttered something under her breathe. 

"Alright, let me just warn the Plantars that I'm going to be gone" she said. 

Marcy's eyes opened wide. She hadn't thought about the Plantars, or Anne's parents, or Grime! And how about Percy and Braddock? Wouldn't Sasha and Anne want them to be save as well? Marcy grabbed Anne's wrist. 

"W-wait!" she said. 

Anne stopped and turned around to face Marcy. 

"Um... actually I have to tell the Plantars this as well" explained Marcy. 

"Oh! Alright... let's go get them," said Anne. 

The duo went up to a shop to find Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly. When the Plantars saw Marcy, they all smiled. 

"Marcy! We haven't seen you in so long!" said Hop Pop. 

"Yeah! Where were you?" asked Sprig. 

"I was busy" answered Marcy, then she added, "actually I would like to tell you something" 

The Plantars leaned in closer, waiting for the news. 

"We uh... have to meet with Sasha and Grime first," said Marcy. 

The Plantars' expressions instantly changed. Sprig looked angry and annoyed, Hop Pop looked worried, and Polly looked frustrated and confused. The Plantars and Anne shared a look between each other, they seemed to have a silent conversation. 

"I suppose, if we have to" grumbled Sprig. 

"Great!" said Marcy and then turned to Anne, "can you call your parents too?" 

"Sorry, they're really busy today, the restaurant is having repairs, I was actually only here cause I was looking for more nails" answered Anne. 

Marcy frowned. Hopefully her parents wouldn't start with the Reptiles, and they would have enough time to save Anne's parents. 

"Alright, let's go find Sasha," said Marcy. 

Marcy, Anne, and the Plantars started walking in the direction of the park, when Marcy suddenly stopped, causing Anne to bump into her. 

"What's wrong?" asked Anne. 

"Do you know where Sasha lives?" questions Marcy. 

Anne shook her head, the Plantars also shook her head. Marcy frowned again and thought hard. She knew that Sasha lived with Grime at the Dwarf Tower. She was part of the Dwarf army, Grime's Lieutenant to be specific. She thought about the Dwarf army, it was under the command of the Avian rulers, so she must have heard something about their location. She closed her eyes and thought of every map she had memorized. There was the whole map of Amphibia, the map of the Avian kingdom, the map of the North, South, East, and West side of Amphibia. Suddenly she remembered the map in the meeting room. Marcy had only been in the meeting room a few times, she didn't like to go there, and she wasn't invited to any meetings. The map of the wall had different locations on it, she could remember seeing red dots which marked the Dwarf army Towers. Now she only had to figure out which one it was, they couldn't possibly go to each and everyone, so she had to find which Tower is was fast. Sasha was part of the South Dwarf Tower, probably, Sasha was a very private person, so Marcy didn't know a lot about her. 

"We'll go to the South Dwarf Tower" decided Marcy. 

She led the way through the forest, until at last they made it to a tall menacing looking tower. It sat atop a cliff, only one bridge connected it to the mainland. The five of them carefully crossed the bridge, making it safely to the other side. They were stopped by two Dwarf guards. 

"State your business" growled one of them, pointing their spear at them. 

"H-hi!" squeaked out Marcy, backing away from the spear, "we, uh... came to see Sasha?" 

The Dwarfs shared a look before one leaned in to whisper something to the other. They both looked at Marcy, Anne, and the Plantars suspiciously before blowing a horn. Marcy flinched at the loud noise. Soon after came two more Dwarfs, they escorted the group to the tower, letting them in. They led them down a staircase and into the basement. They opened a large door, behind it was a large room, with all kinds of things, probably a training room. Marcy could hear something getting hit repeatedly. 

"Sasha! You got guests" one of the Dwarfs shouted. 

The hitting sound stopped, then Marcy heard a sigh echo through the room. Out came Sasha, she was wearing her armor, her hair tied in a ponytail. She was covered in sweat, and looked so absolutely gorgeous, Marcy forgot how to breathe for a second. 

"Marbles!" Sasha said, she looked very happy. 

"Sashy!" shouted Marcy. 

She ran up to her, wrapping her hands around her neck. She felt Sasha hug her back tightly. 

"Where have you been! You've been gone for way too long!" said Sasha. 

"I was busy" Maryc answered automatically, then she added, "anyways! We got more important things to do!" 

"Yeah, let's hurry up and get this over with" muttered Anne. 

Marcy saw how Sasha's expression changed instantly. Sasha looked at Anne, and Anne glared back at her. Marcy kept looking between the two. 

"Guys! Guys! I got something important to say! Remember?" laughed Marcy nervously. 

"Right..." growled Anne, though it was directed at Sasha more than Marcy. 

"Right... um... actually have to tell this to Captain Grime as well..." began Marcy, earning surprised looks from everyone, "and Percy and Braddock, too" 

"Well, I suppose?" said Sasha, confused. 

She led the way to another room, were Grime, Percy and Braddock were leaning over a table, pointing at something on a map. They were muttering something to each other. 

"Grimesy! Marcy has something important to tell us all,” announced Sasha. 

The Dwarfs looked up and squinted at the group. Percy and Braddock smiled and waved, while Grime frowned at them. 

"Can't it wait, we have important things to do first," said Grime. 

"Actually... we're all going to meet my parents!" stated Marcy. 

The room got quiet, everyone stared at Marcy. Marcy shrank back, making herself smaller. 

"And what does this have to do with me?" growled Grime. 

"Cause..." started Marcy, trying to think of a good reason. 

She wanted to tell them, but she couldn't, she needed another excuse. 

"Cause the King and Queen requested you to come!" she said. 

"And how do you know that?" asked Grime, more suspicious by the second. 

"Cause I'm Marcy Wu? Their daughter?" Marcy answered. 

The room got quite again. 

"Wait what!" shouted both Anne and Sasha. 

"Mar-mar! You're a princess!" asked Sasha. 

"Dude! Marbles! You didn't think to mention it before!" shouted Anne. 

"I didn't? I was pretty sure I did" Marcy muttered. 

The room erupted into noise, everyone was speaking over each other, it was way too loud for Marcy, she just wanted to get away from all the noise. 

"Everyone! Quite!" boomed Grime. 

Everyone instantly shut up. Marcy couldn't help but relax. 

"If you are a princess, why are here? Where are your guards? Shouldn't you be at the castle?" Grime bombarded her with questions. 

"It's a long story, doesn't even matter, what does matter is that we get to the castle, right now!" said Marcy. 

She urged everyone outside, but Percy and Braddock stayed behind. 

"Um... you also have to come," said Marcy. 

Someone must watch over the tower while I'm gone,” growled Grime. 

"Right" squeaked Marcy. 

Her parents wouldn't attack the Dwarf Tower, right? After all, they were under their control already! So they wouldn't hurt them, right? Marcy had to hope that they wouldn't, and that she would be able to get them to safety soon after. They all got into a snail pulled brake carriage. It was a four wheeled carriage without a roof. It had a driver's seat, which fit two Dwarfs on it. In the back could fit about six Dwarfs, there were benches for passengers to sit on. Grime and Sasha sat in the driver's seat, with Grime taking the reins. Everyone else sat in the back, with Anne and Marcy on one side, and the Plantars on the other side. Marcy was sitting closer to the driver's seat, so she chatted with Sasha occasionally. Anne and the Plantars seemed to be trying to sit as far away from Sasha and Grime as possible. It made Marcy sad. So she got out her journal and started writing. 

Sasha:  

Sasha sat down next to Grime. They started driving towards the Avian kingdom. Sasha chatted with Marcy a little, but she didn't really feel like chatting a lot, since whenever she glanced at Anne, she would see her glared at her. Sasha turned back towards the road; she could catch up with Marcy later. 

"All the extra training, it's because of the Reptile girl, right?" whispered Grime. 

Sasha turned one ear to face in Anne's direction, she didn't seem to hear what Grime had said. 

"No it's not" she said to Grime. 

"Then why are you suddenly so into training?" asked Grime. 

"Cause I'm a warrior, I have to be ready" answered Sasha. 

"You're angry, anyone can see that, why do you think everyone's been avoiding you?" said Grime. 

"Th-they! They only avoid me because I was training, and they didn't want to be a bother!" Sasha whisper-shouted. 

"Percy tried bringing you water and you almost ripped him in half" pointed out Grime. 

Sasha bristled. 

"That's cause he startled me! He shouldn't have snuck up on me!" she hissed. 

Grime looked at her sideways but dropped the topic. Sasha looked back at the road in front of them. She sank a little in her seat.  

"Yeah, I'm annoyed with Anne! Of course I am! How could she throw away a friendship of years! But it's not like it made me train more! In fact, it didn't even affect me that much, it's like an annoying drizzle, too little to make you stay inside, but enough to annoy you"  though Sasha. 

Sasha rotated her ears to face in Anne's and Marcy's direction. She could hear Marcy writing something, she was probably journalling. She also heard Anne whispering something to the Plantars, probably something about her. A part of Sasha felt like maybe she was in the wrong, maybe she had been a pretty bad friend, maybe she didn't deserve any of this, but she didn't let that part of her take over. Sasha rotated her ears back to face forwards, no reason to dwell on the past, Anne would cool off and come right back. That's when the Avian kingdom came into view. Sasha bit back a gasp, but she heard a few gasps from behind. The kingdom made it into view. It was much larger than anything Sasha had imagined. Did Marcy live here? 

"Mar-mar! You live here?" she heard Anne ask from behind. 

"Yeah! Well, I live in the castle to be more specific," said Marcy. 

Sasha looked at the kingdom. It was surrounded by tall walls, which had all sorts of plants growing on it. There were look out windows and a large golden door. Above the door was a huge golden bell. Behind the wall, Sasha could see a castle sitting atop a hill, it was surrounded by smaller buildings, which disappeared as they went lower behind the walls. The castle was surrounded by gigantic red mushroom like plants. On top of the 'mushrooms' where buildings, connected by bridges, they had lights hanging from them. On top the castle was a rock carved into a strange shape. Sasha leaned closer to Grime. 

"You've been here before?" she asked. 

"Of course, I've been called by the King and Queen many times before, though never by a princess," said Grime. 

He looked at Marcy suspiciously. Sasha couldn't help but agree. Why was Grime called to the castle right when Marcy called all of them to meet her parents. It suddenly hit Sasha that Marcy's parents were the King and Queen! Sure, they were only royalty to the Avians, but they still commanded the Dwarf Army, and she was part of the Dwarf Army. Sasha wondered if they knew that a Canine was part of the Dwarf Army. Before she could think more about it, they made it to the gigantic door. The door was opened but was guarded by Avians. Sasha heard Marcy pull up her hood quickly and sink lower in her seat, as if hiding. Sasha glanced at Marcy in confusion, but decided against mentioning it. 

"State your business" said one of the Avians. 

"I'm Captain Grime, I was told that the King and Queen requested me to come here" stated Grime. 

The Avian guards looked at each other before letting them through. Once inside Sasha saw lots more buildings. There was a fountain in the middle. Everything was clean but also old, there were plants growing on all surfaces. Mostly Avians walked around, but there were a few Hobbits and Elves. She didn't see any Dwarfs, though she also hadn't seen a lot of the kingdom either. Still, Sasha guessed that most of the Dwarfs were part of the Dwarf Army and lived at the Dwarf Towers. Most Reptiles lived in the water, so there weren't a lot of them either. Most Canines lived in packs in the forest or town, while Hobbits and Elves lived in villages. It made sense why there were so few of anything other than Avians, it was after all, the Avian kingdom. The brake carriage made it way up through the city. Sasha noticed many stone statues and lights. At last, they made it to the castle. Grime stopped the brake carriage before the castle doors. They all got out and stretched. 

"Hi!" awkwardly waved Marcy. 

The guards looked shocked and surprised. 

"Princess Marcy! What are you-" started saying one of the guards. 

"We are in hurry! We really have to get to King and Queen, wouldn't want to keep them waiting, would we!" hurriedly said Marcy and led everyone through the doors. 

The guards didn't stop them, but Sasha saw the confused looks they all wore. Something told her that they weren't invited, otherwise the guards would know, right? 

"Hurry guys! We don't have all day!" called Marcy over her shoulder. 

She was speed walking through the long hall. She tripped over nothing and landed flat on her face.  

"Oh, come on" Marcy muttered. 

Sasha hurried to help her, but Anne was already there.  

"Thanks!" said Marcy. 

They continued walking through the hall, until they made it to another set of large doors. There were guards placed at the door. They looked surprised to see the group, but they let them through after Marcy mentioned "the very important day". Inside the large room was a platform, on it were two thrones, on them were sitting two Avians. Sasha guessed they were the King and Queen, since they were sitting on the thrones, and Marcy resembled both. Marcy had the same head shape as her mother, and the same eye color as her father. The King had short black hair, the Queen had long black hair. They both looked at the group in surprise. 

"Marcy? What are you wearing?" asked the Queen. 

Sasha saw the way Marcy shrank back, making herself smaller. 

"Mother, I... I was hoping my friends and their families could stay here...," said Marcy. 

Sasha noticed how she didn't answer the Queen's questions. 

"Friends? What are you talking about! Who are these people? Where did you meet them? They certainly don't work at the castle" The King asked. 

Sasha looked at Marcy in confusion. 

"Mar-mar? Have you not told them about us?" asked Anne. 

"Mar-mar? Have you got no respect!" boomed the King's voice. 

"What are you all doing here!" asked the Queen. 

"I was told that you requested me to come here" explained Grime, "Princess Marcy has invited her friends to come and meet you" 

"Oh, my frog! Marcy? Did you think you could save them?" asked a voice from the far corner of the room. 

It sent shivers down Sasha's spine. She hadn't heard them walk in, which meant they were here the whole time. They hadn't made a single noise while being in the room, it made Sasha feel uneasy. The figure stepped out of the shadows. They were taller than Marcy, but only a little. They had unnaturally orange eyes and black hair, their feathers were black, and they were wearing a black wetsuit with a large glowing, orange eye in the middle. 

"D-Darcy? B-but you said..." began saying Marcy, but was interrupted by the Queen. 

"You know these people? What is happening here?" 

Darcy turned towards the Queen. 

"Mother" they began. 

Sasha's eyes opened wide; they were Marcy's sibling. 

"Marcy has been escaping from the castle, gliding over the wall for a few years now. She had made two close friends," said Darcy. 

They pointed at Anne: "Anne Boonchuy. Reptile, she/her pronouns, trans. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy own a restaurant. She lives somewhere in the ocean, but also in Wartwood with the Plantars. The Plantars are her second family, Hopediah Plantar, Sprig Plantar, and Polly Plantar" 

They pointed at each Plantar as they said their names. Sasha's eyes opened wide, how did they know all that, if Marcy didn't tell them anything. 

Darcy then turned and pointed at Sasha: "Sasha Waybright, she/her pronouns, bisexual. Her parents are Mrs. Waybright and Mr. Waybright. They are divorced, and Sasha ran away from them at 6. She was adopted by the Dwarfs from South Dwarf Tower, specifically Percy, Braddock, and Grime" 

Darcy turned back towards the King and Queen. 

"You see, Marcy thought that by bringing them here, she could keep them safe, she thought you wouldn't hurt them just because they were her friends. Unfortunately, we can't keep them alive" Darcy turned to look at the group, "wouldn't want them to spread the news about the invasion, would we?'' 

"What?" asked Anne. 

Sasha was speechless, she couldn't believe what was happening. Suddenly guards burst through the door, surrounding them, pointing their weapons at them. 

"Well, they already know too much, we might as well tell them everything" sighed the King. 

Darcy grinned. 

"You see, we are going to conquer all of Amphibia! All the species will bow down to us! They will work for us! And if they don't, they will die." explained Darcy. 

Sasha felt sick, this couldn't be happening. 

"No! You'll never get away with this!" shouted Anne. 

"Anne's right! We'll stop you!" agreed Sasha. 

"Stop me? I see, maybe I should show you what I'm capable of!" laughed Darcy. 

They took out a remote, pressing a button. Something buzzed, and then Sasha saw a large beam of energy shoot off to the North Dwarf Tower, completely destroying it. 

"No!" cried out Grime. 

Sasha gasped. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, she looked at Anne. 

"Anne! We must stop them! Their crazy!" she shouted. 

"I-I can't believe this..." whispered Anne. 

"Darcy, kill them already" commanded the Queen. 

Sasha took out her swords, Grime gripped his hammer, Sprig took out his slingshot and Polly somehow got out a mace. 

"If we take the remote, we might have a fighting chance!" shouted Hop Pop. 

Darcy grabbed the black helmet that a guard brought to them. The helmet resembled an axolotl head, but when they put it on, the helmet for covered in orange, glowing eyes, big and small. The helmet had a cord connecting it to something. Darcy grinned. Suddenly robots surrounded everything. The guards were grabbed and thrown in one corner; the group was surrounded. 

"Darcy! What is the meaning of this! Why are you getting rid of the guards!" shouted the King. 

Suddenly the King and Queen were grabbed by robots and slammed into the wall. 

"You don't tell me what to do anymore! I am Darcy Wu! New ruler of Amphibia!" they laughed maniacally. 

"Darcy! What are you doing! You said they'll be safe!" shouted Marcy. 

"Is that what you really thought? Did you really believe me?" asked Darcy. 

"Marce? What do you mean?" asked Sasha. 

"I-I..." started Marcy. 

"Did you know, that Marcy knew about the invasion, knew that many would die, so she decided to save only you, and hide the truth from you?" asked Darcy. 

"What..." gasped Sasha. 

"No... Marcy! Have you gone mad! How about all the other people! If you had told us we could have stopped this! What about my parents! How about my family! How about the Dwarfs, all the innocent people that have no idea what is happening!" screamed Anne. 

Sasha looked at Marcy in shock, it was the only thing she could do. She felt rage consume her, she thought about Percy and Braddock, about all the Dwarfs from South Dwarf Tower, even about Fens. They disliked each other a lot, but she was still part of the Dwarf Army, she was still loyal to the end. 

"I... I... I saved you! We could have lived together in the castle, you would have been alive, and safe. We wouldn't have been separated, we could have been together, forever!" started rambling Marcy, there were tears in her eyes. 

"What about everyone else!" shouted Anne. 

"B-but we would have been together! We wouldn't have to separate! Look at this! You would have lived here! We would have had sleepovers and play games, and have fun! You would have been safe!" continued Marcy. 

Her voice sounded more broken by the second, tears were running down her cheeks. She grabbed onto Sasha's and Anne's hands, but Sasha felt only anger and disgust, she pulled her hands away, growling at Marcy.  

"I just... didn't want to be alone" Marcy whispered. 

She fell down to her knees, burying her face in her hands. Sasha looked over at Anne, she felt helpless. 

Anne:  

"The three of us may have made mistakes" started Anne, "but you, you're evil! And I'll stop you right here, right now!" 

Anne grabbed a sword that one of the guards dropped and pointed it at Darcy. 

"Sasha!" she shouted. 

"I've got your back" Sasha said, grinning confidently, she took out her heron swords. 

"And I've got yours" told her Grime. 

"We're with you Anne! Till the end!" agreed Sprig. 

The group gripped their weapons and faced Darcy. Darcy grinned. 

"Ooh! This is getting interesting!" they laughed. 

It made Anne's blood boil at how relaxed they seemed. They grabbed a staff and twirled it around, before pressing a button and suddenly it turned into a scythe, the blade made of fire. 

"Attack!" shouted Darcy. 

The robots charged at the group, blasting beams of energy at them. Anne sliced one in half, another one was behind her, but was destroyed by Sasha. Anne nodded in her direction before attacking another robot. The team fought the robots, Anne saw Hop Pop and Grime working together to destroy robots, she saw Polly riding a robot, causing it to shoot at other robots, and to her surprise, she saw Marcy shooting her crossbow at the robots. Anne also saw Sprig dodging and shooting at the robots using his slingshot. One by one, all the robots were destroyed. Darcy looked pissed. 

" Enough! " they shouted, their voice boomed and echoed through the room. 

They slammed their scythe and an energy explosion threw the group into different sides of the room. Anne groaned and looked around, that's when she saw the remote control.  

"It must control the robots as well, if we can destroy it, Darcy won't have the army they said they had!"  though Anne. 

"The remote!" she shouted. 

Polly, who was closest to the remote, zoomed past Darcy and right at the remote. More robots appeared in her way. But Marcy shot at them, destroying most of them, the rest were easily evaded. The rest of the group was surrounded by more robots, stopping Marcy from shooting more. Anne looked around in fear, there were more and more robots with each minute. 

"Got it!" shouted Polly, remote in hand. 

"Yeah!" 

"Go Polly, go!" 

"Good job Polly" 

Shouted the team, celebrating. 

"Not so fast," shouted Darcy. 

Anne looked in their direction in fear. They were holding Sprig in their hand, dangling him over the edge of the window. Anne gasped, it was the window that faced the cliff side, it was a long way down. 

"This ends now! " growled Darcy. 

"Don't listen to this bully! I'll be fine!" shouted Sprig. 

"We'll see about that" taunted Darcy, "put back the remote, or this brat gets a long overdue flight lesson"  

"Sprig!" shouted Anne, she looked at Polly "put back the remote!" 

Polly dropped the remote, running back to the group, the robots pointed their weapons at them. 

"You got what you wanted! Now put him down" pleaded Anne, "he's like by brother! Please" 

"That's the thing about siblings, isn't it? The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go" Darcy glanced at Marcy and grinned, "that's why you shouldn't love them"  

They let go of Sprig. Time seemed to slow down. Anne watched as Sprig started falling to his doom, the fear on his face, the grin on Darcy's face. Her eyes opened wide, everything was silent, nothing made a sound. Anne couldn't breathe properly. She dropped to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. Her time with Sprig flashed in front of her eyes. 

  "I've never seen a Reptile to be honest!" said Sprig, bouncing up and down, "look! You got webbed hands and feet!"  

"Y-yeah, I know," laughed Anne.  

"Sprang against the world" Sprig grinned.  

They sat on the ground, propped up by a worn-down wall. It was dark, the only light source was a lit candle, emitting a warm, welcoming light. They were each reading a book, when Anne felt Sprig's head land on her shoulder. She looked over at him to find out that he had fallen asleep. Anne smiled and blew out the candle, resting her head on his, and looking at the night sky.  

"Give him back..." Anne whispered. 

"What?" called Darcy. 

"Give. Him. Back!" shouted Anne. 

Her vision was blurry from tears, but that didn't matter. She charged at Darcy, swinging her sword at them. Darcy looked shocked for a second, before laughing and swinging their scythe back at her. She was soon joined by Sasha. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Grime, Hop Pop and Polly fighting the robots, she didn't see Marcy anywhere, but she didn't think about it twice, she was too focused on beating Darcy. Suddenly tentacles grabbed her and Darcy, throwing them both back. They landed with a thud, Anne groaned and tried getting up, Hop Pop and Polly were helping her. 

"Anne!" shouted Sprig. 

Anne looked in the direction of the voice, and saw Sprig running to her. He tackled her into a hug. 

"Sprig? B-but..." she whispered. 

"Marcy caught me just in time" he explained, then added, "can you walk" 

"Marcy?" whispered Anne. 

"I must say, I didn't expect to need to use the mechanical tentacles, but I've been wanting to for a while, so why not right now! " said Darcy. 

One of the mechanical tentacles reached for the remote, but it wasn't there. 

"What!" shouted Darcy. 

"Everyone! Out!" shouted Marcy. 

Sasha and Grime attacked Darcy. 

"Quick! We'll hold them back!" shouted Sasha. 

Marcy led them to a sparrow; it had a scar across one of its eyes. Anne and the Plantars climbed aboard, but a tentacle grabbed at the sparrow's armor. 

"I got it, I got it, just give me a sec!" shouted Marcy. 

She took off the armor and was about to climb on as well, when suddenly she stopped. The scent of burned skin hit Anne in the nose, she almost threw up right there. She looked in shock at Marcy, who was still holding the armor, looking down at the fire blade that had gone right threw her chest. 

"Marcy!" shouted Anne. 

She was about to jump down but then tentacles grabbed at her and the Plantars dangling them over the edge. The sparrow got spooked, flying off. 

"I... I'm sorry, for everything" whispered Marcy, falling to the ground. 

"Marcy!" shouted Anne again. 

She cut the tentacle charging straight at Darcy. With one quick movement, Darcy brought the scythe down, cutting through Anne's hand. She felt unspeakable pain through her arm, but it was suddenly gone as her body hit the floor. 

"Now look what you made me do" giggled Darcy. 

The last thing Anne saw was Marcy's unconscious body, laying in front of her, the scent of burning flesh filled her nose as fog clouded her brain. 

Sasha:  

Sasha smelled burned flesh. It made her sick. She groaned at got up. One of Darcy's tentacles had thrown her across the room while she and Grime had tried holding back Darcy, it had also slashed her across the right eye. Blood blocked her vision and the scent of metal filled her nose, but the scent of burning flesh overpowered it. She looks up to see Marcy, with a fire blade through her chest. She heard her whisper an apology as she fell down. Anne and the Plantars were grabbed by tentacles. Sasha gasped, she had to save them, she had to. Suddenly Grime tackled her out the window, they landed on a sparrow and started flying in the direction of the South Dwarf Tower. 

"No! What are you doing! We have to save them!" shouted Sasha. 

She tried to make them turn back, but Grime grabbed her by the wrist. 

"You're half blind and weak. We're both tired, we can't do anything in this state. The best thing we can do is warn everyone and get ready for the invasion, then, once we have an army ready, we'll save them all" stated Grime. 

Sasha sighed. 

"A-alright, but... where do we go? Not to Dwarf Tower, Darcy will expect that" pointed out Sasha. 

"Then how about Wartwood, the Hobbits there know Anne, she lives there if what Darcy said was true" suggested Grime. 

"I-I suppose..." mumbled Sasha. 

She was losing the battle to stay awake, she leaned into Grime, letting her eyes finally close. 

Chapter Text

Anne:  

Anne opened her eyes. She found herself in some sort of green liquid. It was thicker than water, making it harder to breathe, and it was cold. Anne glanced around. She was in some sort of tank inside a large room. Anne squinted, but she couldn't quite see anything in the room that wasn't right next to her. On her right she saw another tank with green liquid. Inside was an Avian with black hair and brown feathers. They wore a black wetsuit and had some sort of device stuck to their mouth, with a tube leading from it, it probably helped them breathe. Something about the Avian was familiar, but Anne wasn't sure what it was. 

"Ah! You're already awake!"  echoed someone's voice. 

Anne glanced in the direction of the voice and squinted. She saw an Avian figure. Suddenly sharp metal claws grabbed her and pulled her out of the tank roughly. Anne winced. The air was warmer and easier to breathe in, but she didn't have the time to marvel at it before she was thrown into a chair. 

"You're up earlier than I expected, guess you're tougher than you look,"  said the Avian. 

Anne's brain felt fuzzy. She glanced at the Avian. They had black feathers and wore a wetsuit. They also had a black helmet with ten orange, glowing eyes on it. The Avian also had some sort of staff with them. Anne didn't like them, she felt on edge around them. Anne growled at them and tried to get up, but her legs gave away from under her and she fell to the floor. 

"Ha! Look at you, pathetic!"  laughed the Avian. 

Anne's head cleared up a little and she glanced at the Avian in the tank. They were so familiar, they were... Marcy! Anne gasped and glanced back at the other Avian. Darcy! It was Darcy! Marcy's older sibling. The one that stabbed Marcy! And... Before she could finish that thought she was suddenly grabbed by the throat by a tentacle. The tentacle lifted her off the ground. Anne gasped for air and tried to claw at the metal claws. That's when she noticed that her left hand didn't seem to be doing that. In fact, she couldn't control or feel anything above her elbow. She raised it higher and gasped. Her left hand was sliced off right at the elbow, leaving a stump. Images flashed in front of her eyes.  Running after Marcy, getting on the sparrow, urging Marcy to hurry up and get on, Marcy taking off the armor, the fire sword, Marcy, the smell the burnt flesh, metal tentacles grabbing her, charging at Darcy, the pain, the fire, her breathe stuck in her throat, the floor... and then nothing. Anne gasped for air, she wasn't sure if it was because of the claw or the panic. Then she was dropped to the floor. Anne held her left hand tightly and pressed it into her chest. She curled up. 

"Need a hand? Get it? A hand!"  laughed Darcy. 

They made a slicing gesture to their left hand. Anne curled up harder. Her breathing was uneven, her heart pounding in her ears. 

"Get up you idiot. You don't have the time to lay around! Get up! You have to save Marcy, find the Plantars and Sasha, you have to save Amphibia! Get up!"  told herself Anne. 

"You weren't even listening, were you"  asked Darcy, annoyed. 

Anne forced herself to sit up. She could deal with her hand later. Darcy grabbed her by her collar abruptly and pulled. But Anne didn't even budge. It made Anne laugh. She saw Darcy scowl and gesture something. Anne was once again grabbed by a tentacle. Darcy stepped closer, they pulled out a fire dagger and placed it around Anne's neck. 

"Tell me the location of the Canine"  they demanded. 

"And what if I don't" asked Anne. 

She leaned in closer to the dagger, the heat from it was uncomfortable, but she didn't feel scared. In fact, she felt rather confident. She grinned at Darcy. Maybe it was because they weren't smiling anymore, maybe it was because they looked pissed. The fact that they weren't so careless anymore made Anne feel reckless. 

"If you haven't noticed, I have a dagger to your throat, I could kill you at any second"  pointed out Darcy. 

"Yeah, but you haven't, because you need me" grinned Anne. 

"I do not need you, Reptile"  growled Darcy. 

"Yes, you do. If you didn't you would have killed me. You have Marcy, you could ask her for Sasha's whereabouts, but you asked me, which means you need me for something" explained Anne. 

"Do not try to play smart, it won't work"  they snarled. 

Anne laughed loudly. 

"Ooh! Did I hit a nerve?" she taunted. 

She leaned in even closer to the dagger and noticed how Darcy pulled it away a little. It made her feel powerful. Darcy wasn't just having fun anymore, this wasn't their game anymore, it was Anne's. Things didn't go as planned and now Darcy wasn't happy. 

"You will regret this, Reptile"  hissed Darcy. 

They raised their hand and made a sharp movement to the right. Right on cue, the tentacle slammed Anne into a wall. The air was knocked out of her lungs, and she struggled to breathe for a few seconds. Still, once she could breathe again, Anne laughed. 

"Guess I did hit a nerve," said Anne. 

Before she could say anything else, she was thrown across the room and landed hard on the floor. She rolled over a few times because of the momentum and then finally stopped. Anne winced in pain but before she could get up, the tentacle gripped her leg and dangled her upside down. Then she was thrown across the room again. Anne groaned and tried to focus on something, but her head was spinning, and she couldn't breathe properly. She was picked up by the tentacle and carried out of the room. She saw Darcy walking in front of her. They went up the stairs, then across a long dimly lit hallway, then down the stairs again. At last, they made it to a big metal door. The door hissed and opened, letting them through. There was a long hallway, lined with jail cells. Most of the jail cells were empty, but a few had prisoners. Anne was carried to the last one. Inside she saw the Plantars huddled together in the corner. She was thrown into the cell. 

"You can rot here until I find a use for you"  growled Darcy. 

They disappeared from view. Anne sat up slowly, groaning in pain. 

"A-Anne?" whispered Sprig. 

Anne turned around and smiled. 

"Hey Sprig..." she whispered. 

Polly lunged at her, clinging to her neck.  

"You're alive! I-I-I! I-" sobbed Polly. 

"You're alive..." whispered Sprig. 

He stepped closer and Anne pulled him into the hug. She noticed that Hop Pop was still sitting by the wall, he looked frail, as if he would fall apart at any moment. 

"How are you holding up, HP?" she asked. 

"I'll live, but... what happened to your arm?" asked Hop Pop. 

Sprig and Polly instantly let go and stared at Anne's missing arm. They gasped in shock. 

"W-was it... was it them?" whispered Sprig. 

Anne nodded sadly and pressed it closer to her chest. She saw Hop Pop pat the place next to him. She got up and walked over to sit next to him, Sprig and Polly sat in front of her. Hop Pop gently took her left hand and examined it. 

"It's healed up" he noticed. 

Anne nodded and leaned in closer. She was growing more tired with each second. She felt Polly carefully crawl onto her lap and snuggle into her chest. Sprig sat on her other side. She wrapped her arms around the Plantars and leaned her head on Hop Pop's, soon enough she dosed off. 

Marcy:  

Cold... 

Cold.... 

Cold..... 

Why was it so cold? 

Was it always so cold? 

No, she remembered feeling warm. 

Or was it hot? 

Yes, she remembered feeling hot. 

Her chest used to feel hot. 

Hot felt painful, uncomfortable. 

Did hot always feel painful and uncomfortable? 

Why did it feel so uncomfortable? 

Was it because of the… 

What was it called? 

She couldn’t remember. 

Why was she thinking about it? 

It felt hot, right now she didn’t feel hot. 

She felt cold. 

Was it always so cold? 

Why was it so cold? 

Cold..... 

Cold.... 

Cold... 

Sasha:  

"Wake up" 

Sasha shifted a little. 

"Sasha? Wake up, we're almost there" 

Almost where? Couldn't it wait a little, she was so tired. 

"Sasha! Wake up!" 

Sasha opened one eye and saw Grime's cape in her face. She closed her eye.  

"Sasha!" 

She was nudged. Sasha growled and sat up, she wanted to rub her eyes, but then felt the scar on her right eye. Sasha froze up.  The smell of burned flesh, Marcy, the sword, it was through her chest.  Sasha hugged herself and tried to calm her breathing. She gently traced her scar, it wasn't bleeding anymore, but only because it was burned shut. She couldn't open it because of all the dried blood.  

"We're landing," said Grime. 

Sasha snapped out of her trance and gripped onto the sparrow. The landing was kind of rough, but at least they made it to Wartwood. They got off the sparrow and were greeted by the Wartwood citizen, though "greeted" was a stretch. 

"What in the frog is going on!" 

"Who are you two!?" 

"Why did a beam shoot from the Avian kingdom and cause an explosion!?' 

Asked the Hobbits and Elves. 

"What do we tell them?" whispered Sasha to Grime. 

"Not the truth, that's for sure" he whispered back, then he turned to address the crowd, "citizen of Wartwood! This is Sasha and I am Grime" 

Sasha heard the crowd whisper among themselves. 

"We have terrible news! The Avian King and Queen were going to take over Amphibia! But their oldest child took over and now they are taking over Amphibia!" announced Grime. 

The crowd gasped. 

"Anne and the Plantars had to go on a daring mission, but they sent us to protect you in the meantime!" continued Grime. 

Sasha snapped her head at him in shock. 

"There is no way they'll trust us just because we name dropped Anne!" she hissed at Grime. 

"Not with that attitude" whispered back Grime. 

"Oh! What a relief" 

"Classic Anne, always looking out for us" 

Sasha gaped at them. Suddenly she was approached by a Dwarf, he grabbed and shook her hand. 

"Well, that's wonderful" he said, "rest easy tonight folks, because Anne's best friend is here to watch over us" 

The crowd cheered. Sasha gave them a weak smile before she was suddenly taken somewhere. The next thing she knew, the scar on her eye was cleaned and bandaged up. Sasha followed Grime into the Planters' home but stopped in the doorway. Grime walked past her and leaned his hammer against the wall. 

"Alright, we'll lay low for a day or two and then ditch this place!" he said, then he added, "dibs on Hop Pop's bed!" 

He made his way to the stairs before turning around. Sasha stared at her feet, she didn't feel worthy of coming in, not after everything that happened. She had been a horrible friend, she had controlled Anne and Marcy for so long, and then she left them, left them in hopes that they were alive. Sasha took a step back. 

"You're going to come in or just stand there and act weird?" asked Grime. 

"I... I think I'll sleep in the barn today," said Sasha. 

She closed the door and made her way to the barn. She opened the door and stepped inside. She noticed a small snail and a big snail inside. 

"Well... don't mind me, I'll go sit in the corner with the rest of the trash" she told the snails. 

Sasha walked into the corner and laid on a pile of hay. 

"That's all a person like me deserves"  

Sasha curled up into a ball and fell asleep. 

Marcy:  

Green... 

Green.... 

Green..... 

She liked the color green. 

She had a green hair clip. 

It was a gift from Olivia. 

A really nice gift. 

What was the gift? 

It was a gift, right? 

Yeah, Olivia gave me a gift. 

What gift? 

Strange... 

Why was she thinking about gifts? 

Was the gift green? 

She liked the color green. 

She was in something green right now. 

Was that the gift? 

It was green. 

She liked the color green. 

She was in something green right now. 

Didn't she already think about that? 

Was she repeating herself? 

What was she repeating? 

All she knew was that she was in something green. 

Green..... 

Green.... 

Green... 

Sasha:  

Sasha woke up to a rooster. She got up and stretched. Suddenly the door flew open, startling Sasha. She braced herself for an attack, her hands on her swords, but it was just Grime. He came to her and gave her a plate with bug pancakes. 

"I... I'm not hungry" she mumbled and passed the plate back to him. 

Grime shrugged and ate the pancakes in one bite, then he showed her a small messenger bat. 

"Look! Beatrix sent me a message, she and the surviving Dwarfs are in some kind of bunker, we can ditch this place and go join them!" he said. 

"Why? So, can we come up with another cruddy plan that ends up hurting the people we love?" asked Sasha, throwing her hands up in frustration. 

She heard a knock on the door of the barn and opened it. Outside was standing an elderly Hobbit, she was blind in one eye. 

"Hello! I'm Mrs. Croaker, I baked you a pie!" The elderly Hobbit handed Sasha a pie.  

Sasha thanked her and passed the pie to Grime. Then she heard another knock on the door. She opened it and saw a Hobbit with a concertina, one of his eyes was closed and he was wearing worn-out clothes. 

"Hey! I'm One-eyed Wally! Any friend of Anne's is a friend of mine!" he said. 

"Look, that's really touching, but I have to go" excused herself Sasha. 

"Yes, she's taught me a lot of lessons" continued Wally, ignoring Sasha. 

"Showing me the importance of honesty, being true to yourself, the meaning of friendship! I've been working on a song about it!" said Wally. 

Sasha felt worse with each thing he said that Anne taught him. She placed a hand over his mouth to shut him up. 

"Look, I'm really busy right now, so how about you sing that song later" excused herself Sasha. 

She quickly made it back inside the barn and flopped onto the pile of hay. That's when she heard a loud thump from outside. Sasha groaned and stood up to check what was happening. She gasped as she saw a robot standing in front of the Plantars' house, scanning it. 

"Oh" whispered Sasha. 

The robot turned to look at her. The eyes flashed red, and it pointed its weapon at her. Sasha dodged the attacks and sliced its legs in half. Grime crashed into the robot but just before he did that the robot called for backup. 

"We have to move out, it called for backup, there will be dozens of them any second" he said. 

"What!" shouted Sasha, "we can't, what about the people of Wartwood!" 

"Since when do you care about them?" asked Grime. 

"They're Anne's friends and family... I... I'm done making plans and schemes, I want to do the right thing" confessed Sasha. 

"The right thing would be to regroup with Beatrix and make a plan to defeat Darcy!" shouted Grime. 

"No, it's not, we are warriors, we protect the weak, this is the right thing to do..." mumbled Sasha. 

"Listen lieutenant, whatever you're dealing with, you have to face it head on, so go to that house and deal with it!" said Grime. 

Sasha looked at the Plantars house, then back at Grime. Grime nodded. Sasha sighed and made her way to the house. She walked through the door and into the basement. Inside of it were Anne's things. Clothes, books, plushies, and other things littered the room. It was messy, and it reminded Sasha of Anne. Sasha walked, took a step forward and accidentally stepped on a book. Sasha picked it up and noticed that it wasn't a book, it was a journal. She opened it and flipped through the pages. She read an entry. Tears stained the pages. Sasha closed the journal. 

"Oh Anne... I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have tried so hard to be in control, in the end, where did it get me?" mumbled Sasha. 

She sniffled and dried her tears. She had promised she wouldn't cry, crying would get her nowhere, she had to act, change, become better. 

"This ends now! I will become someone better! Someone who deserves to be your friend!"  promised Sasha. 

She put the journal on Anne's bed and left the house. She gathered the people of Wartwood. 

"Listen y'all! I gathered you all here to tell you..." Sasha took a deep breathe, "a robot army is on its way to destroy Wartwood" 

The crowd gasped. 

"And that's not all, I lied to you about Anne sending us to protect you. She has been captured by Darcy; she has no idea that I'm here. I'm no guardian, I'm a fraud" confessed Sasha. 

The crowd gasped again. 

"But fraud or not, I'm going to do one thing right in my life, I will protect Wartwood with my life!" Sasha said. 

Just as she said that something big and heavy landed behind her, shaking the ground and almost causing her to fall. Sasha spun around and gasped as she saw the giant robot behind her. It was three times as tall as her. Sasha gripped her swords. 

"Only one? That doesn't seem so bad" she grinned. 

The giant robot released dozens of smaller robots into the air. All of them charged at Sasha. 

"Of course," sighed Sasha. 

She charged at the smaller robots, easily slicing them in half. Suddenly she was grabbed by metal arms, wrapping around her body and trapping her. Sasha struggled against them. Just then she saw the big robot open its mouth and aim a giant weapon of some sort at her. Sasha stared into the weapon, fear paralyzing her. A missile flew at her, but just before impact, it was deflected by a giant hammer. Sasha looked at the person holding the hammer, it was Grime. 

"Grimesy!" she shouted. 

"You know, I got to thinking, Beatrix might have weapons and an army, but she doesn't have you, lieutenant" Grime told her while freeing her from the smaller robots. 

Sasha got up and laughed. 

"Grimesy! You big softy!" she said. 

They grabbed their weapons and faced the robots. 

"30 against 2, hardly a fair fight" pointed out Grime. 

Sasha nodded and charged at the closest robot, but before she could do anything, it was attacked by Mrs. Croaker. Sasha gaped in shock. Then she saw another robot get destroyed by One-eyed Wally. The Wartwood citizens were fighting robots! Sasha turned to Grime, to find him just as shocked. They locked gazes and nodded. Sasha charged at another robot, slicing at its feet. A Hobbit girl with her hair covering one of her eyes through a potion at it and it turned into a cloak. Sasha had heard of potions, but she had never seen them in action, so she was rather surprised at the effect. The town people quickly dealt with the smaller robots, but the big robot aimed its hands at them and was ready to shoot two missiles. 

"Grime!" shouted Sasha. 

"On it!" he called back. 

They ran at the missiles just as they were shot out. Right before the missiles hit them, they took a sharp turn, but the missiles went right after them. 

"These blasted things are following us!" shouted Grime. 

"Then let's lead them in the right direction," said Sasha. 

They spun around, this time running in the direction of the large robot. They jumped right over it, but the missiles hit the robot, causing it to explode. Sasha coughed and squinted through the smoke. It stung her eyes and made her scrunch her nose. Once the smoke cleared up, Sasha was instantly surrounded by the Hobbits and Elves. She looked around in shock. 

"I... I don't know what to say" she confessed. 

"You've said enough," said Ms. Croaker. 

"Yeah... you might have been a fraud, but you told us the truth when you didn't have to" said the girl that had turned a robot into a cloak. 

"And taking on those robots all by yourself! That was awesome!" agreed another Hobbit girl in a turquoise beanie with orange hair sticking out from underneath. 

Sasha smiled. 

"You can count on me, for real this time" she promised. 

She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked down. 

"So, what happens now?" asked Ms. Croaker. 

Sasha glanced at Grime, who gave her an approving nod, letting her know that he was going to be there with her no matter what. Sasha couldn't help but smile. It was nice to know that at least someone was always going to be there for her. Even after her parents didn't want her, and neither did the rest of her clan. Even after she had pushed her best friends away. Even after she had grown colder to Braddock and Percy. After everything, Grime was still with her, he still supported her, he still cared. 

"Now we will fight back" she said confidently. 

Marcy:  

Quiet... 

Quiet.... 

Quiet..... 

Why was it so quiet? 

She couldn't hear the birds. 

Or the kids outside. 

Or footsteps. 

Or the wind. 

Or the rustle of leaves. 

Or... 

Why was she thinking of sounds? 

Was she remembering something? 

Maybe. 

Maybe she was remembering sneaking out of the castle. 

And running away. 

And going into the town. 

There was noise in the town. 

People talking, laughing. 

People walking around. 

The town was loud, but it was familiar in some kind of way. 

Why was she thinking of that? 

Right now, it was quiet. 

Silent even. 

Silent..... 

Silent.... 

Silen- 

Why did that sound wrong? 

Oh... 

She could hear buzzing. 

Some sort of mechanism. 

She could hear footsteps. 

And something tapped against glass. 

She didn't like the sound, it scared her. 

But she couldn't understand why. 

It was like it reminded her of something... 

Someone... 

"Hey~ how are you, dear sister?"  

Oh... 

She wouldn't remember this, would she? 

Anne:  

Something nudged her. Anne opened her eyes and saw the stone wall in front of her. She groaned and closed her eyes. Maybe if she waited a little longer, she would find herself in bed, at the Plantars' or her parents', and this was all just a nightmare. 

"Anne? Wake up" someone whispered. 

Anne opened her eyes. She was right. It was a nightmare, except it wasn't the kind that your brain makes up while you're asleep, it was the real kind. 

"Anne?" repeated the person. 

Anne's brain finally caught up and she recognized the voice. It was Sprig. He sounded tired. Anne glanced at him and saw his scared expression. She gave him a sympathetic look and pulled him closer. She heard Polly whimper quietly. Anne looked down as she saw that Polly was still asleep. She was clutching the fabric of Anne's shirt as if her life depended on it. Anne wanted to push her fingers through Polly's hair, but she caught sight of her left hand and winced. Hop Pop was still asleep. His voice was hoarse.  

"We're going to be ok" whispered Anne. 

Sprig looked at her, hope glinting in his eyes. Anne smiled, but some part of her hated it. She was afraid that she was giving him false hope, that she was giving him an empty promise, but she had to believe, had to believe that they were going to be fine, that they could escape. Anne was going to go back to sleep, but she heard footsteps echo through the hall. She tensed up and pulled Sprig even closer. She wasn't letting Darcy hurt her family. That's when Anne noticed another set of footsteps, this one lighter and quieter. Then she heard hushed voices. Anne carefully placed Polly onto Hop Pop's lap, accidentally waking both of them up.  

"Sorry" she whispered and got up to try to see who was coming. 

At last, the figures came into view and Anne saw that it was a Hobbit woman and an Elf woman. Their eyes lit up at the sight of Anne and they hurried to her. 

"Who-" started Anne but was interrupted when the Elf suddenly shoved a book into her hand. 

"What? What is this? Who are you?" asked Anne. 

"My name is General Yunan, Scourge of the Sand War, Defeater of-" started saying the Elf, but she was interrupted by the Hobbit, who placed a finger to her mouth. 

"Her name is Yunan, she is very important, blah blah blah, we don't have the time for this!" hissed the Hobbit. 

"What?" repeated Anne. 

"She is Yunan and I'm Olivia, Marcy's caretaker" explained the Hobbit. 

Olivia grabbed a key chain and started trying to find the key to open the door. 

"She... she would like you to have this, it's her journal" added Yunan. 

Yunan and Olivia shared a sad look between each other before looking back at Anne. Anne stared at them in shock. She wasn't sure how they were still walking around free. But the answer came soon enough. They were suddenly grabbed by tentacles. Both of them let out a yelp and struggled against the tentacles, but to no use. Anne dived backwards and hid the journal behind Hop Pop. She wanted to help them, but she knew there was no use, she couldn't reach them. 

"I've been looking for you two! Honestly, I thought you had already run away, that would have been the smarter choice"  echoed Darcy's voice, before they made it into view. 

They walked over and the tentacles made Yunan and Olivia face them. Anne growled and stepped between Darcy and the Plantars. She heard Polly mumble something, and Sprig whispered something back. Anne watched as Darcy gestured to the door, and the tentacles carried Yunan and Olivia away. Darcy looked at Anne and grinned. 

"Don't worry, I'll be back for you soon enough"  they promised. 

Anne felt a shiver run down her spine. When Darcy left and Anne couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, she finally exhaled and turned towards the Plantars. They were huddled together against the wall. Hop Pop handed her the journal. Anne carefully took it and opened it. She instantly recognized Marcy's handwriting. Anne sat down and started reading, after all, Yunan had said that Marcy would like her to have it. She learned that the journal was called Jo, then she started learning more about Marcy's life. How lonely she would get, how her parents didn't pay attention to her, how her sibling, Darcy, hated them. 

Entry 1:  

Hi Jo!  

Sorry for disappearing for a while. Old journal ran out of pages, and I couldn't find another one that I really liked.  

I would like to say that today was a great day!   

I met up with Anne and Sasha! We went to get some ice cream today!   

It was really nice to hang out with them, unfortunately I have to go home, which sucks.  

Frog! The pages are already dirty, I guess I should listen to Sasha and stop journaling while things are still in action. BRB! Gotta climb up a wall! :D  

I'm back!!! Did ya miss me? *Wiggles eyebrows* I sure did!  

Olivia just called me to go eat dinner with them! I love eating dinner with Olivia and Yunan, they have in this warm atmosphere. It's so welcoming!   

Sometimes I wish they were my family. It's really easy to just get lost in these warm and fuzzy feelings.  

But I can't just throw myself at them and hope they take me under their wing. Plus, I already have a family!  

I have Mother, she loves me! She just has a different way of showing it! She shows it by making sure that I stay on the right track, that I'm always perfect and presentable.   

I have Father, he loves me! He is just very busy... running a whole kingdom is very hard work! It makes sense that he is almost never there... and doesn't notice me when he is there...  

I have Darcy! And... and they... they love me... they just... it's called tough love! Yeah! They um... they... they just show their love in a different way...  

All those times they scold me because I've made a mistake, it's the right thing, it makes sense. How else am I supposed to learn? And Father is just so busy! It doesn't matter that he forgot my last birthday! And the one before that... and the one before that... and all of them honestly ... he is just so busy! But he still loves me!  

Oops, I accidentally dropped my teacup, luckily, it's just Olivia and Yunan here, so Mother won't know I messed up... again...  

I'm back in my room right now. Reading a new book! It's a really good one too! I want to tell Anne and Sasha about it! But they probably won't be very interested... maybe I shouldn't... they don't seem to like it when I ramble on and on about things... But they're busy with other stuff, so I'll just keep this to myself.  

Anne's throat tightened. She felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. 

"How did we not notice? How did we not notice that she was feeling down that she was hurting, that she was hiding so much. I should have listened to her more"  thought Anne. 

Anne closed the journal and hid it in a crack in the wall. Then she rested her head on Hop Pop's lap. He gently ruffled her hair. Polly snuggled into her chest and Sprig latched onto her arm. Anne closed her eyes, letting tears slowly run down the sides of her head. She exhaled slowly and then opened her eyes to see Hop Pop lean his head against the wall, his eyes drooping close. Anne closed her eyes as well. She laid there for a while, on the line between asleep and awake. Where she wasn't relaxed enough to fall asleep, but also didn't' have the energy to fully stay awake. Then she heard footsteps. Anne kept her eyes closed until the footsteps got closer. At last, she opened her eyes and slowly sat up. To her surprise, she saw Yunan and Olivia standing at their cell. 

"Yunan! Olivia!" she exclaimed. 

She was going to say something else, but then she noticed that their eyes were glowing a pinkish purple. They wore dark grey metal collars with purple glowing dots on them. They had no expression, just staring blankly into space. They were carrying two plates of food each. They slid them in and turned and started walking away. 

"Wait!" called out Anne. 

Yunan and Olivia kept walking. Anne gulped nervously and grabbed the plate. In it was some kind of mush. Anne poked it and then tried some, it didn't taste well, but at least it was something. She passed the other plates to the Plantars. 

"What do you think happened to them?" asked Sprig. 

"I don't know, but that pinkish purple color looks familiar," said Anne. 

Sprig, Anne, and Polly all saw the way Hop Pop tensed up at that. They all looked at him, confused. Then their eyes widened.  

"Mind controlling mushrooms?" groaned Anne. 

Hop Pop laughed nervously. 

"Really!? Of all the things!" shouted Sprig. 

The three of them glared at Hop Pop. 

"What! I only used mind-controlled mushrooms on you once! Once!" yelped Hop Pop. 

Chapter Text

Sasha:  

"The Plantars have what under their house!?" exclaimed Sasha. 

"A secret underground place where their ancestors used to place their things in, it's very dangerous, filled with traps" explained Loggle. 

Loggle was an elderly Hobbit man with goggles, who liked carving things out of wood.  

Sasha gaped at him before straightening up. 

"All right Hobbits! Listen up! We have got to make sure that our base is safe and secure, we don't want any robots knowing that we are making a resistance, so let's take the Plantars'... uh... basements/secret underground place!" announced Sasha. 

The Wartwood citizens set out to work on cleaning out the place. It took them a while, with all the traps and the ceiling almost caving in, but they got most of it done. Sasha watched over a few Hobbits as they installed the light source. They seemed to have everything under control, so she let her eyes wander. She imagined how it would look when they were fully finished. She could see the med bay in the far-left corner, and the weapons and armor room across from there. There would also be a grub in the middle, and training ground at the bottom floor. They would need a room to plan everything.  

"Commander Sasha?" someone tugged at her sleeve. 

Sasha turned around to see a small Hobbit. The Hobbit was wearing a tunic and some armor, they were covered in filth. It was like a punch in the gut, to see someone so small ready for battle. Then again, wasn't she about that age when she joined the Dwarf Army? Yes, but that was training, this was war, this Hobbit could die. 

"What is it?" asked Sasha. 

The Hobbit led her to the center of their base. There was a statue in the middle, though Sasha had no idea how it got here. The Hobbit urged Sasha to stand atop the statue, Sasha stood up and glanced around nervously, she tried not to show it though. All the Wartwood citizens stood in front of her. Mrs. Croaker came forward and also stood atop the statue, she was holding some sort of red helmet with a feather on the top. 

"All in favor of Sasha Waybright as our leader!" shouted Mrs. Croaker. 

The Wartwood citizen cheered, and Sasha looked around in shock. 

"You... you want me to lead you!" asked Sasha. 

"Yeah, this helmet will let everyone know that you are the leader" nodded Mrs. Croaker. 

She handed the helmet to Sasha. It wasn't heavy, but it felt heavy, especially with all the Hobbits chanting her name. The pressure, the responsibility, was she worth this? No. No, she wasn't. She was toxic and manipulative, she wasn't a good leader, she would ruin everything, she would disappoint them. 

"Well... if that's what everyone wants, I suppose..." Sasha placed the helmet on her head, "I'll be your leader!" 

The crowd cheered and Sasha grinned. But deep inside she felt like crying, she wasn't worth this, she would mess up and fail. Except she couldn't fail because this whole resistance needed her, they needed her to lead them, she couldn't fail them, she wasn't allowed to do that. The visor fell down, blocking her vision and startling her. Sasha pushed it up again, the Wartwood citizen had started to go back to their work. Sasha felt like she should also help them build, but then Loggle called her. She turned around and walked to him. 

"What is it?" she asked. 

"We're out of building materials, we need more wood and stone" he explained. 

Sasha sighed and thought for a second. 

"How about getting some materials from the other houses, since going into the forest is still too dangerous" suggested Sasha. 

Sasha gathered a small team and put Grime in charge of them. They went out to get materials while Sasha helped organize the weapons and armor. Then she noticed a room in the highest possible place, there was a small staircase leading to it. She climbed up and walked through the entrance, it was a medium sized room. There was a smaller room connected to it, with a bed. Sasha decided that this would be the planning room and the smaller room could be her room, so she could be close to the plans. It wasn't long before someone found her. It was Maddie. She fidgeted with her thumbs. 

"We don't have any herbs for medicine and potions, would it be ok to go to the forest to collect some?" she asked. 

Sasha frowned. They didn't have a lot of weapons and armor; the forest could be filled with robots. It would be a dangerous mission. Though... if only the two of them went, then this could be a stealth mission, and no one would notice them. But it would still be dangerous, if they got caught this could be the end to their resistance. But if they didn't... they would get herbs, so if anyone got injured, they could heal them. But... 

"Alright, but this is a stealth mission, so it'll just be me and you" finally answered Sasha. 

They walked out and headed for the entrance to the base. On the way Sasha told Chuck, the Hobbit who liked tulips and was a great builder, to tell anyone who asked that she and Maddie went on a stealth mission and would return soon. Sasha and Maddie walked through the forest. Maddie led the way while Sasha listened to every single sound. Her ears kept rotating, catching every single sound. Maddie collected some herbs and grabbed some flowers. Then they headed back to the base. On their way the ground beneath them started trembling.  

"W-what's happening?" asked Maddie. 

Sasha tensed up, crouched down closer to the ground and listened. She could hear something moving, it was getting louder... Sasha's eyes widened, and she grabbed Maddie, leaping away just as a giant centipede broke through the ground. Sasha, still holding Maddie, froze. Centipedes didn't attack people unless provoked, so all they had to do was to wait it out. The centipede looked around and Sasha saw the purple eyes, which was unusual. They seemed to glow, and the centipede had a metal collar with purple, glowing dots. It roared and lunged at Sasha and Maddie. Sasha jumped away and ran, but the centipede kept following. 

"Damn it, I can't lead them to the base, otherwise it'll attack the Hobbits" thought Sasha. 

She took a sharp turn and ran in the opposite direction of Wartwood. 

"Where are we running!?" shouted Maddie, still tucked under Sasha's arm. 

"Away from Wartwood, we can't risk it knowing our location" explained Sasha. 

She jumped over a log and slid down a slope, quickly leaping into the bushes. She clamped her hand over Maddie's mouth and held her breath. The centipede crawled around, looking for them. Suddenly two robots appeared. One of them reached out and the centipede bowed down. 

"A Canine? And a Hobbit?" asked the robot. 

The centipede seemed to nod. 

"I see, hunt them down" the robot told it. 

The robots walked away while the centipede kept looking. Sasha started to slowly move backwards, hoping to disappear before the centipede noticed them. Sasha kept stepping backwards, but the centipede noticed them. It lunged at them, trying to bite them. Sasha ran, she needed to lose the centipede somehow. 

"The collar! It seems to be controlling it!" shouted Maddie. 

Sasha looked over her shoulder and focused on the collar.  

"Got it!" said Sasha. 

She threw Maddie into the nearby bushes, turned around and grabbed her heron swords. When the centipede attacked, she dodged and sliced the collar in half. The centipede froze and then dropped to the ground. Sasha poked it nervously, it jerked awake, startling Sasha. Its eyes weren't purple anymore, they were grey. The centipede looked around and then dived underground. Sasha exhaled slowly, how in the world was Darcy controlling centipedes using that collar. Sasha was woken from her trance by a loud groan from the bushes. She rushed over. 

"Oh frog, Maddie, are you ok? I didn't mean to hurt you," said Sasha. 

Maddie stumbled out of the bush, leaves in her hair, but at least most of the herbs seemed to still be in her bag. 

"I'm alright" mumbled Maddie.  

She picked up the collar, there was purple liquid oozing out of it. 

"What is this?" asked Sasha. 

Maddie shrugged and placed it in her bag. 

"We should head back; I'll test it out and figure out how it controlled the centipede," said Maddie. 

Sasha and Maddie headed back to their base. When they made it back, Sasha was pulled away by Grime. 

"Come on, we got most of the things built, thanks to Chuck" explained Grime. 

He showed her around. There were still ladders and materials lying around, with some Wartwood citizens still working, but most of the things were done. 

Marcy:  

Marcy sat in a room. She was playing flipwart against... someone. Honestly, she wasn't sure who she was playing against, the opponents pieces moved by themselves. It didn't really matter, since Marcy was winning. After winning that game, the board and pieces disappeared, and a strange Rubik's cube appeared. Marcy grabbed it and started turning it. She kept turning and turning, until it was solved. 

"Woohoo! Another puzzle down! That would be the 284th!" said Marcy aloud. 

As she placed the Rubik's cube down and was suddenly blinded by a bright light. She looked around, confused. 

"What in the world?" she asked. 

Marcy looked around. She was standing in a gigantic library, with shelves filled with books, all the way to the ceiling.  

"Whaaaaaaat!" said Marcy, her voice echoing through the large room. 

Marcy ran around the library, reading all the signs, she recognized the organization method, it was the one she made for her books! Marcy quickly found all the books she wanted to read, she placed them in a pile at a table and was about to read one when she heard someone's voice. She turned around and saw a tall person, she couldn't identify what species they were. 

"Welcome, Marcy Wu, we have been waiting for you" they said. 

"Woah..." mumbled Marcy, "you're so tall!" 

They laughed, making the ground tremble. Marcy almost fell. 

"Where am I? I don't remember how I got here... my memory is all fuzzy, like... some parts of it are missing... something important..." rambled Marcy. 

"Don't you worry about that" they said, then they raised their hand, "behold!" 

The library faded and turned into a large hill. The sky was a beautiful light and dark blue, with a slightly purple hue. Marcy gaped at the large castle in front of her. There were giant rocks floating in the sky, with small houses on them. On another hill stood the castle, with a large clock tower. Suddenly something large flew above Marcy's head, causing wind to pull at her hair. Marcy looked up and saw a dragon flying above. She gasped. 

"No way!" yelled Marcy. 

"We've seen your memories, we know your love of books, of games, this is the perfect fantasy world you always wanted!" they said. 

"It's... it's awesome!" shouted Marcy. 

She ran forward but stopped. She turned back, confusion in her eyes. There was something she was forgetting, something important. She was missing something. Her chest started hurting, she felt a burning feeling in her chest. Marcy couldn't breathe properly. What was she forgetting? 

"I... I seem to be forgetting something important..." mumbled Marcy. 

She noticed how they tensed up. 

"Yes..." they began, "a map! You can't start an adventure without a map!" 

"Oh right!" said Marcy. 

They handed her a map and Marcy opened it, already making a route that could get her to all the destinations the quickest. She jumped into the air, did a little celebration dance and started running down the hill. 

"Come on! Let's go!" she shouted. 

She stopped suddenly, causing herself to trip and fall. Marcy jumped up and turned to face them. She smiled sheepishly. 

"Um... it's kind of lonely..." she said, fidgeting with the map. 

"Ah... of course" they answered. 

They lifted their hands and then Sasha and Anne appeared. 

"Mar-mar, we've missed you" they said in union. 

Marcy's throat closed up, she suddenly felt very emotional, maybe it was because she hadn't seen them in a while. 

"Anne! Sashy!" she shouted. 

Marcy ran to them, pulling them into a tight hug. They laughed. Marcy felt tears running down her cheeks, she cried. 

"I'm so sorry for everything" she whispered. 

She wasn't sure what she was sorry about, or why it sounded so familiar, like she had said it before. 

"Never mind that, Mar-mar! Do you like your new outfit?" asked Sasha. 

Marcy looked at them in confusion, then she glanced down at her clothes. She gasped. She was in a beautiful dark green dress and a brown cape. She was wearing combat boots and fingerless gloves. Her hair was also longer. Marcy looked at Sashay and Marcy. She gaped. Sasha was wearing a red dress with shoulder armor. She had two wooden swords and golden highlights. She was also wearing red boots and gloves. She had golden horns, and her hair was much longer, reaching down to her knees. Anne was wearing a blue tunic and light brown pants; she also wore boots and had a sword on her back. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a golden hair tie. 

"Oh my frog! You guys look amazing!" said Marcy, "this was everything I've ever wanted and more!" 

Marcy looked up, but Sasha and Anne weren't in front of her. 

"Come on Mar-mar!" shouted Anne from behind. 

"Yeah! Let's start the adventure!" agreed Sasha. 

Marcy turned around and caught up to them. She pulled out the map. 

"Alright! Where should we go first?" she asked. 

"Whatever you want Mar-mar, we only want what you want" they said in union. 

Marcy looked up at them in surprise. Images flashed in front of her eyes. Holding Anne's and Sasha's hands with tears in her eyes. Both looked at her with disgust and anger. Trying to explain everything. Drowning in fear and guilt. The feeling in her chest intensified. She felt like she was suffocating and burning. Her eyesight became blurry and even though her chest was burning, the rest of her body was shivering from the cold. The smell of burned flesh filled her nose and she couldn't breathe. Marcy coughed, rubbing her eyes. 

"W-what did you just say?" she asked. 

"We want to do what you want to do" repeated Anne and Sasha. 

Marcy frowned, she felt tears prick at the edges of her eyes. She looked down at the map, which was now a drawing of them that she drew a few years ago. Tears stained the paper. She looked up at the wrong Anne and Sasha, now she noticed how they had grey eyes instead of the usual blue and pink. 

"This... this isn't real, is it? The real Anne and Sasha don't want what I want, and... forcing them to do what I want is wrong" said Marcy, choking on her tears. 

"You figured out faster than I thought you would" echoed a voice. 

Marcy tensed up. She turned around and stared in fear at the figure in the shadows. Out of the shadows came Darcy, with their helmet and scythe. 

"Join me, and maybe I'll spare you," said Darcy. 

They reached out their arm, but Marcy slapped it away. Darcy growled. 

"I'll never join you! Anne and Sasha will save me!" shouted Marcy. 

"Will they though? Even after you betrayed them? Even after you put them in danger?" asked Darcy. 

"Even if they don't, I will never join you!" repeated Marcy. 

Darcy hissed and raised their hand. The fantasy world disappeared and turned into nothing, now Marcy stood in absolute darkness. The only light came from the orange eyes on Darcy's helmet. 

"Then you can stay here, until nothing is left of your personality" growled Darcy. 

They disappeared and Marcy was surrounded by pure darkness. She looked around in fear and then a small light appeared in her hand. She looked down at the drawing of her, Sasha, and Anne, it was glowing. 

"Anne, Sasha, I believe you can save the world, please" whispered Marcy. 

Anne:  

What day was it? Who knew. All Anne knew was that a lot of time had passed. Yunan and Olivia kept bringing them food. Anne guessed that they brought the food once a day, meaning they had been here for four days, but maybe she was wrong. Anne pushed up and glanced at the plate with goop on it. Her stomach growled hungrily, but the food tasted awful. Instead, she grabbed Marcy's Journal and wrote down another entry. Ever since the day she got it and finished reading it, she had begun writing in it as well. She really hoped that Marcy wouldn't mind, but she thought that Marcy would actually like it.  

"Anne?" asked Polly. 

Anne stopped writing and looked up at Polly. She hummed in response. 

"Do you think... I could fit through that?" asked Polly. 

Anne raised her head and looked at where Polly was standing, behind her was a hole in the wall. Anne's eyes widened. 

"What is this? Did you make this?" she asked. 

"Yeah, I was wondering if maybe, if I got away, I could free you" explained Polly. 

Anne walked over and checked the hole, it was small, smaller than Polly. 

"I think you'll have to make it bigger if you want to get through it," said Anne. 

Polly hummed and sat down. She kept working on the hole in the wall. Anne looked at her and suddenly heard footsteps. 

"Someone's coming!" she hissed. 

Anne stuffed the journal into the hole. Hop Pop sat in front of it and went back to sleep. Sprig grabbed Polly and hid her behind himself. Anne stood up and walked over, she grabbed at the bars and looked at the figure that walked down the hall. It was Darcy. Anne growled. 

"Calm down, tiger, I'm just here to take you for a while," laughed Darcy. 

They opened the cell and a metal tentacle grabbed Anne. It pulled her away. Darcy closed the cell. 

"Hey! Give her back!" shouted Sprig. 

"And what if I don't? What are you going to do?" taunted Darcy. 

They glanced at Anne and then made a sharp gesture towards the door. The tentacle moved suddenly, carrying Anne towards the exit. Anne struggled and wiggled, hoping to get free, but it was useless. They made their way up the stairs and through a hallway. Anne was able to catch a glimpse of the outside world through the windows, it wasn't what she expected. The land was destroyed, with robots walking around, carrying resources and drilling into the ground. The sky was dark and there were heavy clouds covering the sun. A storm was starting. The tentacle took her down a staircase and into the giant room in which she had woken up a few days ago. Anne tensed up and saw Marcy in the tank with green liquid. 

"What are you doing to her" she growled at Darcy. 

Darcy laughed; they tapped the tank with their hand. Marcy winced at the sound, her eyes didn't open, but she seemed scared, trying to make herself smaller. Anne struggled against the tentacle more. She was surprised when it let go suddenly, causing her to fall right on her face. Anne groaned in pain and pushed herself up, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there. 

"Now, now! There is no reason to fight! Just tell me everything you know about the Canine, and I'll let you go back!"  said Darcy. 

They stepped closer, stepping on Anne's wrist, Anne winced and pulled away. She got up. She was taller than Darcy, but it still felt like Darcy was looking down on her. Then tentacles grabbed her and pulled her away, Anne gasped in shock, before being pushed into a chair. Metal strips wrapped around her wrists, ankles, torso, and neck. Anne was cuffed to the chair, she struggled against the metal, shouting out in anger and trying to bite Darcy when they stepped closer, but they were just out of reach. 

"As much as I would like to use my new device on you, I'm afraid I only have energy for one go, so I would much rather save it for my dear sister,"  said Darcy. 

There was a loud hiss from above. When Anne looked up, she saw a black helmet that looked similar to Darcy's. Her blood turned cold, and she let out a small 'no!' before struggling more. The helmet got closer and closer, almost at her head, Anne tried to move away, tip the chair over, anything, but she couldn't. And then she felt the cold metal over her head. There was a moment of silence, nothing happened, and Anne wondered if maybe nothing was going to happen, maybe it was broken. The second passed and pain shot through her head causing her to scream and slam herself against the chair and cuffs. Then the pain disappeared.  

Marcy:  

A blood curdling scream echoed around her. Marcy jumped up, though technically she hadn't been sitting, it was hard to tell what she was doing in this weird dark place that Darcy put her in. Marcy shuddered at that thought. If she wasn't put here against her will and stuck here, she would have been rather interested in learning more. She was in her own head in a way, but she couldn't explore sadly, but this meant that nothing here was real. It was all her mind or in this case, Darcy, who showed her stuff. This dark place didn't follow the rules of physics. One moment she was sitting, the next, she was standing or even laying on her stomach. Time also didn't really exist, well no, it did exist, but she couldn't tell it in this place. There was nothing that could help her figure out how long she was here, the only thing she had with her was the drawing of Sasha, Anne, and herself, which was still pulsing with light. Marcy's thought process was interrupted by another scream, this one was louder and a higher pitch, but she was sure it was the same person screaming. Marcy looked around, trying to walk towards the scream, but it seemed to be all around her. 

"Hello!" she shouted. 

Marcy couldn't help but laugh at herself. Why in the world was she shouting 'hello'? Wherever this scream was coming from, it was not from her mind, probably. It was probably from the outside world, which didn't make Marcy feel any better. Someone out there was screaming in pain, and all Marcy could do was sit in her own mind, unable to help. Not that they would want her help, she always managed to mess up something. Marcy shook her head hard. Right now, was not the time for self-pity. Right now, she had to do something, anything. Marcy walked around for a while, then paused and looked back, she was sure she heard footsteps. 

"Must have been nothing, probably just me going crazy at last" she mumbled. 

Marcy kept walking for a while, but nothing changed, so she sat down and closed her eyes. After a while she started feeling colder and like she was in some kind of liquid. She could hear talking. 

"Well? How do you like my new device?"  echoed a familiar voice. 

"Darcy"  thought Marcy, clenching her jaw. 

She listened harder, trying to catch more of the conversation. She heard whimpers and gasps, heavy breathing as well. 

"No! Stop!" someone shouted. 

Marcy focused on that voice; it was... Anne? Anne... Anne was getting hurt! She jerked her head in the direction of the voice, but her movement was slow, like moving through syrup. She couldn't seem to open her mouth either, which caused her to pause and think about how she was breathing if she was in some sort of liquid, but she pushed that thought away. Right now was not the time to get distracted. She cracked open an eye. She was surrounded by green. Her eyesight was blurry, but she could make out two figures, one in a chair and the other standing in front of the first one. The one in the chair seemed to be in pain, jerking and struggling. Both figures seemed to be wearing helmets and with wires going up. Marcy raised her hand slowly, she was tired, really tired. She touched the glass and gently tapped, hoping to get someone's attention. The figure that was standing turned their head to look at her sharply. They moved to her slowly. Marcy could make out a grin on their face. 

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Marcy Wu? What are you trying to do? Save your friend?"  they taunted. 

Marcy tried growling at them, at Darcy, but it came out more of a groan. Suddenly thunder echoed through the hall, and everything turned to darkness. When Marcy opened her eyes, she found herself looking at the glowing drawing, she was back in the dark place. Marcy stood up, looking around. 

"You better let Anne go! You monster!" she shouted into the darkness.  

No one answered, naturally.  

Sasha:  

Sasha tossed and turned. She opened her eyes, sitting up slowly. She looked around, her throat tightened, and she froze, for a couple seconds she couldn't breathe. Then she inhaled sharply. She was in the Avian castle, in the room that they fought Darcy in, the one where she last saw Anne and Marcy. Something creaked behind her. Sasha jumped up and instantly clutched her head. Her head was throbbing and spinning, making it hard to focus on anything except the sharp pain. She could taste blood in her mouth and the smell of burnt flesh filled her nose. Sasha staggered towards a wall, leaning on it. It was nice and cool, helping her relax, her ears twitched, turning towards a noise behind her, it was a pair of footsteps. Sasha pinpointed the sound and slowly made her way to it, leaning heavily on the wall. She really hoped it was Marcy and Anne, she just needed to find them, especially since Marcy was... stabbed... 

"Marbles? Boonchuy?" she called out, her voice was hoarse. 

The footsteps paused, before whoever was making them started running away from Sasha.  

"Hey!" shouted Sasha. 

She pushed against the wall and ran after them. She made it to a hallway and saw a figure running along it. Sasha gritted her teeth and chased them. Her eyesight was blurry, and she still had the headache, but at least she was catching up. The figure looked back and let out a whimper before tripping and falling. They got up and were about to run again, but Sasha leaped at them, pinning them to the ground. For some reason she couldn't see who the figure was, even though she was only an arm's length away. The figure struggled and then went limp. 

"Y-you're h-hurting me" they whimpered. 

Suddenly Sasha could see them. Her breath got stuck in her throat as she looked down at a scared Marcy. Sasha jumped off her reaching to help her up, but Marcy flinched away from her hand. Sasha's throat went dry. She saw bruises on Marcy's wrists, right where she had grabbed her. Sasha stepped back. 

"No..." she breathed out. 

Sasha looked Marcy in the eyes. Marcy was crying, trembling in fear and trying to get away from Sasha. 

"I... I d-didn't mean to hurt you! I-I-I I'm so sorry!" said Sasha, her voice trembling. 

Marcy crawled backwards, away from her. When Sasha slowly reached out, the room and Marcy disappeared, leaving her in the dark. Sasha fell to her knees, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes, but she refused to cry. She could still fix this, she could still do something, right? Sasha coughed loudly, when she opened her eyes, she saw that she was in the throne room again. She got up slowly, only to cough into her hand more. When she finally stopped, she saw blood on the hand that she coughed into.  

"W-what" she mumbled. 

She tasted blood in her mouth. 

"This is your fault" someone said from behind. 

Sasha froze, she hadn't heard them before, how did she get so distracted? She turned around and clenched her jaw, it was Anne. She stood in front of her, breathing heavily, leaning on her sword. 

"Anne!" shouted Sasha. 

She reached out, tumbling forward, but stopped as Anne put her sword between the two. The point of the sword was right under Sasha's chin. 

"You ruined our friendship! You destroyed it!" yelled Anne. 

Sasha stepped backwards, only to hit a wall that wasn't there before. 

"And then you left us. Left Marcy to die, left  me  to die. Have you ever really thought of us as friends or were you just using us?" asked Anne. 

"N-no! I-" started Sasha. 

"You what!" shouted Anne, then she turned and pointed at the Wartwood citizen behind her, "how dare you be their leader! How dare you! After everything you've done! You left me, Marcy, the Plantars, you left your team behind! You could have done something! Now Marcy is dead! Do you really deserve to be their leader!?" 

"N-no! I didn't mean to! I-" began Sasha. 

She felt arms grab her shoulders, shaking her. Someone was shouting at her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. She tried to break free of the hands, trying to reach for her swords. 

"Sasha! SASHA!" 

Sasha jerked upwards. Her breathing came in short, quick gasps. Her heart was pounding in her ears, she couldn't hear anything except it. Someone gently placed their hand on her shoulder. Sasha pushed the fear away, and jerked away from the hand, she grabbed a dagger that she put under her pillow and pointed it at the person. She forced herself to focus, she was under attack, she could worry about the nightmare later. There was a figure in front of her, but her eyes just wouldn't focus. 

"Sasha, breathe, it's me" someone said. 

Sasha blinked away the fog in her eyes, and stared at the Dwarf in front of her, sitting at the edge of her bed. It was Grime. Sitting at the edge of her bed. Wait what? Sasha looked around. The room was illuminated by a single candle that sat on her desk; Grime probably lit it up. This was the room that was connected to the room she had thought on making the planning room. After the long day of planning their next moves, Grime had told her to rest, so she had gone to bed in that room. She remembered now. Sasha breathed in slowly and then breathed out. She did it a couple more times before her breathing was steady and her heart wasn't trying to jump out of her ribcage.  

"What are you doing here?" she asked Grime. 

"The door was open; I was going to close it but then I heard you mumble something in your sleep. You looked like you were having a nightmare, so I woke you up" he explained. 

"Thanks" mumbled Sasha. 

She put her dagger under her pillow and moved closer to grime, gently leaning on his shoulder. Sasha was never one to initiate physical touch a lot, unless you count sparring and fighting. It wasn't like she didn't like it; she actually did. When she was younger, she would sometimes snuggle with Grime, Percy, or Braddock and fall asleep. Especially on a long trip or after a nightmare. She started doing it less and less, even limiting the number of hugs a day, mostly because she didn't want to seem weak. She was a warrior, she was fierce and brave, she didn't want to be treated as a kid, even though she technically was, so she cut down on the hugs, head pats, ear scratches and everything else. Still, nightmares always caused her to find herself sitting next to Grime in the middle of the night.  

"Do you want to talk about it?" asked Grime. 

Sasha forced herself to not tense up. Part of her almost wished that she was attacked, that way she could deal with the nightmare later, and maybe even forget about it after the fight. She knew she didn't have to tell Grime, he would never force her, but she also knew that it would be the right thing to do. Talking it out always made her feel better. 

"Ugh. Feelings"  Sasha mentally groaned. 

"It was... it was about Marcy and Anne" she whispered. 

Grime didn't say anything, letting her continue. 

"I was in the Avian castle again, the room where I last saw them... and I..." Sasha paused. 

She wasn't sure if she could tell him the rest. Instead, she shifted closer to him, hiding her face in his cape fluff. Grime gently stroked her hair. 

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me everything" he told her, and then added, "just know, it wasn't your fault, you couldn't do anything about it, you didn't leave them behind on purpose. And one day you'll reunite with them" 

Sasha nodded a little. She still felt at fault for leaving them behind, and she was scared, scared to see them again. How would they react? Actually, how would she react? She was still partially angry at Marcy for betraying her- no, betraying  them. But it was hard to be angry at Marcy when the last time she saw her, she had a fire dagger through her chest. Sasha couldn't be angry; she was too scared that Marcy didn't survive. She mentally shook her head.  

"No. No, no, no. Mar-mar is alive, she is alive, I have to believe that"  she thought. 

"What time is it?" she asked Grime. 

"2 am" he answered. 

Sasha frowned. She had gone to bed at around 11:30 pm, which meant she only got two and a half hours of sleep. Tomorrow, or technically later today, was going to be busy, she should probably go back to sleep. Then again, it's not like she could go back to sleep without waking up again from a nightmare, but sitting with Grime made her feel better. She felt safe, protected. So, she stayed snuggled up to him for a while, before her sleep clouded her brain and she finally gave in. 

Chapter Text

Anne:  

Darkness. Darkness surrounded her. Why couldn't she see anything? Darkness shouldn't be a problem for her, unless... did she have her eyes closed? No, she was blinking, so why was it so dark? Anne wasn't used to the dark, she never had to worry about it, she could see perfectly well in the dark. Anne remembered learning about how animals see, it had something to do with light reflecting off of objects and into one's eyes. Maybe there was no light? Yeah, that seems right. Something was roughly pulled off of Anne's head. Anne winced and turned around only to see a black helmet with glowing orange eyes. 

"Uuh" groaned Anne. 

She had meant to say "you", but her voice got stuck in her throat at the sight of Marcy, still floating in the tank with green liquid. Anne knew she would never get used to that, in fact, she didn't want to, she needed to get Marcy out of there as fast as possible. 

"You're lucky the power went out, but it doesn't matter, I got enough information" growled Darcy. 

"Info-" started saying Anne but broke into a coughing fit. 

"Interesting, do you not remember? I'll have to document that" mumbled Darcy under their breath. 

Anne glared at them and tried getting to her feet, but she was pinned down by tentacles. Darcy did some sort of gesture and the tentacles picked Anne up and took her away. Anne was carried back to the jail cell. She was thrown in. 

"Anne!" shouted Sprig. 

"You're back!" added Polly. 

"Hey guys..." groaned Anne. 

Her head was beginning to spin. Her eyes started closing and Polly's and Sprig's voices started to sound far, far away. The last thing she saw was Sprig's worried expression while trying to help her up. 

Sasha:    

Being a leader was hard, especially when Sasha knew she couldn't trust herself with this job. She would mess up, just like she messed up her friendship with Marcy and Anne. Which caused Anne to get captured and Marcy to get stabbed, and possibly killed. So now Anne blames her for everything that happened, and she is right to blame her, because she messed up badly. She messed up their friendship, she left them behind when she could have saved them, she- 

"Commander Sasha?" 

Sasha snapped back into reality. She turned her head sharply to look at whoever had spoken, it was Ivy. Ivy was the feisty little Hobbit girl who liked to fight and ambush everyone, great for a stealth mission, if she stopped getting distracted. 

"Yes?" she asked. 

"Um... we got information on the new routes that the robots take to get resources into the Avian castle" explained Ivy. 

"Right..." mumbled Sasha. 

She looked back at the table, on which lay a large map. 

"Show me where it is" she said. 

Ivy came closer and showed where the route went through, she also explained where each stop was (that they knew of) and what they picked up on each one. Sasha was already planning an ambush. This would slow down Darcy's plan and gain them precious resources that would aid them in their resistance. The only thing now was choosing who would go... Sasha glanced at Ivy, who was standing a bit awkwardly by her side. 

"Go get Maddie and Ms. Sundew, tell them to meet me by the entrance, the four of us are going to ambush the robots, and steal the resources," said Sasha. 

"Wait... the four of us? I'm also going!" asked Ivy. 

Sasha nodded and looked back at the map, she heard Ivy run off to get her mother and Maddie. Sasha's mind went back to Marcy and Anne, but she stopped herself before she could spiral back into her mind, she had no time for that. She would lead the resistance and rescue Anne and Marcy! And then... well... that was for future Sasha to figure out. Sasha took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, then she headed for the entrance. On the way there, she spotted Grime and told him about the new mission. 

"Another one? How about the other two?" asked Grime. 

"They leave at the same time; I'll be going with one of them to the dark forest," said Sasha. 

Grime nodded and turned back to keep training the Wartwood citizen. Sasha reached the staircase that led up to the Plantar's house, she climbed it and found Ivy, Maddie, and Ms. Sundew. The four of them were geared up and ready for the mission, so they headed out at once. On the way to the second stop spot of the route, Sasha explained the plan. Maddie and Ivy would create a distraction while Ms. Sundew and herself would loot the wagon and ditch. When they arrived at the stop, they got into position and awaited a wagon. Soon enough Sasha heard the wagon coming, she gestured to the Hobbits that it was coming, and they all got ready to launch. Once the wagon got right under the tree that Maddie and Ivy were in, Maddie dropped a smoke bomb while Ivy took out a robot. While that was happening, Sasha and Ms. Sundew grabbed the loot and ran for cover in the forest. They stopped at a tree that they agreed to meet at after the mission. A few minutes passed, but Maddie and Ivy didn't appear. Sasha focused her ears in the direction of the wagon, there wasn't any movement, which meant the wagon was still there, but where were Maddie and Ivy?  

"Do you hear them?" asked Ms. Sundew, worry evident in her voice. 

Sasha felt a pang of guilt. What would she do if the two Hobbit girls weren't fine? Just then she heard soft footsteps approaching them. Sasha sniffed the air and recognized the sharp smell of one of Maddie's potions. Most of Maddie's potions didn't really smell, but this one did. If Sasha remembered correctly, it was one of the curse potions.  

"They're coming" whispered Sasha. 

Out of the trees appeared Maddie and Ivy. Ivy's jacket was slightly torn, but otherwise they were both unharmed. Ms. Sundew rushed to Ivy and pulled her into a tight embrace. Sasha felt something strange in her stomach, something like jealousy but not quite. She wanted to have a mother like that, someone who cared, but at the same time... did she really deserve it? Sasha noticed Maddie's expression; it looked a little sad. Sasha remembered that Maddie also doesn't have a mother. A part of her wanted to comfort Maddie, but she didn't know how. Before she could do anything, Ms. Sundew turned to Maddie and extended her hand in Maddie's direction. 

"Come here" she said. 

Maddie's eyes widened, she paused and then stepped closer, getting pulled into the embrace. Sasha was pretty sure she saw both Maddie and Ivy blushing, but she didn't have time to focus on that when she heard stomping coming from the wagon. 

"Someone's coming" hissed Sasha, "we gotta go" 

The Hobbits and Sasha disappeared further into the forest. They didn't head straight back to Wartwood, not wanting to lead the robots to their hideout, instead they headed for the Dwarf Tower nearby. Once they were sure that they weren't followed, they went back to Wartwood with the resources. Upon arrival they were greeted by Toadie, who quickly looked through everything they brought and got a few Hobbits to carry it all to the correct places. Sasha gave him a curt nod and then headed back to the planning room. 

Marcy:  

Marcy was tired. 

Tired of floating in that tank. She hadn't moved her physical body in a long time, she knew that, it was clear every time she was conscious. 

Tired of just sitting there and waiting. She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it felt like an eternity. 

Tired of being used by Darcy. Darcy tricked her, they promised her that her friends would be safe. Darcy lied. 

Tired of being useless. She couldn't help anyone. Anne had been in pain and all she could do was watch. Sasha... well... Marcy didn't even know where Sasha was. 

Tired of always making mistakes. Why couldn't she just learn? Why couldn't she get better, improve, instead she kept messing up. 

Tired of being different. Maybe if she fit in, none of this would have happened. 

Tired of no one ever listening. Was there no one that was interested in the things she was interested in? 

Tired of- 

"Stupid lightning!" growled someone. 

Tired of that STUPID VOICE! WHY COULDN'T IT JUST DISAPPEAR!? WHY DID SHE CONTINUE TO HEAR IT!? JUST SHUT UP! 

Marcy groaned in frustration. There was nothing she could do, except sit here and stare at the drawing of herself, Sasha, and Anne.  

Anne:  

Two weeks had passed. Darcy kept taking Anne to their... lab? Kind of. Anne remembered how Darcy put a helmet on her, it was very painful, but there was a blank spot between putting the helmet on and taking it off. Anne could never remember what had happened in between, but whatever happened, it led to Darcy knowing more about herself, Sasha, and Marcy. They would spend a lot of time taunting Anne about her past and her relationship with Sasha and Marcy. 

"Do you really think either of them would think of you as something more than a friend? Actually, do you even think they think of you as a friend?" taunted Darcy, "you never paid any attention to my sister, always ignoring her, never caring."  

Guilt ate Anne up from the inside. 

"Do you know at least one of her favorite books? I know ten, and I don't even care," laughed Darcy. 

Anne tried to remember, but she couldn't. 

"And the Canine, such a good friend... hah" grinned Darcy, "honestly, I admire her manipulation and gaslighting"  

Anne fought back her tears. 

"Did you really think they like you? You? Pathetic little Reptile? You're dumb, useless, boring, pathetic, you don't know what you're going to do in the future. Both of them have their whole life planned out, while you're grasping at straws," said Darcy. 

Anne inhaled sharply and looked Darcy right in the eyes. She stood up and looked down at Darcy. Their smile faltered a little. 

"I. Don't. Care. I don't care about anything that you say. Who cares about your opinion!" shouted Anne. 

Darcy scowled and then grinned. 

"Really? Even if I say that I found where the Canine is hiding?" asked Darcy. 

Anne's eyes widened.  

"No... y-you're lying!" Anne accused them. 

"Believe what you want, but I have already sent robots after her, once I get her... I might use my new technology on her and not my sister" shrugged Darcy.  

They gestured the tentacles to take Anne back in her cell. When Anne arrived, she huddled closer to the Plantars and told them the news. Then they started working on their plans for escape. The tunnel was large enough for Polly to crawl through, and once she was on the other side, she ran through the hall and scouted the area. When she returned Hop Pop pulled her into a hug. 

"What took you so long? We were so worried" he asked. 

"It was a long hallway, but the windows face the cliff side, under which is the ocean. There were also lots of doors in the hallway, but I didn't get to check any of them" told them Polly. 

The group started to throw ideas around. They agreed that by jumping out the window into the ocean, they would be able to swim away. Plus, the ocean was the safest place they could go to, since Darcy was an Avian, and the robots didn't seem like they could swim fast. That only left the problem of getting to the window. 

"I could try to get the keys, unlock the door and then we run" suggested Polly. 

"No, it's too dangerous, I don't want you running around without backup, and we don't even know where the keys are" disagreed Hop Pop. 

"Yeah, plus the metal doors that block the staircase seem to be activated by something as well, so we would have to figure that out too" added Anne. 

Sprig had been surprisingly quiet this whole time, at last he raised his head and spoke up: 

"What if we blow up the wall?" 

There were a few seconds of total silence, Anne saw Hop Pop frown, while Polly grinned, her eyes sparkling. Hop Pop also saw that and glared at her in a way that said, "don't you dare agree with him", they both knew that Polly wouldn't let go of that idea. 

"First of all, how do we even blow up the wall? Second of all, if we do that, it could cause the ceiling to crumble, or we could get hurt from the explosion. Third of all, our plan is to escape unnoticed, blowing up the wall is not 'escaping unnoticed'" hissed Anne. 

Hop Pop nodded approvingly, while Polly pouted.  

"Well, they are going to notice one way or another, so going unnoticed isn't really an option, especially since we will have to smash a window. For blowing up the wall, we could use boomshrooms" suggested Sprig. 

Hop Pop glared at him, while Anne nodded slowly. 

"Actually... that might work..." she started, she saw the disapproving look that Hop Pop gave her, but chose to ignore it, "the boomshrooms are probably located in the weapons room, and I might know where that is" 

"We'll blow up this whole castle!" whisper-shouted Polly. 

This time both Hop Pop and Anne glared at her. 

"No. We are not blowing up this whole castle, think of all the innocent people who will get hurt, plus we won't have the time," said Anne. 

Polly agreed reluctantly. Then she crawled through the tunnel and checked the door that Anne said was the weapons room, it was, and it had boomshrooms. When Polly returned, they agreed to escape the next day, at night. That night, or was it day(?), Anne lay on the floor, Hop Pop slept against the wall with Polly in his arms, Sprig lay next to Anne, clinging to her right arm. She heard him whimper quietly; his brows furrowed. Anne stroked his hair, making him relax a little. She stared at the ceiling for a while, feeling bad. They were going to escape, run away, without Marcy. They were leaving her behind.  

"It's the right thing to do, we can't save her, not without alerting Darcy of our presence, and since we are going to explode the wall, we won't have the time to save her before the robots attack us. Plus, it's not like we can jump into the ocean with her, it would hurt her" Anne reminded herself. 

She glanced at her right hand, the one that was... cu- sly- the one that... the one that Sprig clung to. The green liquid had healed her arm, which meant that it was healing Marcy's chest as well. Getting her out of the liquid was dangerous, what if she wasn't fully healed? They might reopen the wound or maybe there was some sort of side effect. It was too dangerous. Instead, they would escape, find Sasha, and save Marcy together.  

"Hang on Mar-mar, we'll save you" promised Anne. 

Sasha:  

Being a leader was hard. If you told her she would be leading a commander before the whole incident, she would have been ecstatic, but now... now she was scared. Scared to mess up, scared that they would hate her, scared to let them down. She was scared. She was also exhausted from pulling who knows how many all-nighters. But she couldn't rest yet, she had missions to plan, soldiers to train, she needed to stop Darcy, save Anne and Marcy. Yeah, lots to do, that's why she couldn't sleep.  

"I should sleep. Rest is important, if you don't sleep, I'll mess up more" told herself Sasha, "but... it's not like I can even sleep, not with-"  

Sasha picked up on quick, soft footsteps heading for the door. By the footsteps she figured out it was a child, but what was a child doing awake in the middle of the night? Unless... what time was it? The footsteps stopped and Sasha strained her ears to try to hear anything from the other side of the door. At last, someone knocked. 

"Come in" said Sasha without looking up from the map. 

The door creaked open, and Sasha wrinkled her nose at the scent of medicine, herbs, and potions, it was Maddie. 

"Dad said we are running low on food" she whispered. 

Sasha nodded and scribbled that down on her to do list, which was getting longer with each day. 

"I'll deal with that," said Sasha. 

She heard the door creak open and then close with a soft thud. Sasha looked over the routes that the robots took, that was where they could get the most resources. She found a spot where they could raid a cart and get both food and resources, two stones with one bird. Wait... that isn't how the saying goes... oh well, never mind that. Sasha started planning on who to send to the mission, when she heard heavy footsteps coming to the door. She tensed up, she knew those footsteps, it was Grime. The door opened and Sasha kept her eyes glued to the map, hoping that he wouldn't notice how tired she was. 

"You should rest," said Grime. 

"Shit. Of course, he would notice" cursed Sasha. 

She mumbled a quiet "later" while keeping her eyes on the map, trying to focus on work. 

"Sasha. You need to rest" repeated Grime, more sternly this time. 

"I can't, I have work, I can rest once I figure this out," said Sasha. 

She heard Grime sigh, then he walked up to her and looked over her work. 

"You're tired, you need to sleep, you can't even think straight" to prove his point he pointed at the spot that Sasha chose to raid the carts, "this isn't even spot on the route" 

Sasha blinked twice and glared at the map, as if it was its fault. Grime was right, that wasn't a spot on the route, it wasn't even close to the route the cart takes. She would have sent a group there and made them wait there for a cart that would never arrive. She crossed that spot out and tried to find the actual route so she could find another spot. 

"Sasha Waybright, go to sleep" nudged her Grime. 

When she didn't budge, he grabbed her hand and tugged her gently in the direction of her room. Sasha kept her feet firmly on the ground, refusion to move.  

"Sasha Elizabeth Waybright. You need rest" growled Grime. 

Sasha inhaled sharply. He was using her full name, which meant he was angry, or annoyed, or disappointed. She messed up. She gripped at the table, leaving claw marks at the edge. At last, she turned to face him but kept her gaze on the floor. 

"Come on Sasha, all this work can wait, you'll finish it faster if you're well rested" said Grime, then he added, "and remember, you aren't alone, I can figure out the smaller missions so you can focus on the bigger things" 

Sasha knew he was correct, he could figure out the food and resources problem, while she figured out how to beat Darcy. But she needed rest for that... which meant sleeping... and sleeping meant... 

"This isn't the only reason you haven't gone to bed, right?" asked Grime quietly. 

"What other reason could there be?" asked Sasha. 

He was right. These weren't the reasons why she didn't go to sleep, but she couldn't let him know the real reason. Sasha kept her guard up at all times, learned to mask away her feelings long before joining the Dwarf Army. She could fool just about anyone, sometimes even herself, but she couldn't fool him. Grime knew her better than anyone, sometimes better than she knew herself. This is why he knew she was lying, by the twitch in her left ear, and how her shoulders rose just a little higher, something that even she didn't know she did while lying. 

"Sasha" he pressed on. 

Sasha pulled her hand away, taking a step back. 

"I'm fine, I can finish planning this mission and then I'll rest" mumbled Sasha. 

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong, but you have to rest" he continued. 

Sasha took another step backwards, even though Grime wasn't getting any closer. She should tell him, he would understand, but she built her walls so high that it was hard to tear them down. 

"Nothing is wrong" growled Sasha. 

"Sasha" said Grime. 

"I said nothing's wrong! Just leave me alone! You're not my parent!" snapped Sasha. 

She instantly regretted it. She shouldn't have snapped at him, shouldn't have raised her voice. She tensed up, bracing herself, but nothing happened. Then she heard Grime walk closer to her, he raised his arm and Sasha tensed up again, but then he placed his hand softly on her shoulder. 

"It's alright, I'm not angry. You're right, I'm not your parent, but I care about you, so please, if something is bothering you, tell me," said Grime. 

Sasha sniffled, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes. She forced them down and looked up at Grime, only to instantly look down at the floor. 

"I... I keep having... nightmares" she whispered softly. 

When Grime didn't answer, she wondered if he didn't hear her, but then he pulled her into a hug. Sasha gasped quietly and then melted into the embrace, hiding her face in the fur of his cape. She didn't let herself cry, but she let Grime lead her to her bed and tuck her in, like she was a little kid again. Then Grime grabbed a chair and pulled it towards her bed, he sat down and started telling her stories from his past. Sasha loved when he did that, he would tell her the stories of his childhood and adulthood, before Sasha joined the Dwarf Army. He would tell her his battles, his missions, how he met the Dwarfs that were in the Dwarf Army now. Sasha's eyes started closing and at last she allowed herself to close them fully and drift off to sleep. 

Anne:   

"Alright, everyone knows the plan, right?" asked Anne. 

"Yes Anne, you've repeated it at least 15 times already" groaned Sprig. 

"Yeah! Let's get started already!" joined in Polly. 

Anne sighed and allowed Polly to crawl through the tunnel. While Polly grabbed the boomshrooms, Anne picked up Hop Pop and backed away from the back wall. After a few minutes they heard Polly's voice: 

"I'm ready, get away from the wall!" 

"Got it!" whisper-shouted Anne. 

The was a second of silence, before a loud explosion echoed through the halls. Dust flew up into the air, causing Anne's eyes to water, she heard Hop Pop and Sprig cough. Anne forced her eyes open and walked through the hole in the wall, making sure that Sprig was right behind her. When they make it to the hallway, Polly leads them to the window that's the best to jump from. Anne kneels down so Hop Pop can pick up Polly and so Sprig can jump up and sit on her shoulders. They see robots from both ends of the hallway, running at them. Anne takes a few steps back and then runs to the window, jumping and smashing it. The next thing she knows, she is falling through the air, with the ocean below her. She sees energy beams shoot past them but doesn't have the time to look up before hitting the water. The water feels great, it's cold and wet and she missed it so much. Anne opens her eyes and breathes in deeply. Thats when she remembers that Sprig, Hop Pop, and Polly are still on her. 

"Hold on guys!" she tells them and swims deeper into the ocean. 

She finds an underwater cave that has an air pocket in it. The Plantars breathe in deeply, Polly coughs a few times before laying on a rock, taking deep breaths. Hop Pop sits next to her, one hand over his heart. Sprig is still on Anne's shoulders. She could hear and feel him inhale deeply; his heart was racing. She placed him on a rock. 

"I saw some plants on the way here that'll allow you to breathe underwater" said Anne before diving under the water again. 

She has to admit, she takes her time picking the plants, wanting to stay underwater for as long as possible, which is selfish of her. At last, she returns and lets the Plantars eat the plants. It's one of the only plants she remembers her biology teacher talking about, mostly because she would fantasize about the Plantars coming to visit her and seeing her underwater house. The Plantars rest for a while, while Anne tries to figure out which direction her home is in. She would like to check on her parents before returning to Wartwood. She figures out that since they traveled in one direction from the town to the castle, in the opposite direction of Wartwood, then she should swim in that direction until she reaches a familiar place. 

"Alright, you guys ready? We should go before we are found," said Anne. 

Hop Pop grunts and Polly mumbles something unintelligible, while Sprig just keeps laying. 

"Come on guys, we have to keep moving" presses on Anne. 

Since when does she have to be the responsible one? Isn't she usually the reckless one? Anne sighs and swims over to Hop Pop, picking him up, he sighs, but picks Polly up, who presses up against him, shivering slightly. Anne then swims to Sprig and lets him climb onto her shoulders. 

"Right, now, you should be able to breathe underwater, so let's give it a try" suggests Anne. 

She submerges all of them and watches as they all take a small breath. They all look surprised, breathing in deeper and grinning at each other. 

"This is awesome!" exclaims Sprig. 

"Yeah!" agrees Polly. 

Hop Pop nods and then Anne swims in the general direction of Wartwood. When they get to familiar waters, she swims in the direction of home, arriving there in the morning. Anne swims to her house and stops, hand over the door handle. She knocks and waits. 

Sasha:   

Sasha wakes up from a nightmare. She opens her mouth to scream in terror, but shuts it instantly, a habit she has so she wouldn't wake anybody up. She places one hand over her heart, taking deep breaths. 

"It's alright, it's alright" kept repeating Sasha. 

She wills herself to calm down, it was just a nightmare, it wasn't real. Except... what if it was? She had no idea if Anne and Marcy were alright, or even alive. She shakes that thought away. Sasha looks around, she is in bed, a chair stands next to her bed, the chair that Grime sat in to tell her stories and help her sleep. Sasha gets up and grabs her belt, she puts it on and then stands in front of the mirror. She looks better, her eyebags are lighter, but still there. This has been the best sleep she had in a week. She brushes her hair and makes sure she looks fine before going to wash her face. Once she returns, she finds a note left on the map, and several things crossed out from her to-do list. The note read: 

I've gone on a mission, will be back soon, make sure to take it easy.  

Grime.  

Sasha smiled at the note and checked her to-do list. The missions for food and resources have been crossed out, meaning they were done, and the mission for herbs had a star next to it, meaning that everything was organized, but the mission hadn't started or finished yet. The last two things on Sasha's to-do list were "save Boonchuy and Marbles" and "defeat Darcy". Sasha looked at the list and backed away. She cleaned up the papers and maps, put away pencils and notes. When everything was done, she went down to grab something to eat, running into Toadie on the way.  

"Oh! Commander Sasha! I was wondering if maybe you have some paperwork that you need help with? Or organizing something?" he asked. 

"Needed organizing five minutes ago" thought Sasha. 

"No, not really" answered Sasha and kept going. 

She really needed Toadie to break out of his shell, this was the resistance, he needed to know how to defend himself. After grabbing a bite, she headed to watch how everything was going. She saw people still training, sparring with each other. They messed up a few times, but they kept getting back up, trying again, improving, it made Sasha oddly proud. She was going to join their training, maybe teach them a new move or two, but then the alarm bell rang. Sasha's heart sank. The alarm bell was only used in case of emergencies, if a mission went wrong and someone shot the firework gun, which was a signal for help. Sasha raced up towards the watchtower, and bumped into Ivy, who was on watch duty. 

"It's the spot where they were going to ambush a cart for medicine!" shouted Ivy. 

Sasha's heart sank even lower; Grime was there. What had happened to make Grime use the firework gun? What had gone so terribly wrong? 

"Get Loggle, Mrs. Croaker, and Maddie, tell them to meet me outside, and tell Maddie to bring the first aid kit," said Sasha. 

Ivy ran off to get everyone while Sasha grabbed a few more Hobbits and they all met up outside. 

"Loggle, grab Mrs. Croaker. Maddie, get on my shoulders. Let's go" commanded Sasha. 

They raced through the forest, ducking under branches and leaping over fallen logs. At last, they made it to a clearing. Sasha gasped as she saw the group surrounded by a pack of hedgehogs. It was the largest pack of hedgehogs she had ever seen, there were about 20 hedgehogs there. Sasha heard the other Hobbits coming closer, she placed Maddie on the ground. 

"You, Loggle, and Mrs. Croaker, need to grab the injured and get them out of here" she commanded. 

Maddie nodded and ran up to Loggle and Mrs. Croaker. Sasha turned to the rest of the Hobbits. 

"Come on! We have to distract the hedgehogs!" she shouted and ran at a hedgehog. 

She jumped over it, swinging her swords at it. She saw the rest of the Hobbits also fighting, as well as Grime. A hedgehog tried to bite her from behind, but she dodges and sliced it across the face, it whimpered and fled. Sasha heard a rumbling noise and jumped out of the way just as a hedgehog rolled past her. She kept prancing around, trying to make sure nothing sneaked up from behind her or on her right. She was still getting used to not having all of her peripheral vision, it left quite a large blind spot, but her hearing and skill made up for most of it.  

"Sasha! Behind you!" shouted Grime. 

Sasha spun around and jumped into the air; a hedgehog rolled under her. She landed and attacked another one. There were too many of them, they couldn't fight them, but if they could distract all of them... 

"Hey suckers! Over here!" she shouted. 

She ran further away, making sure to slash at a few hedgehogs to aggravate them. Most of them turned to her, she started leading them away. Sasha saw Grime distracting the rest of them, letting Loggle, Maddie, and Mrs. Croaker grab the injured and take them away. Sasha kept running, making sure that all the hedgehogs were still chasing her. She jumped up and grabbed onto a branch, climbing up and sitting on it. The hedgehogs growled and tried to get up after her, but they couldn't. Sasha slashed at a few who got too close, but after a while they left, deciding that it wasn't worth the trouble. Sasha got off once she was sure they had left and raced back to the clearing. When she made it, she saw everyone else there, tending to the wounded. 

"How's everyone?" she asked. 

There were lots of minor injuries, but no major injuries, which made Sasha relax a little. They grabbed the resources that were thrown in a pile and headed back home. Sasha trialed behind, looking over everyone from behind. She had no idea how to move forward, how to save Anne and Marcy, if they were even alive... 

"No! Focus, of course they're alive! You're going to save them and then apologize for everything, and then you'll repair your friendship and make it stronger!" Sasha hyped herself up. 

She sighed. 

Chapter Text

Anne:    

She knocks and waits. The Plantars let go of her and floated next to her, Anne smiled sadly and looked back at the door.   

...   

She raised her hand to knock again, but the door suddenly swung open. In front of Anne stands a Reptile woman, spatula in her hand. When the woman sees Anne she gasps, letting go of the spatula. The spatula floated away slowly, and Anne smiled nervously.   

"Hi mom?" she says nervously.   

Her mom pulls her into a tight embrace and Anne can hear her crying. Anne can't help but cry as well, burying her head in her mom's shoulder as her sobs racked her body. She's not sure when her dad joined the hug, she just knows that he did at some point. They float there for a while, hugging each other and crying. Anne's just so tired of everything, she doesn't even notice that they all made their way into the living room. The Plantars floating around the room, looking over pictures and cool underwater things.   

"What's this thing?" "Look! It's baby Anne!" "How does this thing work" she hears them say.   

Anne is floating, still in her mom's and dad's embrace. Her sobs had quieted down, now there was only an occasional hiccup or sniffle. It's getting harder to keep her eyes open. Anne's exhausted, physically and mentally. She didn't get a lot of sleep while in the cell. Darcy used their device on her multiple times, leaving her more worn out with each time. Everything over the past month was exhausting, her fight with Sasha, Marcy's betrayal, the invasion, fighting Darcy, Marcy getting stab, losing her arm, floating in the tank for who knows how long, Darcy putting that helmet on her over and over again.   

"I'm so sorry" is the last thing she does before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her away.   

  Sprig:    

"I'm so sorry" whispered Anne.   

Her parents looked shocked and quickly started reassuring her that they weren't mad and that whatever happened wasn't her fault, but they stopped when they saw that she had already fallen asleep. Oum sighs and gently kisses Anne on the forehead, then she whispers something to Bee and takes Anne away. Sprig's heart skips a beat, and he has to force himself not to swim up to them and cling onto Anne's arm. It was alright, they were her parents, she was safe.    

"Come, I'll set up a place for you to sleep, you must be exhausted" whispers Bee.   

Polly's yawn only proves his point.   

"Yeah, it's been a long few... weeks" agrees Hop Pop.   

He also whispers, as if speaking any louder would make everything break, and it probably would. At any moment now, one of them would break down, or all of them would, they were all just barely keeping it together. Sprig followed Bee, Hop Pop, and Polly as they all swim into a bedroom, Sprig figures out that it is Anne's room.   

"You can rest here; we'll figure everything out later" whispers Bee and leaves.   

Hop Pop swims over the makeshift bed and tries to get comfortable, though it's hard to lay down on the bed while underwater, he just keeps floating up. After a while Hop Pop gives up and just cuddles Polly while floating. Sprig doesn't join them just yet, instead he swims over to Anne's desk. He is as tired as everyone else, but he can't rest yet, it's like he's too tired to rest. On Anne's desk there are tons of waterproof papers, scattered everywhere. Sprig doesn't want to pry, so he swims away, looking at the stuff on her shelves instead. There are a few books and figurines. Sprig recognizes the ones that he gifted her. His heart swells up.   

"She kept these all these years"  he thinks.   

He can't help but smile at that. Though it quickly turns into a sad smile. He can't help but wish for those simpler times, back before everything went wrong. Actually, now that he thinks about it, he wishes for the time before Anne met Sasha. Marcy was a good friend and even though Sprig felt jealous in the beginning, he quickly learned that Anne would never replace him. But Sasha... Sasha wasn't a good friend; she was manipulative and controlling. But then again... Marcy had tricked them, Marcy was going to save only them, and leave the rest of the world in the darkness. But what about Ivy? What about Maddie? What about all the Wartwood citizens and everyone else? Marcy would have let them all die or be turned into slaves.   

"Frog! Anne, you really need better taste in friends"  grumbled Sprig silently.   

He looks over to where Hop Pop and Polly sleep and thinks about joining them, but it's not like he can sleep either way. Instead, he quietly leaves the room and wanders around. He checks out the living room again, then the kitchen and the bathroom, and at last he finds himself in front of the door he assumes is Bee's and Oum's bedroom. Sprig can hear soft snores and sniffles from the other side of the door, meaning that at least two of them are asleep. He wonders if he should even come in. He doesn't want to knock, afraid to wake them up, but it's not like he can just walk in. After a few minutes of just floating in front of the door, he turns away and swims away. When he gets to the living room, he looks out the window for a while. Then he moves to the 'couch', which wasn't exactly a couch, but it's not like he needed to sit down on anything, he could just float. When he can't possibly keep his eyes open any longer, he finally closes them and drifts off into a dreamless sleep.   

Anne:    

Sasha was fighting the robots. Anne ran after the Plantars and Marcy. Marcy led them to a giant bird, and they got on, except Marcy. Tentacles grabbed the armor; Marcy was trying to get it off.   

"No. No! Not again! Get up, help her! Stop sitting here!" shouted Anne to herself.   

But she couldn't move, she could only watch as the knife went right through Marcy's chest. The sickening smell of burnt flesh filled her lungs, she couldn't breathe. Marcy looked up, tears in her eyes. She opened her mouth, only for blood to pour out of it.   

"Stop, stop this! Stop it!"  screamed Anne, but she couldn't open her mouth.   

"I'm sorry" mumbled Marcy.   

And she fell. And Anne was falling with her, trying to reach out, but she was too far. Marcy disappeared and Anne kept falling, she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact, but when she opened them, she found herself in the throne room, now alone. She looked around and gagged, the floor was covered in blood, she wasn't sure whose it was, but it was a lot of blood. Anne took a few steps back, trying to breathe. She needed to find the Plantars, Marcy, and Sasha. Where was everyone?   

"Welcome back~"  sang someone from behind.   

Anne's heart sank and she turned around slowly, finding herself inches away from a black helmet covered in orange, glowing eyes. Her breathing sped up as she noticed the scythe that Darcy was holding. They raised it and Anne couldn't move, she could only watch as they brought it down. Her arm was on fire, it was burning, it was painful, so painful. Anne choked on the smell of burnt flesh. The pain was unbearable. It felt like her whole body was burning, not only her hand. She wanted to scream, but she couldn't breathe, she couldn't do anything.   

"Anne"  said Darcy.   

"Anne!"  This time they shouted.   

"Anne! Anne!"  they repeated.   

Tentacles grabbed her and she tried to get away. She tried to get up, but she couldn't, she couldn't run away.   

"Anne!"   

She jolted up, screaming, tears running down her cheeks. She grabbed at the fabric above her heart, feeling it beating hard. It felt like her heart was going to jump out of her chest any second now. She felt a hand placed on her shoulder and flinched away.   

"Swimswimswimswimswimswimswimswim" screamed her brain.   

She struggled with whatever was wrapped around her legs and tried to get away from whoever was behind her. Someone appeared in front of her, but she couldn't focus enough to figure out who it was, so she just pushed them away and crawled backwards, but whatever was wrapped around her legs was still there. She was trapped. The figure moved closer, it was saying something, but Anne couldn't hear it over her heartbeat.   

"Get away!" she shouted.   

She grabbed at whatever weapon she could find, which was something soft, and threw it at the figure. It floated slowly towards them. Anne paused. She just threw something soft, through the water... she was underwater????? She looked around rabidly and found herself in a familiar bedroom.   

"Anne? It's alright, you're safe now" whispered a familiar voice.   

Anne turned in the direction of the voice and was finally able to focus on the face of the figure. It was her dad.   

"D-dad?" she whispered, shocked.   

"Yes, you're home" softly answered Bee.   

Anne looked around some more and spotted her mom, who was sitting next to her. Oum raised her hand slowly, cupping Anne's face and that's when Anne noticed that she was crying, upon the realization, she cried harder. Oum and Bee pulled her into a gentle embrace, and she clung to them as if her life depended on it.   

"W-where are t-the P-Plantars?" asked Anne in between sobs.   

"They're asleep in your room, you're all here, you're all safe" reassured her Oum.   

Anne buried her head in her dad's chest, relaxing a little. Her mom was rubbing her back gently, while her dad petted her hair. Her breathing was still uneven.   

"Anne? Breathe in, breathe out," said Bee.   

He started taking deep breaths, holding them for a little and then exhaling slowly. When he repeated it, Anne did it with him, her mom also joined in. They didn't stop until Anne's breathing was back to normal. She relaxed further and her parents pulled her impossibly closer. They stayed like that for a while. Anne listened to her dad's heartbeat. It felt nice, her mom was still rubbing her back, it was comforting. She sighed. Her eyes started drooping again, but Anne was afraid to fall asleep. Her parents must have noticed that she was struggling to stay awake.   

"You should rest, you were only asleep for an hour" said Oum, her voice quiet.   

Anne shook her head a little, grumbling a little 'no' for good measure.   

"Don't worry, we'll be right here when you wake up" reassured her Bee.   

They shifted so that the three of them were laying down, Anne in the middle with her parents on both sides, holding her close. Anne had to admit, it was very comfortable, and it felt so safe. Her eyes started closing again, she gave up fighting it and right before she fell asleep, she felt someone place a kiss on her forehead, she wasn't sure if it was her mom or dad, but it was comforting, like a promise that when she woke up, they would be right there.   

Sprig:    

Marcy stood in front of them, a fire dagger through her chest. There was a foul smell, that Sprig guessed was the smell of burnt flesh, he wished to never smell it again.    

"Marcy!" shouted Anne.   

She started getting up, trying to get off the sparrow, but then tentacles grabbed all of them and lifted them in the air. Sprig struggled against it but couldn't do much. He saw Anne cut through the tentacle and charge at Darcy. They raised their scythe and brought it down in one smooth movement. Sprig's eyes widened as he saw Anne's hand fall to the ground, quickly followed by Anne herself.   

"Now look what you made me do"  giggled Darcy.    

The smell of burning flesh got stronger, but Sprig didn't even react.   

"What have you done! You monster!" screamed Sprig.   

Darcy didn't reply, instead they just gestured something and suddenly the tentacles started taking them somewhere. Sprig looked back to see both Marcy and Anne being picked up and carried in a different direction. The only thing left was Anne's hand, still lying on the floor. Sprig struggled more, but he couldn't escape. The tentacles threw him, Hop Pop, and Polly into a cell and disappeared.    

"Let me out! Where's Anne!" shouted Sprig.   

He kept shouting until his throat was hoarse, but no one replied. At last, he turned around to face Hop Pop and Polly. Hop Pop sat against the wall, expressionless, except for the tears running down his cheeks. Polly stood facing the wall, punching it repeatedly. Sprig could see blood on her knuckles. He gasped and ran up, grabbing her arm. She whirled around, raising her other fist to punch him, but stopped when she saw who it was. There were tears in her eyes, threatening to spill at any moment. Her fists were trembling and bleeding. The corners of her mouth point downwards and her jaw is tense. Sprig gently pulls her into a hug. Polly's tense for a moment, but melts into the hug, hiding her face in Sprig's chest. A broken sob escapes her lips, racking her body, and then another, and another, and then she's sobbing and shaking. Sprig can feel the fabric over his heart getting wet from Polly's tears, but he doesn't care. His throat closed up and his vision became blurry, tears started falling down his face as well. He isn't sure how long they stand there, just crying, but after a while, he sits down against the wall next to Hop Pop, bringing Polly down with him. She clings to him, sitting in his lap. Hop Pop finally snaps out of his trance.   

"We'll get her back" promises Hop Pop.   

He joins in their hug and Sprig buries his face in Hop Pop's shoulder. The three of them cry themselves to sleep.   

Sprig notices something warm on his right, he opens his eyes slowly and waits for the black spots to disappear before he can clearly see a light blue ceiling. The ceiling seems to be moving as if he's looking at it through water. Sprig tries to sit up, but something stops and gently tugs him back, he turns his head to the right and sees a mop of orange hair, swaying gently with the current. He looks at the tiny hands clutching his shirt. Raising his hand, he gently ran it through the soft hair, careful not to tug it. Polly mumbles something in her sleep, snuggling closer to him. He hums quietly. His thought returned to the dream, no, the memory. Every time he closes his eyes, he can see Anne's hand, lying on the ground.   

"Frog, it's like the smell still surrounds me"  he covers his face with his hands.   

Sprig shifts a little, so he lays on his side facing Polly, then he wraps his arms around her. Polly radiated warmth, which just made his back shiver. Why was the water so cold? How did Anne live down here? Sprig searches for something to cover Polly with, hopefully a blanket, but only finds the couch pillows. Still, it's better than nothing. He grabs the closest one and leans in against Polly, once it warms up, it should act similar to a blanket. Sprig's thoughts keep coming back to the memory, replaying that moment over and over again. His throat closes up and he squeezes his eyes shut, hoping to stop the tears.   

Anne:     

It's comfortable, soft and comfortable, and safe. Anne snuggles deeper, cracking one eye open. Blues and purples come into view; they look so familiar. There is a comforting sound of seaweed swaying in the current, gently brushing against the walls of her house. Anne leans back and looks up to find her mom laying on her stomach, reading a book. Anne rolls over and finds her dad, sitting against the wall, writing something in a newspaper, probably filling out a crossword. Anne yawns and stretches.   

"Good morning" says her mom.   

"Ah, you're finally awake" her dad gently ruffles her hair, and she giggles.   

"Good morning" hums Anne.   

It's quiet again, with only an occasional 'aha!' from her dad when he gets a word right, but it's comfortable. For a little while, Anne allows herself to just bask in the calmness, it's been so hectic over the past few weeks, that she forgot how peaceful it used to be. A few minutes pass before Anne finally gets up, she needs to check on the Plantars. She starts swimming towards the door.   

"Where are you going?" asks her mom, closing her book.   

"I have to check on the Plantars" answers Anne.   

She opens the door and swims to her bedroom; she peeks in and finds Hop Pop asleep on her bed. She tilts her head a little, her brows furrow as she wonders where Sprig and Polly are. She doesn't have to guess for long, because she finds them passed out on the couch, snuggling. She swims closer and notices Sprig shivering, while Polly was covered with a couch cushion, like with a blanket. She swims back to her bedroom and comes back with a blanket. She removes the couch cushion and covers both of them with a blanket, Sprig shifts a little and opens his eyes. Anne freezes and holds her breath, hoping he'll go back to sleep, but instead he turns his head and looks at her. He squints and then seems to recognize her, giving her a soft smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. He carefully wiggles out of Polly's embrace and swims over to Anne, yawning on the way, and sitting next to her.   

"How are you feeling?" she asks.   

"I don't know" he shrugs and then adds, "I don't think I've processed everything yet"   

Anne nods and places an arm over his shoulders, pulling him a little closer. Sprig fidgets with his jacket a little and repeatedly glances at her right arm. Anne follows his gaze and sighs.   

"I haven't explained everything yet, I feel like we should all be there for that, and... I... I don't want to tell them everything" she answers before Sprig can even ask.   

Right on que, Hop Pop swims into the room. Sprig waves and they all hear a quiet 'hi' from the couch. Anne tenses slightly and turns around, she sees Polly sitting up, rubbing away the sleep from her eyes. Hop Pop joins them on the couch and Anne gets up, floating in front of them, she glances at the entrance, to make sure that her parents aren't there.   

"Alright, I have to tell my parents what happened sooner or later, so I might as well get it over with. But! We are not telling them everything. We aren't telling them about my fight with Sasha, Marcy's betrayal, the fact that Marcy got stabbed and is now in Darcy's lab, and the most important part! We do not tell them that I was taken into Darcy's lab, and they put that helmet on me. Don't mention it, don't hint at it, nothing," said Anne.   

She looked each of the Plantars in the eyes to get the point across, this was important stuff. Each of them nodded along.   

"Wait... they don't know that you got into a fight with Sasha?" asked Sprig, squinting disapprovingly at her.   

Anne nervously scratched her neck, chuckling.   

"Um... no?" she answered.   

Before she could be scolded by Sprig and possibly Hop Pop, her parents swam into the room. Anne flinched, her heart almost jumping out of her chest, she exhaled slowly, trying to calm down.   

"Hi! Um yes. So... you probably have a lot of questions... so... why don't I answer them now?" suggested Anne.   

Her parents sat on the couch and Anne started explaining:   

"So. The Avian King and Queen had been planning to take over Amphibia, but their oldest child, Darcy, decided to overthrow them and take over Amphibia themself. Oh, and Marcy is their younger sister, she's a princess. Yeah... and Darcy has tons of robots who are taking over Amphibia as we speak"   

There was an awkward pause. Oum looked absolutely horrified, her eyebrows raised and knitted together, mouth slightly agape as her eyes darted from Anne to the Plantars. Bee's eyes were open so wide, Anne was afraid they would pop out, his mouth was also open. Oum and Bee looked at each other before looking back at Anne.   

"That's... a lot..." finally said Oum.   

"Yeah... we knew the invasion was happening, but wow... that's a lot of family drama" added Bee.   

"Wait what! You knew about the invasion?!" floated up Sprig.   

"Well, news travels quickly, especially with robots roaming on land and taking over seaside villages" explained Bee.   

'Oh' was the only thing that the Plantars and Anne could say. They should have known that they would know.   

"You don't have to answer, but... how did it happen?" Oum motioned to Anne's right arm.   

Anne shrank back a little, her left hand instinctively going over the stump. The stump started burning slightly, which shouldn't have been possible since she was underwater. She guessed that it was what people called phantom pain.    

"There was a fight" whispered Anne, "and Darcy had a fire scythe, so they just kind of..."   

She vaguely gestured to her right arm. There was another moment of awkward silence. Anne's throat was dry, and her heart was beating in her ears. Then she felt arms carefully wrapped around her, pulling her in a gentle hug. Anne choked up, tears appearing in her eyes and threatening to spill. She raised her hand to wipe the snot away, trying to tell her parents that she was fine, but failing. Anne just kept crying, until she couldn't cry anymore, her eyes red and puffy. She wiped her nose and sniffled. She knew a headache would appear sooner or later, but right now she just wanted to rest.   

Sprig:    

A week passed. They rested, slowly regaining their energy. There was a lot of crying, lots and lots of crying, especially Anne and Polly. Actually, scratch that, there was a lot of crying from all of them, it's just that Hop Pop, Bee, and Oum cried privately. Sometimes Sprig would wake up at night and notice tears falling down Hop Pop's cheeks as he whispers something incoherent. Other times he would pass by Oum's and Bee's bedroom and hear them talking softly, their voices cracking and breaking at some points. Sprig himself tried not to cry too much, he needed to be strong for his sisters.    

"Sprig?" asked Polly from behind.   

Sprig flinched and turned around as fast as he could in the water, he exhaled slowly, causing bubbles of air to float up. Polly giggled and popped one, making Sprig chuckle.   

"What did you want?" he asked.   

"Oh right!" she snapped her fingers and gestured him to follow her, "you gotta see what I found!"   

Sprig swam after Polly as she led him outside. They swam further from the house and Sprig was starting to make her nervous. At last Polly stopped, moving out of the way so he could see what she wanted to show him. In the sand, half buried, was a robot head. Sprig inhaled sharply, he grabbed Polly's hand and pulled her away from the robot head.   

"How did it make it here? We have to go tell Hop Pop!" hissed Sprig.   

"Oh, come on Sprig, I can fix it! It would help us so much!" pouted Polly.   

Sprig glared at her and shook his head, pulling her back to the house, grumbling about how stupid and irresponsible that idea was.    

"Oh, come on Sprig! I can totally reprogram it! I can make them our friend! They'll protect us and everything! Just let me fix them!" whined Polly, trying to wiggle out of Sprig's hold.   

"No" said Sprig.   

"Alright, alright" huffed Polly, much to Sprig's surprise, "I won't do anything to them, but please don't tell anyone about it"   

Polly pouted and gave him her best puppy eyes. Sprig crunched his nose and squinted. They floated like that for a while, but Sprig finally caved in and agreed to keep the robot head a secret. A part of him kept telling him that Polly would one hundred percent go back to the robot head and fix it, but he decided to trust her, plus if everything went south, he could always pull out the "I told you so" card. They headed back home, and Sprig kept close watch on Polly for the rest of the day, but she didn't do anything suspicious all day, not once going back to the robot head or making plans on how to fix it. Sprig started relaxing more and more with each passing hour and by the end of the day, he stopped worrying about the robot head altogether.   

Polly:    

Being stuck inside was not ideal. It was boring, especially since she didn't really have anyone to talk to, everyone was so busy with everything else. Anne was spending a lot of time with her parents and planning out ways to go back to the surface, since it was currently absolutely destroyed and being constantly patrolled by robots. Sprig spent a lot of time learning about all the underwater things and clinging to Oum. Hop Pop spend a lot of time with Bee, they would sometimes talk for hours about adult things. Polly felt a little lonely. With nothing to do except explore, she went outside a lot, swimming through the seagrass and finding cool things on the seafloor. That's when she found the robot head. At first, she panicked, swimming away and hiding in some tall seaweed, but after noticing that the robot didn't react, she swam closer and poked it with a seashell. After poking it around and looking at it from all sides, Polly decided that she needed to fix it. Sprig of course didn't agree, Polly isn't even sure why she asked him in the first place.  

"Well, it doesn't even matter, I was gonna fix it either way" thought Polly.  

She dug out the robot head and carried it with her to the Boonchuy's garage. She placed the robot on the table and grabbed the tools she needed. She tinkered away, adding wires and powering everything with electric eels, but each time she tried something, it kept exploding or frying itself. Polly started feeling less motivated with each failure, maybe she couldn't fix this guy, maybe it was a dumb idea, maybe Sprig was right. Until she found out that a few houses down lived two Reptile girls who called themselves 'the I.T. Gals'. Polly grabbed the robot's head and sneaked out of the house, dragging it with her. When she made it to their house, she knocked gently. The door opened after a little while. Polly looks up to see a Reptile with black hair and pink ends.  

"Oh, my frog. You're a Hobbit! What are you doing all the way down here?" asked the Reptile.  

"Ah... kind of a long story" Polly gestured vaguely, "I've heard you know about robotics?"  

The Reptile grinned, inviting her inside. They made it to a large room with all kinds of instruments and robot parts. Inside was another Reptile, she had brown hair and was wearing goggles as she tinkered away at something.  

"Jess!" called out the Reptile with black hair.  

The Reptile with goggles, Jess, turned around. Her eyebrows raised and she placed down her screwdriver before swimming up to Polly.  

"Woah! What are you doing here?" asked Jess.  

"I need some help fixing this robot" explained Polly.  

She raised the robot head and showed it to the Reptiles. The Reptiles hummed and took the robot, raising it and inspecting it closer.  

"I see..." hummed Jess, then she seemed to remember something, "oh right! I'm Jess and this is Ally!"  

"I'm Polly" introduced herself Polly.  

They spent the rest of the day tinkering and fixing the robot, adding things and reprogramming.   

Anne:  

"Come on! Come on! Hurry up!" ran Polly.  

She led Anne, Sprig, and Hop Pop to the garage. Anne squinted and furrowed her brows; she had a bad feeling about this whole thing. Inside the garage stood a large bulky figure, covered by a cloak. Anne braced herself for a surprise attack, but Polly just swam up to the figure and pulled of the cloak, revealing a robot made out of numerous robot parts, but what caught Anne's eye was the head, the same robot head that Darcy's robots have. All of them except Polly gasped and swam back. Anne grabbed at a screwdriver and pointed it threateningly at the robot.  

"Polly! Get away from that thing! I thought I told you to leave it alone!" shouted Sprig.  

"You knew of this!?" Anne glared at Sprig.  

"What is the meaning of this, boy!" asked Hop Pop.  

Anne and Hop Pop glared at Sprig disapprovingly, he shrank back, not meeting their gaze.  

"Guys! Guys! Stop fighting, I asked Sprig to not tell you" explained Polly.  

"You promised me you wouldn't touch that robot head!" accused Sprig.  

"I didn't, I said I wouldn't, but I never promised" said Polly, then she patted the robot, "but it doesn't matter right now, because guess what! I've fixed him! And I'm calling him Frobo! He can help us with so many things!"  

Hop Pop grumbled something that Anne didn't quite catch, Sprig groaned and shook his head. Anne stared at the robot. It was made out of many different parts of other robots and metals, connected by tape and string in some cases. There were wires sticking out of it, connected to an electric eel in a jar, which hissed aggressively at Anne when she looked at it.  

"Uh... Polly? How safe is it to turn it on?" asked Anne, pointing at the mess of wires.  

"Well... Jess and Ally said that it isn't quite the time yet, we still have to do all the little things, but in theory, it should work!" smiled Polly, her eyes sparkling.  

Anne groaned even louder.  

"Alright, alright, maybe Polly's right, maybe fixing this robot is a good idea, but I don't think you should turn it on yet, especially if you were instructed not to," said Anne.  

She saw the way Hop Pop looked at her with a betrayed look, his brows furrowed and mouth wide open. Sprig eyed the wires suspiciously and nodded slowly.  

"Nah, it's gonna be fine!" Polly grabbed the wire and plugged it into the jar with the electric eel.   

Before Anne could even shout 'no' she was blasted away. She spun in the water before crashing into a wall. She coughed a few times before opening her eyes, trying to see through all the bubbles in the water. Once they all floated upwards and out of the way, Anne could see two red eyes flickering on them. The robot's head turned and locked gaze with her. Anne grabbed at a something metal, a wrench, and pointed it at the robot as if it was a knife.  

"G-get back! Or I'll unscrew all those screws!" growled Anne.  

Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Sprig grab a hammer while Hop Pop grabbed some pliers. It might not have been the best weapons, but it was something. Anne and Sprig swam closer to Hop Pop. Anne scanned the room for Polly and noticed her clinging to the robot's leg. The robot looked around the room slowly.  

"Connection failed, need higher altitude" it said.  

The bottom of the legs opened, revealing something like boosters. They started lighting up and smoke started appearing from below.  

"Polly! Let go!" shouted Sprig.  

The robot took off, smashing through the ceiling, taking Polly with it. Anne pushed through the debris, swimming as fast as she could after the robot, but there was no way she could catch up. The robot flew out of the water and into the sky, Anne could hear Polly screaming in terror. Anne watching as the robot rose higher and higher. She heard two figures pop out of the water and turned around to find two Reptiles. One had black hair with pink ends while the other had brown hair, they looked up at the sky, their jaws hanging loose, and their eyes glued to the robot.  

"Um... Ally? Is it just me or is the robot getting bigger?" asked the one with brown hair.  

Anne looked back up, the robot was indeed getting bigger, it was falling.  

"Oh frog..." whispered Anne, then she cupped her hands over her mouth, to make her shout louder, "Polly! Jump!"  

As the robot got closer, Anne saw a small figure jump away from the robot, she swam to be under that figure, catching Polly before diving under the water. A second later there was a loud splash. Anne turned around to see the Reptile girls looking at the mess of robot parts, tape, wires, and string sinking to the sea floor, the Reptile girls looked heartbroken. Something told Anne that they were the ones that helped Polly fix the robot. Anne looked down just in time to see Hop Pop and Sprig swim up to them, joining the embrace and whispering about how much Polly scared them. Polly struggled out of the embrace and swam to the robot's head, she held it gently in her arms, sinking with it. The Reptile girls swam up to her.  

"Hey... remember what we said? If it doesn't fail at least once, you're doing it wrong!" said the one with black hair.  

"Yeah, you're right Ally" nodded Polly, then she turned to the brown haired one, "sorry that I didn't listen to you, Jess"  

The Reptile girls, Ally and Jess, patted her on the head. Anne, Sprig, and Hop Pop swam up to her. Sprig and Hop Pop spoke to her while Anne talked to Jess and Ally.  

"So... I'm Anne" stuck out her hand Anne.  

The girls introduced themselves and shook her head, apologizing for the robot mess, Anne just shook her head, reassuring them at it wasn't their fault. They all turned back to look at the Plantars when they heard a metallic voice say 'Po-lly?'. The robot's eyes were glowing a gentle yellow, looking at Polly with a child's innocence. Polly gasped and hugged the head.  

"F-Frobo! You're alive!" she cried.  

The robot blinked at kept staring at her, it seemed to be confused at why she was crying. Anne's mouth hangs open, as did Hop Pop's and Sprig's.  

"Interesting! So, it was on while we worked on it!" said Jess, excitement easily heard in her voice.  

"I know right! It must have heard Polly speaking to it! How much do you think it heard?" squealed Ally.  

Jess and Ally started rambling about theories and how to fix Frobo, Polly swam up to them and joined in, still holding Frobo. They were talking about robotics, using some complex vocabulary. Anne couldn't understand a thing, and by the looks of it, neither could Sprig and Hop Pop. Anne swam closer to Sprig as Hop Pop continued staring at Polly.  

"Do you think she'll get a lecture later today?" asked Anne.  

"Absolutely" nodded Sprig, his face serious, before turning into a grin, "who knew she would be so interested in robots"  

Anne could only agree.  

Chapter Text

Anne:  

"Alright... we're going to be fine" told herself Anne. 

She gulped nervously, staring at the mirror. She was wearing a short, waterproof cape over her right shoulder, it hid her hand, or what was left of her hand. She turned away from the mirror and swam to meet her family outside. Polly was swimming around with Frobo. She had added wheels and propellers to him, so he could travel on land and underwater. Sprig was fidgeting with his fingers, while Hop Pop, Oum, and Bee were talking to each other quietly. When Anne swam up to them, they all looked over and nodded. Oum locked the door, and they swam toward Wartwood. Polly was sitting on Frobo, Hop Pop was on Bee, and Sprig was on Anne. 

"Do you think the robots got to Wartwood?" whispered Polly. 

"I don't know, probably" shrugged Sprig, also keeping his voice low. 

Sprig sighed, Anne paused to watch the bubbles float up, before catching up to the rest of their family. They finally started swimming towards the land. Anne popped her head out of the water and cringed. Ash was falling from the grey sky, the plants withered, the land scorched. They swam closer, until they could stand with their heads above the water. When they walked out of the water, Anne noticed how eerily quiet it was. No birds, no insects, no snapping twigs or footsteps, not even the wind. Anne felt Sprig shiver, she pulled him into a hug, even though she knew she couldn't warm him up. 

"Stick together" instructed Bee. 

He led the way to Wartwood, while everyone stayed close behind, glancing around. When they finally made it to Wartwood, they all gasped. They walked under the ark that welcomed people in, which was crumbled, and half fallen. The houses were destroyed, with only the foundation and debris left behind. They walked deeper into Wartwood, carefully stepping over debris and broken fences. Then something scattered from behind a half-fallen wall, Anne could make out a purplish grey shell poke out from the cracks. They all paused and then a giant centipede rose, standing on its back legs. It towered over all of them. It wore a collar with purple lines and circles on it, the eyes were also purple. 

"Um... nice giant centipede?" waved Anne, chuckling nervously. 

The centipede dropped whatever it was eating and screamed at them. They screamed back. Polly suddenly jumped up, kicking it in the face. The centipede collapsed and Polly turned around, grinning smugly. 

"Uh... Polly?" whispered Hop Pop, his voice shaking, as he pointed behind her. 

The centipede had risen again, looming over Polly and then lunged to attack her. She jumped away, towards Anne. Suddenly there was a bright red flash. Anne closed and shielded her eyes with her hand and when the flash was gone, the collar on the centipede fell off and it started leaning forwards. Anne grabbed her family and pulled them backwards, just enough so they weren't crushed by the centipede. Dust and small rocks flew into the air, Anne coughed a few times. Once the dust settled, the centipede got up, looked around, and scattered away, quickly going underground. Anne heard her whole family let out a breath of relief and relax a little. Anne looked in the direction from which the flash came from, on one of the houses which still had most of the roof intact, stood four figures in masks. 

"Hey! Thanks!" Anne smiled at the figures as they got off the roof and approached them, "whoever you are" 

Three of the figures stood in front of the fourth one. Two were short, about Hop Pop's height, and one was tall, about the same height as Anne. The tall one was muscular and wore an apron, while the short one wore armor pieces. All three took off their helmets and Anne recognized Mrs. Croaker, Wally, and Loggle. Her mouth fell open. 

"Well suck my slugs" teasingly said Mrs. Croaker, "it's you six" 

Anne ran forwards; confusion clear on her face. 

"Mrs. Croaker! Wally! Is that you Loggle?" she asked, pointing at each one. 

"Yep! I lifted weights every day since you went missing, who knew I had such gains in me!" he flexed. 

"What's going on around here!" 

"You're buff now!" 

"What was that!" 

Spoke the Plantars all at the same time. Before their questions could be answered, the three Hobbits parted to let through the fourth figure, a Canine. They stepped forward. 

"I can't believe it! You're back!" The voice echoed a little because of the helmet they wore, but Anne still recognized it at once. 

The Canine took the helmet off, revealing Sasha.  

"Sasha!" cried out Anne. 

She lunged forward, crashing into Sasha and hugging her tightly. At first Sasha froze up, but then she wrapped her arms around Anne and hugged her just as tightly. 

"You're alive!" whispered Anne. 

She hid her head in Sasha's cape fluff, breathing in her scent. They stood like that for another second before finally pulling apart. 

"What are you doing in Wartwood? What's going on? What happened?" asked Anne. 

"Follow me and I'll explain" Sasha said and gestured them to follow her. 

They all walked after her. She led them to the Plantars house, outside of which sat Chuck, seemingly on watch duty. Sasha walked up to him and saluted him, he saluted her back, tipping his hat a little. Then Sasha opened the door and let everyone walk in. 

"Wait... our house is your secret hideout?" asked Hop Pop. 

"Only the basement" Sasha hit the painting above the fireplace once and the wall opened up to reveal a staircase. 

"No way! The Plantar family tunnels!" Sprig gasped. 

They made their way down the stairs. Anne wasn't sure what to expect, last time they had been there, it was full of different rooms with traps and puzzles. They made it all the way down and Sasha leaned against a rope rail. They stood on a little platform overlooking the whole base. From the platform led different staircases all over the place. The Boonchuys and Plantars marveled at the transformation. There was a large light source hanging from the ceiling. There were rooms with signs above them that read "Weapons & Armor", "Grub & Gone", "Stumpy's", "Med Bay" and many others.  

"Welcome to the Resistance," said Sasha. 

Anne watched as Hobbits and Elves from Wartwood and a few that she didn't know walked around. Some were carrying resources and boxes, others were training or eating, in other words, it was very busy.  Sasha started leading them across the room. 

"Let's catch up, because a lot has happened" suggested Sasha. 

"Right" nodded Anne, "what happened to the town?" 

"What do you think? Darcy sent out a bunch of robots and destroyed everything. Now let's get you settled" Sasha walked up to the statue standing in the middle. 

She stood atop it and grabbed a trumpet, blowing into it. At once, all the Hobbits and Elves gathered in front of her. Anne, the Plantars and the Boonchuys stood behind the statue, right where no one could see them from the front. 

"I'd like to introduce some new recruits!" announced Sasha. 

When she said that, Anne, the Plantars and the Boonchuys popped out and waved awkwardly. The crowd cheered, greeting them. 

"The Plantars and Boonchuys came back to Wartwood just in time, to kick Darcy out!" shouted Sasha. 

The crowd cheered again. A hobbit came up to Sasha and gave her six bags, she handed them all out. Anne looked inside, and found a toothbrush, some clothes, and other things.  Everyone except Anne and Sasha left. The Plantars and Anne's parents went to find themselves a nice cave to live in. The resistance fighters went back to their own things, though some caught up with the Plantars. 

"So.." Anne turned back to face Sasha. 

Now she had the time to fully take her in. With everything happening so fast, she hadn't even noticed the scar over Sasha's right eye. It was large, starting from her forehead and ending at her jaw. It looked rather painful, not just cut with something sharp, but burned. The rest of Sasha hadn't changed that much, her hair got longer, but she still kept it in a ponytail. She was wearing a different set of armor, this one had a symbol that Anne had seen everywhere once she walked down here, she guessed it was the resistance symbol. Sasha had bandages on her arms, up to her elbow. She was wearing her belt with her heron swords. The biggest change was probably the scar, the red helmet, and her expression. Her expressions were softer, especially when she looked at Anne. 

"About everything that happened before we learned about the invasion..." started Anne. 

"Listen, my days of toxic manipulation are over, and with Amphibia on fire and Marcy..." Sasha's ears drooped when she mentioned Marcy, "I thought we could be on the same side again" 

Anne's eyes widened. Sasha's face had softened, her voice getting quieter, and she gripped her hand nervously. Then it suddenly hit Anne that Sasha didn't know anything about how Marcy was doing. 

"Marcy is alive" she whispered. 

Sasha visibly relaxed. Her shoulders sagged and she exhaled slowly, raising her head and closing her eyes. 

"Frog..." a small, tired smile appeared on her face. 

"Yeah..." softly smiled Anne, she stuck her left hand out, "let's work out our own baggage later" 

Sasha stuck out her right hand to shake Anne’s but noticed that she was holding out her left and quickly changed hands. Anne couldn't help but cringe a little. They shook hands and suddenly the helmet's visor fell down, blocking Sasha's face. Sasha tensed up, letting go of Anne's hand and struggling to lift the visor. Anne couldn't help but giggle. 

"What's with the hat?" she asked. 

Sasha finally gave up on lifting the visor and just took off the helmet entirely, a slight blush dusting her cheeks. 

"Ah, this thing... The Helmet of Authority" said Sasha, then chuckled awkwardly, "apparently Wartwood busts this out at war time so everyone knows who's in charge, which reminds me! Wartwood has only been able to hold out this long because they were waiting for you. You protected them, you stood up for them!" 

Anne's eyes widened as Sasha placed her hand on Anne's shoulder. She glanced at the helmet and then at Sasha, her eyebrows knitting together. 

"It's time for you to lead them" finished Sasha, handing the helmet to Anne. 

Anne grabbed the helmet, balancing it on her left arm. It was surprisingly light, and it looked cool, plus come on... Sasha? Giving her the power to lead instead of taking it? Shouldn't she be feeling good? Instead, all Anne felt was dread. The helmet seemed to get heavier in her hands. She couldn't possibly lead the resistance! 

"I don't know... a lot has changed up here, should I really be the one leading?" argued Anne. 

"All in favor as Anne Boonchuy as your new leader!" she shouted. 

The Hobbits and Elves who were doing their own thing, turned around and cheered, chanting her name. Anne shrank into herself, she smiled nervously. 

"This is a huge honor!" she said, and then quieter added, "and also a lot of pressure" 

The crowd just cheered more, congratulating her as she followed Sasha through the crowd. It felt like the helmet just kept getting heavier with each congratulation, was she really fit to lead them? She was gone for almost a month, she didn't know how things were going, and she was never a leader to begin with, could she really carry this responsibility? But everyone looked so happy, they had chosen her as their leader, she couldn't possibly refuse. She followed Sasha as they regrouped with the Plantars and Anne's parents, then they followed Sasha up to a room. When Sasha opened the door, allowing them all to come in, Anne saw a board with maps and papers stuck to it, as well as a table with a map. There were papers and sticky notes and maps scattered everywhere. Anne looked over the papers, everything looked so complicated and thought through, would she really be able to do this herself? 

"I'm sure you've seen the mind-controlled collars that Darcy has been using to control the local wildlife." Sasha threw a broken collar on the table. 

The collar was oozing purple liquid all over the table. Sasha pointed at a purple string that followed a route up to a building. 

"Turns out they are making them here" she said. 

Anne picked up the collar and stared at it, it looked familiar. 

"How does this thing even work?" she asked. 

"It uses some kind of weird mushroom stuff" Sasha answered, shrugging. 

"Gee, wonder where I've heard that before" said Sprig sarcastically. 

His expression soured, and so did Polly's. Anne frowned and all three of them turned to glare at Hop Pop, who glanced at them, then at the collar, and then back at them. 

"I turned you into zombies one time!" cried out Hop Pop. 

Anne saw her parents look at him with a mixture of shock and confusion, they would have to explain that later. 

"The mission is simple" ignored Sasha, "destroy the factory! It'll put a big dent in Darcy's army" 

The group nodded. 

"Alright, go get some rest, we leave at dawn!" said Sasha. 

They all turned to leave. Anne slept with her parents that night. 

Sasha:  

It was a disaster. Sasha, Anne, the Plantars, Mrs. Croaker, Wally, and Loggle were all walking back home, exhausted from the mission. They managed to destroy the building, but it was clear that Anne was not a leader. The mission had gone terribly wrong. They got lost on the way there. Sasha knew the way, but every time she tried to tell Anne that they were going in the wrong direction, a little voice in her head would say something along the lines of: 

"Controlling again? Didn't you just give her The Helmet of Authority? You gave her the power, the hope that you have changed, and now you want to take it back? Have you even changed at all?"  

When they made it to the building, there was a trench in their way. Sasha was going to suggest her grappling hook, but Anne came up with the idea of making a bridge, out of themselves. Sasha rolled with it. They almost didn't make it, but Sasha grabbed Anne and got them to the other side with her grappling hook before pulling everyone to the other side. Sasha winced at the conversation that happened right after that. 

"Ok, I think it's clear by now that I shouldn't be leading this expedition" said Anne, "Sasha, will you please just take command and tell us what to do!"  

"No! You need to be in charge!" shouted Sasha.  

There was no way she could be in charge, especially with Anne right there. She would just mess up again, manipulate and control them.  

"What? What do you mean? I'm drowning out here dude! Do you want me to fail!?" waved her arms frantically Anne, then she gasped, "is this what this is? Some kind of new manipulation?"  

Sasha's eyes widened in shock. Was that what she was doing? Was she subconsciously manipulating Anne? Was she so used to it that she didn't even notice that she was doing it?  

"No! I- I just" stuttered Sasha.  

The ground rumbled under them, and a giant snake slithered out of the building, coiling itself around it and hissing at them.   

"What do we do?"   

"Attacked" shouted Anne.  

"What kind of attack?"  

"Just- anything that feels right!"  

The Hobbits attacked the snake, Anne joined in, but it was clear that they were losing, Sasha could only watch in horror as the Plantars were eaten up by the snake. The rest of the Hobbits followed soon after, leaving Anne and Sasha alone, facing the snake.  

"Sasha! What do we do!" desperately asked Anne.  

Sasha stared at her, frozen in place. Sweat started falling down her forehead as she glanced back and forth between the snake and Anne. She couldn't lead, there was no way. She would just fall back to her old ways; she would ruin their friendship! It wasn't even a friendship yet, more like an alliance. Anne had trusted her, but here she was, ruining it all again. She knew at that moment, as soon as this mission ended, she had to leave.  

"Uh... you're in charge!" smiled Sasha, though her eyes were wide, "whatever you think is best! You got this!"  

"But I don't know what I'm doing! Please, just take over!" Anne took off the helmet and pushed it into Sasha's chest.  

Sasha raised her hands so Anne couldn't place the helmet in her hands. Anne kept pushing it, until Sasha couldn't stand it anymore and pushed the helmet back.  

"I can't!" she cried out, tears forming in her eyes.  

"Why!" shouted Anne, frustration in her voice.  

Frog, no! Sasha clenched her jaw; she messed up again. She made Anne angry at her, she probably hated her even more than before. She ruined their chance to become friends again. Anne had been so kind, offering her a second chance, even when she didn't deserve it, but she wasted it! Stupid idiot!  

"Because I can't!" shouted Sasha, baring her teeth at Anne, "the last time I was in charge, I ruined our friendship!"  

She hated the way her voice broke at the end of that sentence, hated how weak and pathetic she sounded. She felt tears threaten to spill, holding them back as best as she could. Her arms went limp, falling to her sides as she blinked furiously. Then she heard a sudden thud at her feet and opened her eyes. On the ground lay The Helmet of Authority. She looked up at Anne, knitting her eyebrows in confusion. Anne was running right at the snake.  

"Wait! What are you doing!" shouted Sasha, her heart sinking.  

"Putting my faith in a real commander!" shouted Anne over her shoulder.  

She jumped up, straight into the snake's mouth.  

 Sasha shook her head a little, trying to get rid of that image. They had beaten the snake and blown up the building, now they were all heading home. Sasha took off the helmet and handed it to Anne, but she didn't take it. 

"Come on Anne, take the helmet back" 

"No way! You are clearly the better commander!" Anne shook her head. 

"But after everything I did to you..." trailed off Sasha, glancing at the helmet, "I don't deserve it..." 

"Sasha, not too long ago, you would have fought to keep the helmet, the fact that you don't want it proves you've changed!" pointed out Anne. 

"Yeah, maybe" mumbled Sasha. 

Anne suddenly grabbed her hand and raised it above their heads. Sasha's heart skipped a beat, a blush appearing on her cheeks. 

"All in favor of Sasha Waybright as you're new leader!" she shouted. 

Loggle, Wally, and Mrs. Croaker practically begged her to become leader again. Sasha blushed; she couldn't believe they actually wanted her to be leader again. She put the helmet back on and turned to Anne, smiling shyly and rubbing her arm. 

"Listen Anne, even though I'm calling the shots, I want you to know, this is a partnership" she extended her arm. 

Anne raised her left hand again, so Sasha quickly changed to her left hand and shook it. She noticed the wince that escaped Anne's lips when Sasha changed hands. She wondered why that was, but then Anne suddenly pulled her into a hug. Sasha inhaled sharply, eyes darting around, before relaxing and hiding her head in Anne's cape that covered her right hand. When they let go, the group continued on their way home, with Sasha lagging behind, still unsure about the helmet on her head. She looked at Anne. Her look had changed, her clothes were different naturally, but the biggest change was the cape covering her right hand. In fact, now that Sasha had the time to really think about it, without something trying to kill her or getting lost in her own head, she hadn't seen Anne's right hand at all. This was rather strange since she knew for a fact that Anne was a righty. 

"Did... something happen?" she wondered. 

She looked at the cape again. She could see Anne's shoulder under the cape, and it swayed in time with her hands swinging. Though now that she looked at it more, it swayed rather strangely from the bottom, starting right where Anne's elbow would be. She thought hard throughout the whole day. Anne had grabbed the helmet with her left hand, and she held her tennis racket with her left hand when she attacked the snake. Could it be... 

"Hey Boonchuy!" called out Sasha, she caught up to the group and walked on Anne's right side, "what's up with the cape?" 

Anne suddenly stopped, frozen in place. The rest of the group also stopped, all of them staring at her in confusion, except the Plantars. Sasha saw the looks they shared before walking up to Anne. Sprig held her right hand, Polly held onto her skirt while Hop Pop started saying something along the lines of "it's alright Anne". Anne raised her left hand and gripped her shoulder through the cape, her knuckles turning white. Her eyes were unfocused. Sasha stepped a little closer, tilting her head in confusion. She wasn't sure what to do. 

"Anne...? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." softly said Sasha. 

Anne let go of her shoulder, instead gripping the fabric. She pulled the cape off in one quick movement and revealed her right hand, or what was left of it. Sasha heard gasps come from behind her, she herself couldn't quite breathe. She felt sick, looking at the stump, there was this feeling in her gut, that this had to do something with Darcy. 

"Who did that" she growled, unable to control her anger. 

"Darcy" Anne's voice was so quiet that even Sasha almost didn't hear it. 

Sasha stepped closer, gently pulling Anne into a hug. Anne buried her head in the crook of Sasha's neck, her breathing tickling Sasha's neck and sending shivers down her spine. She gripped the fabric of Anne's shirt, anger burning inside of her, how dare Darcy do that! Another part of her felt like it was her fault. That feeling grew the more she thought about it. If only she hadn't left them behind on that day, if only she could protect them better, if only she had stopped Darcy, if only- Sasha heard Anne sniffle quietly. 

"Let's go home" she whispered. 

Sasha placed the cape back on Anne's shoulder and gently took her left hand, leading her back. When they made it inside, they were greeted by Oum and Bee, who both looked equally worried. Sasha told everyone they were free for the rest of the day and watched as Anne was pulled into an embrace by her family as they slowly made their way into their rooms. A part of Sasha couldn't help but feel sad. Anne was here, surrounded by family who actually cared about her, both biological family and found family. At the moment, Sasha only had Grime, since they didn't know where Percy and Braddock were, and her biological family... Sasha shook her head and headed to the planning room, she had an idea that might help Anne. 

Marcy:  

She could feel her hands. Well, no, not exactly. More like she could feel the way they were moving and what they were doing, but couldn't actually feel things, like temperature, texture, stuff like that. Marcy tried to figure out what Darcy was doing, but she couldn't. The feeling of her hands faded as Darcy got their control over her body back to 100%. No matter how much Marcy tried, she just couldn't feel her body's movement for longer than a minute, and after that she would be exhausted. Though honestly, she was pretty much always exhausted now. She opened her eyes and found herself in her room, she groaned in frustration. Darcy had given up holding her in the darkness after what felt like an eternity, instead showing her different memories and scenarios. That's how Marcy found herself in her room, again. 

"What now?" asked Marcy. 

No one answered, naturally. Marcy walked around her room. The first few times that Darcy tried to trick her into believing a hallucination was by making her mind a mess, but after Marcy kept coming back, they gave up. Marcy explored her room, trying to find the slightest thing out of place, it was a game she invented because she was bored and couldn't do much more. Playing puzzles and games wasn't fun anymore, she could only get games that she already played and puzzles she already solved.  

"You got the color of my pencils wrong" said Marcy, pointing at her pencils. 

One of them was light green instead of lime. The pencil changed color instantly and Marcy kept glancing around the room before looking out the window. There was nothing to see except fog. She tried the door, it was locked, like always. 

"What, is your machine not strong enough to show me anything else?" huffed Marcy. 

Almost at once, the room turned into flashing colors. Marcy closed her eyes and when she opened them, she found herself outside, in town. She wandered around the empty streets, until she found herself at the border. The world just cut off, turning into a white wall. She poked at it, when it didn't react, she placed her palm on it and started walking along it. She made it around the whole border, bored out of her mind. 

"Do you know how unrealistic it is that there is no one in town?" asked Marcy. 

"What are you talking about, Mar-mar? We are here!" said someone from behind. 

Marcy instantly regretted saying that she should know better by now, of course Darcy generated Sasha and Anne. She didn't dare look at them, instead she continued walking through the town, keeping her eyes glued to her feet. 

"Marbles? Why are you leaving?" 

She picked up her pace, almost tripping but catching herself. 

"Mar-mar? Wait up!" 

She started jogging. 

"Marce! Hey!" 

Running, almost falling but still running. 

"Marcy!" 

She ran as fast as she could, tripping and tumbling to the ground, scraping her knees and elbows. One would think that with wings she could catch herself, but it's not like she could ever do that, so why would she be able to do that in the dreamscape? She tried getting up and noticed two hands reaching out to help her, one webbed, the other with sharp claws. Against better judgement, she looked up and saw two figures, a Reptile and a Canine, Anne and Sasha. They looked exactly like always, except their eyes were grey instead of the light blue and pink that Marcy could drown in. 

"You still can't get the eye color right" she chuckled to herself, at least she could still point out Darcy's mistakes and make them frustrated. 

The eyes turned black, then white, then returned to grey. Marcy wasn't sure why they couldn't be colorful like everything else, but at least that way, she could tell the difference between reality and the dreamscape. She grabbed their hands and let them pull her up. 

"So... what do you want to do Marbles?" 

Marcy let the tears forming in her eyes fall down her cheeks. 

Sasha:  

Someone knocked on the door, she told them to come in. 

"Hey Sash" 

Sasha raised her head and looked into those ocean blue eyes. She could just drown in them. 

"Yeah?" she tilted her head. 

Anne walked up to her, also tilted her head and smiled when Sasha blushed. That caused Sasha to blush even more, turning away so that Anne couldn't see more of it. 

"So... what did you need?" she coughed. 

"Oh, right!" said Anne, her eyes lighting up, "well, you did say we are co-leaders, so I just thought I should probably be here" 

Sasha nodded, then led Anne to the board and showed her the 'to-do list'. 

"We have a bunch of missions that have to be done at least once a week, stuff to get resources and food and stuff. Then we also have missions to make a dent in Darcy's plans and stuff like that" explained Sasha. 

She explained the maps, showed Anne around and pointed out important places, she caught her up on the things she had done so far while Anne was gone. She noticed that while Anne did pay attention, she also kept glancing at her face. Something told Sasha that Anne wasn't here for just the co-leader stuff. 

"Alright, spill it, what are you actually here for?" asked Sasha. 

Anne raised her eyebrows and then sighed.  

"You don't have to answer, but... is that Darcy's work?" Anne pointed at her scar. 

Sasha let out a little 'oh' and her hand subconsciously went to trace the said scar. She nodded, her ears drooping. Anne raised her hand to Sasha's cheek but froze just centimeters away from actually touching it. Sasha wanted so badly to lean into her touch, but she didn't dare. 

"Can I... is this alright?" whispered Anne. 

Sasha only nodded. Anne gently caressed her cheek, her thumb running over the scar. Sasha hummed a little, trying to stop her tail from wagging, instead she leaned into the touch, closing her eyes. They stood like that for a while, before Sasha finally opened her eyes and eyed Anne's right arm, which was still hidden by the cape. 

"What do you think of getting a prosthetic?" she whispered. 

Anne's hand paused; Sasha had to bite down a whine that almost escaped. 

"I... I suppose? It'll be better than nothing..." mumbled Anne. 

She placed her hand on her right shoulder. Sasha instantly missed the touch, but right now wasn't about her, it was about Anne. They sat down, planning out the little details and who they could ask to make it. 

Anne:  

Anne gulped and stared at the table. On it lay a prosthetic. Maddie stood next to it, sprinkling some sort of magic dust that would allow Anne to control it on it. A Hobbit stood next to Maddie; they were the one who made the prosthetic. Next to Anne stood Sasha, as moral support. No one except the four of them knew about the prosthetic, Anne wanted it to be a surprise to her family. When Maddie nodded, the Hobbit took the prosthetic and walked up to Anne. Anne removed her cape and raised her hand. The Hobbit put on the prosthetic and stepped back. 

"Alright, try moving your elbow" instructed Maddie. 

Anne tried to do that. Much to her surprise, the elbow did bend! Not as well as she would have hoped, but at least she did. Then she tried out her wrist and then her fingers. A smile grew on her face, she looked up at Maddie, then at the Hobbit, and finally at Sasha. Sasha was grinning back at her; she grabbed a cup and handed it to Anne. Anne tried to grab it with the prosthetic, she missed a couple times before finally grabbing it, but it slipped out of her hand because her grip wasn't strong enough. Anne winced at the sound. 

"You'll need to practice a lot, and it'll never be as good as the original, but it'll be close enough," said Maddie. 

Anne thanked them all and then skipped to her family, excited to show them. Sasha followed, saying that she could help with the exercises. Anne showed off her hand to her family, they 'ooh'-ed and 'ah'-ed, fascinated by it. 

"I'll have to learn how to use my left hand mostly, but I'll be able to grab things! And carry things! And, I don't know, a lot of other things!" bounced Anne, unable to contain her excitement. 

After showing off her arm for a little longer, Anne followed Sasha to the planning room, where Sasha cleared the table and placed items of different sizes and weights. 

"Alright, try to pick these up" instructed Sasha. 

Anne aimed to grab the cup, missing a few times before finally grabbing it, she gripped it stronger this time and picked it up. The cup still slipped out of her grip and fell to the floor. Sasha nodded and wrote something down, then told her to grab the next item, a pen. Once again, Anne missed a few times before finally getting two fingers around it, her middle and pointer finger. She tried to get her thumb to listen to her, but it just wouldn't move in the right direction. Anne snarled in frustration, unable to grab the pen. 

"Hmm... we'll have to work on your coordination a lot, as well as your strength" mumbled Sasha. 

Anne sighed, she knew that it would take time to get used to the prosthetic and be able to use it to the full extent, but it only now hit her how long it might take. It could take her months, years even! They didn't have all that time, they had to stop Darcy as soon as possible. 

"Boonchuy?" 

They had to save Marcy and Amphibia. 

"Anne?" 

If she couldn't control the prosthetic, then she was useless. 

"Anne?" 

She couldn't fight with her left hand. 

"Anne!" 

She couldn't do anything! 

"Anne Boonchuy!" 

Anne snapped out of her trance, flinching and looking at Sasha. Her shoulders were tense, her eyes wide open. Sasha's eyebrows raised; her eyes widened. 

"Sorry, you just weren't reacting" she explained, then she pointed at Anne's right hand, "could you let go of the table?" 

Anne blinked twice and then looked at her right hand. She was gripping the table, and she was gripping it hard, the wood was starting to bend slightly. She yelped and let go, staggering backwards. 

"S-sorry, I got lost in thought" apologized Anne. 

"It's alright, at least now we know that you have incredible strength, we could use that to our advantage" Sasha smiled softly. 

Anne let a small smile form on her face. Maybe it wasn't so bad. Her family was there to help her, and so was Sasha. Maybe she wouldn't be fully ready for when the fight came, but it would be alright, because she had people who cared about her by her side. Maybe things weren't so bad. 

"Thanks Sash" 

Chapter Text

Sasha:  

Anne was improving, slowly but surely. Well, no, that was a lie, she was improving much quicker than other people would, though it was only because of the war looming over the horizon. Sasha sighed and grabbed her cape, clipping it around her neck. She walked down the stairs, greeting the Resistance members. Word of the Resistance spread fast, they were getting more and more new recruits. They also had a new mission, get the other groups who were fighting against Darcy to join them so that they could attack together. Today they would be recruiting Reptiles. An attack from the ocean would grant them the element of surprise and the ability to surround Darcy's army in case they decided to escape.  

"Everyone ready?" asked Sasha when she met her team outside.  

The team consisted of herself, Anne, Mrs. and Mr. Boonchuy, Bailey and a few other minuscule frogs. The Plantars would not be going since Sprig was on a different mission with Ivy, Fern, Stumpy, and Toadie, Polly was busy helping fix things with her new technological knowledge, and Hop Pop had taken Stumpy's shift as cook.  

"Yep!" Anne said.  

Sasha led the way to the river, which they followed into the ocean. They made it to the agreed meeting point, where they would be able to meet the leaders of the different Reptile villages. About a week ago Sasha sent out messages to each village asking them to meet at this location to talk about the upcoming war, now all they had to do was wait and hope that the Reptile leaders had gotten the letters and would come. Sasha stood closer to the ocean, with Anne by her side. The minuscule frogs located themselves in the trees and bushes, hidden from view and looking out for any dangers. Mrs. and Mr. Boonchuy sat down on the sandy beach, whispering quietly to each other, though not quietly enough for Sasha to not hear, but she chose to ignore them and listen for any signs that they were being watched.   

"Sasha's just a child" whispered Mrs. Boonchuy.  

Sasha's ears perked up. She knew that she shouldn't be eavesdropping, but she couldn't help it when they were talking about her.  

"I know right! I believe she's only 13, almost 14, but still, only just a teenager" agreed Mr. Boonchuy.  

Sasha gripped the edge of her shirt tighter. Did they think she wasn't good enough to lead them? They were probably right, she  was just a child, Grime should be the one leading. She wasn't good enough; she didn't have the experience. But giving the authority to Grime meant taking it from Anne, she couldn't do that, they agreed that they had a partnership, Sasha couldn't break that agreement.  

"Poor child, leading the whole Resistance, having to do all this political stuff instead of an adult" Sasha was 100% sure that Mrs. Boonchuy was shaking her head.  

'Poor child', that's what they thought of her. She was a 'poor child' that needed to be pitied and looked after. Something inside of her boiled. She hated when someone pitied her, when someone underestimated her, when someone thought that she couldn't do her job and they had to step in a do it for her. She wasn't a child anymore! She could handle herself; she could lead the Resistance. Or could she? She could fall into old habits... but Anne was here now! And she wasn't leading alone anymore! It was a partnership!  

"At least she isn't alone anymore, she and Anne have a partnership of some sort" Mr. Boonchuy tried to look at the brighter side.  

"That doesn't make it any better, now two children are leading a Resistance, this is way too much pressure on either of them" hissed Mrs. Boonchuy.  

Was making the partnership a bad idea? Was she forcing Anne to help her lead? Was she pressuring her? She gripped her shirt tighter, trying to take deep breaths without anyone noticing. Right now, was not the time to panic and regret all her choices. It's not like she could take the partnership back, that would mean leading alone, she couldn't trust herself with that. What would Anne think if Sasha took all the power back? Would she understand that Sasha only wanted to take the pressure of leading off of her? Or would she think that Sasha wanted to lead alone? Then again... Anne didn't want to lead, she wanted to give the Helmet of Authority back almost at once, was Sasha pressuring her into leading when she didn't want to?  

"Oh Frog, I'm doing it again! I'm pressuring Anne into doing something that she doesn't want to! I haven't changed at all!"  panicked Sasha.  

A splash caught her attention, she saw a head surface from under the water, a Reptile head, and then another, and another. Sasha pushed her self-doubt and regret to the back of her mind, she could deal with that later, right now she had a meeting. If she panicked in front of all these leaders of Reptile villages, there was no way they would want to join her, she had to act professionally. The Reptiles swam closer, before hesitantly getting out of the water and approaching the shore. There were nine of them, and only three of them were leaders, the other seemed to come as backup and lookout. Sasha stepped forward to greet them, the Boonchuys hovered a few steps behind her.  

"Sasha Waybright, co-leader of the Resistance" she introduced herself, shaking hands with the three leaders.  

She introduced the Boonchuys and explained that the area was secure, but they should still hurry. One of the leaders nodded to Mr. Boonchuy, who nodded back. Sasha guessed that they knew each other.  

"Greg Dokbua" introduced himself the Reptile leader with the lightest scales and a pink tail fin, shaped a little like flower petals, he was the one who nodded at Mr. Boonchuy.  

"Richard Suwan", the Reptile leader with darker scales and a yellow tail fin similar to Mr. Jiang but with sharper edges, stepped forward.  

"Sophia Daeng" the last Reptile leader, with the darkest scales of the three, yet still lighter than Anne's, and a red tail fin, shaped almost like a fire.  

Anne suggested waiting a little for the other two leaders, one of which was the leader of Anne's village. The other two leaders arrived soon. Tyler Rueng was the leader with the dark scales, almost as dark as Anne's, and a tail fin that was made up of six different parts, three of each side of the tail, and each pair was a slightly different purple. Sasha found this tail the most interesting one. The leader of Anne's leader was last to arrive. Her name was Angela Jaikieow and she had the same dark scales as Anne and the same tail fin. It was flat and made of two pieces on either side, it was a beautiful sea green color, identical to Anne's.   

"Right, all of you know about the war that's coming" began Sasha.  

"Indeed, but alas, we do not know why or who is leading it," said Mr. Suwan.  

"Actually, I do, it's the Avian King's and Queen's eldest child, I believe Darcy was their name" cut in Ms. Jaikieow.  

The other leaders looked surprised, confused at how she knew that. Ms. Jaikieow explained that Anne told her about it, which made a lot of sense. Sasha started explaining why they should join the resistance and the plan that they made to attack Darcy. The Reptile leaders knew that by joining the Resistance they would be working with Humans, though mostly Hobbits and Elves, and seemed mostly fine with that. Sasha specifically left out the part about recruiting Canines and Avians, just in case that would discourage the Reptiles from joining the Resistance.   

Anne:  

Anne watched as Sasha finished explaining the plan and why the Reptiles should join the Resistance. She noticed that Sasha left out the part about recruiting Canines and Avians, it made sense, but it also might come back to bite them later. The Reptile leaders talked quietly among themselves further away. Anne had a feeling that Sasha could still hear them. Anne glanced at Sasha, and noticed the way she was gripping her shirt, her jaw tense. Anne had a feeling that it was because of what the Reptile leaders were saying. She hoped it didn't affect Sasha too much, she thought that Sasha gave an awesome speech, it was very professional.  

"You did great" she smiled softly.  

Sasha inhaled sharply and let go of her shirt, then she turned and stared at Anne for a few seconds.  

"I- I know" grumbled Sasha, a blush climbing up to her cheeks.  

Anne couldn't help but giggle at that reaction, of course Sasha would never confess that she was nervous, always the tough one.   

"But um... thank you" mumbled Sasha, quieter.  

Anne's eyebrows raised all the way, her mouth opening a little in shock. What Sasha just said literally meant 'I was worried that I messed up, so your reassurance means a lot to me, but I'm too embarrassed to say that'. Before Anne could say anything else, Sasha's head shot up to look at the Reptile leaders, who had stopped talking and were now approaching them. Anne gulped nervously; their alliance was very important to them.  

"My village will join the Resistance" nodded Ms. Jaikieow.  

Anne held her breathe, she had already been sure that Ms. Jaikieow would agree to join, she was more worried about the other leaders.  

"So will my village" added Mr. Suwan.  

Anne glanced at the other three leaders, waiting for their answer.   

"We are honored to join the resistance" Ms. Daeng and Mr. Rueng both stepped forward.  

Anne allowed herself to relax a little, there was only one leader left, Mr. Dokbua. Mr. Dokbua looked over at the two Reptiles that came with him, and then at Sasha.  

"Our village will join as well" he said at last.  

Anne nodded and the Reptile leaders returned to the ocean. Sasha turned sharply and started walking back, Anne and her parents followed her. Anne exhaled slowly, all the tension leaving her body.  

"Frog, that was stressful" she whined.  

Her parents chuckled and patted her on the shoulders. Anne heard Sasha whistle, and moments later, Bailey and the other minuscule frogs jumped out of the bushes and trees, walking with them. When they all returned back to camp, the minuscule frogs disappeared into the crowd that formed at the entrance. Anne, her parents, and Sasha could not, instead they were bombarded with questions.  

"Did the Reptiles agree?"  

"Will they join the Resistance?"  

"Are they also fighting Darcy?"  

And many more questions were shouted. Sasha raised her hands and the crowd quieted down enough for her to be heard without shouting.  

"All the Reptile leaders agreed to join the Resistance, once we recruit others, we will all meet up and make a plan together" explained Sasha.   

The crowd nodded. Anne could tell they had more questions, but they could probably tell that now was not the time, especially with how quickly Sasha was already walking to the planning room. Anne followed her. She caught up to her just as Sasha went through the door.  

"What's the hurry?" she asked, closing the door.  

"We have lots of things to do, we need to convince Captain Beatrix to join the Resistance. The Dwarf Army would be very useful, since they have a lot of experience. There are other villages that we should visit to ask them to join the Resistance. Having Avians and Canines in the Resistance would be even better!" Sasha starts pacing the room.  

"Yeah, but, can't that wait until tomorrow? It's getting late, we should all get some rest, today has been really stressful, especially for you" suggests Anne.  

"You can go rest, I have to send out letters and get more people to join us" says Sasha, and then adds more to herself than to Anne, "how do we spread news of the Resistance so people join us without attracting the attention of Darcy?"  

Anne steps in the way of Sasha's pacing, causing her to stop and finally look at Anne. There is this strange look in Sasha's eyes, almost like fear, but it's gone before Anne can fully identify it. She notices how Sasha's right hand is trembling ever so slightly, but it stops and forms into a fist when Sasha notices Anne staring at it. Anne places her hands on Sasha's shoulders.  

"Get some rest, we can deal with that tomorrow" she whispers.  

"I can't" shakes her head Sasha, "I have to be two steps ahead at all times, otherwise we'll lose"  

"You can't do much if you're stressed and worried" pointed out Anne.  

"I'm fine" grumbles Sasha.  

Anne sighs, Sasha was just too stubborn, but so was Anne, maybe, if she kept insisting, Sasha would give up. Though that was unlikely.  

"Will it... will it really be alright to leave this for tomorrow? Won't it be better to do it now?" asks Sasha.  

Anne almost gasps, but forces herself not too. Did Sasha just give in? Did she just agree to do something she didn't want to? What was happening? Exactly how much did Sasha change while she was gone? Anne doesn't have time to question everything, this was her chance to get Sasha to rest, she needed to choose her words wisely.  

"You'll be able to think clearer in the morning, when you're well rested"  

"Nailed it, thanks mom!"  

Anne watches as Sasha blinks slowly, her eyelids drooping even more, then Sasha slowly pulls away, almost as if she didn't want to.  

"Alright, I'll rest" caved in Sasha.  

"Promise?"  

"Promise"  

Anne holds out her pinky finger. Sasha blinks twice at it and tilts her head, looking up at Anne with an amused expression.  

"What! Everyone knows that pinky promises are the most secure promises ever!" exclaims Anne.  

Sasha sticks out her pinky finger and they intertwine them, shaking them once and then letting go.  

"Alright then, goodnight!" Anne starts heading towards the door.  

"Goodnight" waves Sasha.  

Sasha:  

When Anne closes the door behind her, Sasha heads to her room and takes off her cape and armor. She sits down on her bed, looking down at the pinky finger that she made the promise with.   

"What! Everyone knows that pinky promises are the most secure promises ever!" echoes in her mind.  

She feels her throat closing up. She blinks her eyes rapidly, trying to stop the tears from forming.  

"I pinky promised you that I would always protect you, but in the end, I'm the one who hurt you, and when you needed me most, I left you"  thought Sasha.  

She flopped onto her bed, closing her eyes tight and trying to will herself to sleep, but it was no use, she kept seeing three moments, always in the same order. First, the promise she made both of them a few days after they first met. Second when Anne stood up for herself and Sprig, telling Sasha that they weren't friends anymore. And lastly, when she escaped from the Avian castle, leaving Marcy and Anne behind. She left them, left Marcy to die, left Anne to be tortured. It was some sort of magic that Marcy was even alive after getting stabbed in the chest. The memory of Marcy with the fire dagger in her chest made Sasha sick. The scent of burnt flesh surrounded her, making her nauseous, she wanted to throw up. Sasha got up, staggering to the door, her head spinning. She leaned against the door, slowly sliding down to the floor.   

"I need to get some water; I need to get up"  thought Sasha.  

Her body didn't listen. She sat on the floor, leaning against the door. The floor was cool, which calmed Sasha a little, she stayed there for a while, closing her eyes.  

"Sasha? Sasha!"  

Sasha jolted upwards, her heart racing and trying to jump out of her ribcage. She scrambled up, standing straight, ready to take orders, but found herself alone in her room. Someone knocked on the door and called out her name again, it was Grime.  

"One second! I'll be right there!" called back Sasha.  

She stepped away from the door, for a second confused at why she had fallen asleep on the floor, but then she remembered what happened. She wondered how much time had passed. Sasha shook her head, she needed to get ready. She put her armor back on and brushed her hair, opening the door and walking into the planning room. Grime was sitting on the couch, leaning over the table with a pen in his hand and a sheet of paper with something written on it in front of him.  

"Grime? What is it?" Sasha asked when she got closer.  

"What do you think of this letter?" Grime handed the letter to Sasha.  

Sasha took the letter and read it.  

"Wait... is this the letter to Captain Beatrix about joining the Resistance?" Sasha frowned.  

"Yeah, you already have a lot on your plate, I thought I could at least write a letter for you" nodded Grime.  

That tugged at Sasha's heart strings and she smirked.  

"Aww, you're a big softy!" she teased.  

Grime rolled his eyes and grumbled a 'I'm not', then he added a 'maybe' that was clearly not meant for Sasha to hear. People often underestimated her hearing ability, so she had to learn what was meant to be heard and what wasn't.   

"I think it's pretty great" She smiled softly and handed the letter back to Grime.  

Grime took the letter and nodded, putting it in an envelope and getting up. When he gets to the door, he looks over his shoulder at Sasha, smiling fondly, before opening the door and leaving. Sasha tilted her head in confusion, not entirely sure why Grime looked at her like that. She looks down at her outfit, but it was the same one she wore ever since starting the Resistance. She shakes the thought out of her head, instead looking over the missions on the wall. They still had a lot of things to do, which reminded her, she needed to check on how the mission to destroy the laser and shield went. As if on cue, someone knocked on the door.  

"Come in" she called over her shoulder.  

The door opened and Sasha saw Toadie walk in. He had a document in his hands that he handed to her.  

"This is the review on the mission" he explained.  

Sasha raised an eyebrow, a little confused why the document was two pages long, all she needed to know was if the mission was a success or not.  

"Um... thanks?"   

Toadie turned and left. Sasha sat on the couch and opened the document, skimming over it. The mission was a success, but it seemed that the famous ship Sprivy, Sprig and Ivy, had almost ruined it. She sighed and shook her head, a little amused. She, like many others, noticed the small glances, the blushes, the stuttering. Many could tell that they were crushing on each other. Sasha didn't mind, but they needed to keep their relationship and missions separated, otherwise something similar could happen. She got up and placed the document on the table, she needed to find Sprig and Ivy, hopefully separately, she wasn't going to be the one to out them on their crushing. She found Ivy sparring with another Hobbit.  

"Ivy! Could I borrow you for a minute?" called Sasha.  

The sparring paused, Ivy straightened up from the crouch she was in and walked over to Sasha.  

"Commander Sasha" she saluted her.  

Sasha saluted Ivy back and then led her further away from everyone, to have some more privacy.  

"Toadie brought me a document that described how the mission went" Sasha noticed the blush appearing on Ivy's cheeks, "I don't really care about your crush and stuff, but you need to keep it professional on missions, it could have gone very wrong. Next time, keep to the plan, got it?"  

Ivy nodded. Sasha sighed and patted her on the shoulder before letting her go. Then she went to find Sprig. She found him talking with Anne.  

"Boonchuy! If you don't mind, I'll steal Sprig for a minute" she said.  

"Sure" Anne shrugged, looking a little confused.  

Sprig followed Sasha.  

"I have a whole document on the mission I sent you to" started Sasha.  

Sprig blushed and coughed, clearly already knowing where this was going.  

"Look, just keep it professional on missions, that's all you have to do" sighed Sasha.  

Sprig nodded and quickly returned to Anne. Sasha saw the confused look on Anne's face, probably because Sprig was blushing. Sasha felt her own heart skip a beat at Anne's confused expression, why did she have to be so cute? She shook her head and ducked out, trying to stop a blush from climbing to her cheeks. The only reason she didn't tell Ivy and Sprig to confess already was because she knew how hard it was to confess, she hadn't confessed to Marcy and Anne yet, though that wasn't really her priority. Another problem with confessing was that the two idiots were also crushing on Maddie, who was crushing on them as well, she was just better at hiding it. Sasha sighed again and went to find someone to spar with.  

Marcy:  

Her chest burned. Marcy opened her eyes and found herself staring at her bedroom ceiling. She placed a hand over her chest, trying to stop the pain, not like it would help. She wondered how much time had passed.  

"Stupid Reptile, stupid robots, couldn't even look after them"  grumbled Darcy.  

At least she knew that Anne was able to escape, she wasn't sure when, but she knew that she escaped. Darcy had come in one day shouting and throwing things (Marcy only knew that because of all the crashing and thudding). They started cursing out Anne and talking about how useless their robots were and how they couldn't even stop Anne from escaping. Marcy smirked, happy that Anne was able to escape. Marcy rolled off the bed, hitting the floor face first, but she didn't feel any pain. She pushed herself up and grabbed her journal. She opened it and grabbed a pen, deciding to write a new entry, even though she would be the only one who would ever know about it.  

Hi Jo!  

I've been really bored, but at least I know that Anne was able to escape. How do I know that? Darcy came in one day shouting and cursing and throwing things around, they were angry at their robots because they couldn't stop Anne from escaping. I wonder if the Plantars also escaped, Darcy only shouted about Anne. They probably did, I don't see the reason for them not to escape together.  

This really makes me wonder, why didn't she save me? I suppose it would be really hard to get me out of this room, since Darcy spends a lot of time here.  

Marcy was going to write more, but a loud voice echoed through her room:  

"Do you really think that's why the Reptile didn't save you?"  

Marcy sighed, she really shouldn't have written that, but she couldn't help herself, she always ended up pouring her heart out to her journal, writing about everything and anything.  

"You can't possibly be this dumb, you must know the real reason"  

Marcy growled, gripping the pen harder.  

"What is the real reason?" She knew she shouldn't fall for that bait, but she couldn't help herself.  

"The real reason is that she didn't want to, she saved the Plantars, but she decided to leave you behind"  

"No, she didn't" Marcy refused to believe Darcy.  

"She could have tried to save you, I've learned that the Reptile has a knack of trying to do anything she believed was correct, even the impossible. Which is why the fact that she left you, without even trying to save you, could only mean that she didn't want to save you"  

Darcy was correct, Anne would do anything for what she believed was correct, she would have saved Marcy if she wanted to, but she didn't. Marcy's eyesight started to blur. Tears started to stain the pages of her journal. Marcy sniffled and sobbed, curling into a tight ball, now surrounded by absolute darkness.  

Anne:  

Anne sat in her room, a pencil in her left hand, writing out simple sentences. By now she had written over 30 pages, both sides, with just random letters, words, and sentences. Her handwriting was getting better, it was legible now, unlike when she first started writing with her non-dominant hand. These were the exercises Sasha told her to do so she could make her left hand dominant. Why Sasha knew this exercise was something Anne didn't know yet, but it was probably because of them that Sasha became ambidextrous. Anne wrote out 'the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' one more time before calling it a day. Her hand was tired from all the writing. But writing wasn't the only thing Anne had to learn to do with her left hand, she had to learn how to do pretty much everything with her left hand, but at the same time, she had to get used to her prosthetic. Getting up from the table, Anne looked at the clock, it was almost 4pm. She put on her prosthetic and made her way to the sparring area. When she arrived there, Sasha was already there, speaking with a couple Hobbits. Anne slowed down, but Sasha must have sensed her, because she shooed the Hobbits away and turned around to face her.  

"Boonchuy! You're early" Sasha pointed out.  

"I had nothing better to do, thought I might as well get some more practice" shrugged Anne.  

Sasha grinned and grabbed two wooden swords that were used for sparring, they were about the same weight as actual swords. She threw one at Anne, who caught it with both hands. Anne backed away from Sasha, getting into a sparring stance. Sasha also backed away, tightening her grip on her sword. Anne waited for Sasha to attack first, when it was clear that Sasha wasn't going to do anything, Anne lunged forward, staying more to Sasha's right, her blind spot. Sasha turned sharply and blocked her attack, then she jumped away. Anne braced herself for an attack, but it seemed that Sasha was on the defense this time, so she had no choice but to attack. Anne swiped at Sasha's waist, but Sasha dodged and counterattacked. Anne was able to block that attack and the two were locked in place. Now it was a waiting game, either one of them jumped away or overpowered the other, but Anne had other plans. She grabbed Sasha's foot with her tail and pulled hard on it, causing Sasha to fall to the ground, but she rolled away and jumped up before Anne could do anything.  

"That's a really cool move" complemented Sasha, "but you gotta be faster"  

"Right" nodded Anne.  

She ran at Sasha again, dodging the attack that Sasha threw at her and appearing behind Sasha. Before she could attack, Sasha suddenly crouched down and swiped her leg across the ground, causing Anne to tumble onto the ground. Anne winced in pain, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself inches away from the tip of the wooden blade. Anne sighed and raised her hands into the air, a sigh that meant she gave up. Sasha relaxed and extended her hand, helping Anne off the ground.  

"You're getting better, your attacks are more precise and faster," said Sasha.  

Anne smiled. Sasha gave her a little feedback. She was in the middle of explaining a move to Anne, but then she was called away by the Hobbits from earlier. Anne was left alone. She placed her wooden sword back in its place and went to find Sprig. She found him sitting on the ground, leaning against the wall, watching people walk past him. Anne sat down next to him.  

"How are you doing?" she asked.  

"I... I'm really scared" whispered Sprig.  

"Me too" confessed Anne, "but we're in this together, Spranne against the world?"  

"Spranne against the world" chuckles Sprig.  

They sit there for a while longer, before Maddie finds them and tells them Sasha needs them for a mission. They find Sasha in the planning room, which was messier than usual, if that was even possible.  

"I need you guys to check out if the rumors about the new route Darcy made are true," said Sasha.  

"Just the two of us?" asked Anne.  

Sasha nodded, handing them the map and sending them on their way. Over the last few weeks Anne had gotten better at reading maps, she still wasn't perfect, which is why they got lost twice on the way, but in the end, they made it. They found a cliff and lay down on it, hiding in the tall grass and bushes, each holding binoculars. They waited for a while, until at last, a cart appeared, pulled by a golden beetle with a mind control collar. There were four Avians and 3 Dwarfs, one of the Avians was driving the cart, while everyone else was positioned around to protect it.  

"How could someone want to serve Darcy?" growled Anne, furious.  

"I know right!" agreed Sprig, then he pulled on Anne's sleeve sharply, "hey! Look over there!"  

Sprig pointed at the cart, which had stopped. In front of the Dwarfs and Avians at the front, lay a small Avian boy with a crutch lying next to him, the Avian boy was clutching his leg.  

"Please, help me, I've twisted my weak little ankles and can't walk" cried the Avian boy.  

The guards ran up to him, helping him up, which warmed Anne's heart, even if they were on the wrong side, they still had good in them. Just then, an arrow pierced a water bottle that an Avian guard was drinking out off, making the water leak through. The guards turned at looked at it, confusion written on their faces. Just then, three Avians in hoods jumped out from the bushes, firing more arrows at the guards. The guards blocked the arrows with their shields and retreated, but were jumped by three more hooded Avians, also holding bows. The Avians pinned two guards with their arrows to a tree. The two guards who still stood next to the little Avian boy were kicked in the shin by the said boy, they jumped on one foot, bumping in one very tall and very buff Avian. Anne watched in shock as the Avian easily picked up the two guards and bonked their heads together, causing them to pass out. With all the guards dealt with, the mysterious group of Avians climbed onto the cart and road away with all the resources.  

"Wow! Look at those Avians!" whispered Sprig.  

"We absolutely have to recruit them," said Anne.  

Just then, their binoculars were pinned to the ground with arrows. Anne looked up to see that they were surrounded by the hooded Avians with bows and arrows pointed at them. Anne and Sprig rolled over and raised their hands.  

"Woah, woah! We're fighting the same person! We're on the same side" cried out Anne.  

"Hahaha! I'm on nobody's side but my own!" laughed someone in the back.  

"Wait... I know that voice" Anne furrowed her brows.  

An Avian flew down from a tree, landing straight into a pose. The Avian didn't have his hood on, which allowed Anne to see his face.  

"Tritonio! I should have known" growled Anne.  

"Well if it isn't two of my best pupils! I see you still have my sword" grins Tritonio.  

"Why don't you come and find out" smirks Anne.  

She pulls out the sword, which she had left at the Plantars home before the whole invasion and finds it in the weapons box when they joined the Resistance. Since a tennis racket wasn't the best weapon, she took the sword as her new weapon.  

"Well, it was nice to catch up, but we must go!" said Tritonio, he snaps his fingers and addresses the big, buff Avian, "Little Louise! Relieve these two of their supplies"  

Tritonio turns around and starts walking away, but Anne isn't just about to let him leave. Her blood boils at the memory of the last time they met, he betrayed them, but he would be a good addition to the Resistance, so as much as she didn't want to, she needed to recruit him and his group.  

"Typical, the world is falling apart, and you're still only looking out for yourself" says Anne, disgusted.  

As if the universe wants to prove her wrong, the little Avian boy jumps over her sword and runs over to Tritonio, jumping into his outstretched arms.  

"Mr. Tritonio! How did I do!" asks the Avian boy.  

"Excellent, my little Jojo Potato!" praises Tritonio.  

Anne can see the sparkle in Jojo's eyes, the warmth in Tritonio's voice, maybe he isn't only looking out for himself, it really seems like he is attached to this group he formed.  

"Ooh! And I got those guards to tell me that there will be an even bigger caravan passing through the woods at three o'clock!" boasts Jojo.  

"Ah! Good job Jojo" Tritonio ruffles the boy's hair in a loving way.  

"But Mr. Tritonio! How will we get through the giant call of bees that guard the caravan?" asks Jojo.  

The other Avians join in, pointing out how painful and hard it was to get through them last time. Anne can really feel the family feeling in this, they care about each other, and Tritonio cares for them, even if he probably would never admit that.  

"Call of bees you say? Psh, their easy to take down once you know the trick" grins Sprig.  

"Ah! So, you've done this before? What am I saying, of course you have! You're the smartest, bravest pupils I've ever had!" Tritonio puts his hands over their shoulders, bringing them closer to him.  

"You're just buttering us up so we help you" frowns Anne.  

It's not gonna work on her, not one bit, she would never fall for something like that. Tritonio would use them to get rid of the bees and then backstab them and leave them to die, there was no way she would fall for that, not after-  

"And it's working!" jumps up Sprig, smiling brightly.  

Anne sighs and facepalms, of course Sprig would know that Tritonio is buttering them up and still fall for it, it was stupid how far that boy would go to get someone's approval and praise. If Anne was fully honest, Sprig tried too hard to get everyone to like him, which would never be possible, Mrs. Croaker was a good example.  

"Come on Anne! Let's help them" excitedly said Sprig.  

Anne really doesn't want to help them, but Sprig's smile is just too bright.  

"Fine" she caves in, "but only if you promise to join the Resistance"  

"Done!" says Tritonio.  

"And no backstabbing, double crossing, or other such deceptions" adds Anne.  

"You wound me, Anne" Tritonio places a hand over his heart, and gasps dramatically.  

"To the secret hideout!" shouts Tritonio.  

They set to the secret hideout, which isn't very secret. It's in an open area in the middle of the forest, easily stumbled upon or seen from above, especially with how loud everyone was talking and singing. Anne was surprised Darcy hadn't found and raided them yet. There was a long table with tons of food in the middle and tents placed around it. There was a stump on which an older Avian was playing an instrument and singing. Avians were dancing around him, others were sitting and eating at the table. Sprig quickly joined them, grabbing a bite and started talking to the big, buff Avian named Little Louise. Anne stood next to Tritonio while he explained the plan. Anne had to say, it was a solid plan, really great.  

"Wow! You have a real talent for strategy!" compliments Anne, then she adds in an annoyed voice, "too bad you're a no-good backstabbing scallywag"  

"You would too if you grew up like me" says Tritonio.  

His eyes get cloudy and Anne can already feel a backstory coming along, she sighs and sits down, this information could be useful to understanding why Tritonio was the way he is and helping him change for the better.  

"I was born a street urchin, no family, no one to look out for me. I learned to survive by joining whatever street group I crossed paths with! But alas! Living on the streets meant loyalty was staged. When things get bad, it's always everyone for themselves" explained Tritonio.  

Anne stood back up, she expected something longer, maybe an example of when things got bad and how he was betrayed, but she supposed this was Tritonio, mysterious as ever.  

"You're telling me that if push came to shove, you'd even leave this guess behind?" asked Anne.  

She pointed at Jojo who had drawn an amazing portrait of Tritonio, showcasing him as a muscular warrior. The group of Avians around Jojo 'ooh'-ed and 'ahh'-ed, clapping and telling him how great the portrait turned out.  

"It's the law of the streets, no loyalties, no attachments" shrugs Tritonio.  

Anne was about to point out that they weren't in the streets anymore and that he was already attached to this group, but Tritonio suddenly gasped and looked down at his watch.  

"It's almost time! The caravan will appear any minute now!" he said.  

Anne decided that they had to do the mission first, and then she would help Tritonio change for the better. The group set out to stop that caravan. They spotted the caravan right when it was crossing a stone bridge. It was pulled by a golden beetle and accompanied by two snakes, a blue and a red one. All three of them had mind-controlled collars. There was an Avian driving the caravan. Anne and Sprig jumped in their way, causing them to stop. The Avian ordered the snakes to attack them, but Anne and Sprig threw mud in their faces blinding them. The snakes hissed and lunged at Sprig and Anne, following them away from the caravan. Anne and Sprig battled the snakes, dodging attacks and trying to break the collars. That's when Anne saw the Avians who were on top of the caravan being grabbed by metallic hands and pulling inside. A robot jumped out and grabbed the reins, riding away.  

"Tritonio, you have to go save them, we'll handle the snakes!" shouted Anne.  

Tritonio looked between Anne, the caravan that was leaving, and the escape route that they agreed on when the mission was finished, if it hadn't gone wrong. Anne dodged an attack and saw Tritonio running away.  

"No! Dang it!" she shouted.  

Anne sliced the collar in half, while Sprig pulled out the wires. The snakes stopped, their eyes returned to normal, they looked around, spotted Anne and Sprig, but instead of attacking them, they slithered away. Anne sighed in relief, usually snakes would attack, but Anne had a feeling that they knew there were more important things to be worried about. Anne and Sprig raised back to the hideout, hoping that Tritonio would stop there to grab his things. They were correct, finding Tritonio with a bag on a stick over his shoulder, he was holding the portrait that Jojo drew in his hands.  

"Tritonio! Come on! We can still save them!" shouted Anne, hoping that he would take the second chance she was giving him.  

"And risk getting caught ourselves?" Tritonio crumbled the portrait, throwing it on the ground, "the laws on the streets, remember? No attachments, no- no regrets"  

On the last part, Anne could see tears forming in his eyes. Tritonio looked away, blinking rapidly.  

"But what about the Resistance" asked Sprig.  

"Oh, come on Sprig, you knew I was lying" said Tritonio.  

He turned away and started leaving. Anne squeezed her fists. It felt like there was a fire inside of her, burning her up from the inside, she knew she couldn't let that fire grow too big, otherwise she would do something stupid. She grabbed her sword and threw it. It flew right above Tritonio's head, cutting the feather on his hat in half, and getting stuck in a tree trunk.  

"Look, if you want to leave your friends, who you clearly adore, that's your call, but it kills me to see you like this," said Anne.  

"If you grew up like I did-" started Tritonio, only to be interrupted by Anne.  

"I get it, you do what you have to do to survive, but for a 'master' thief," Anne used air quotes on the word 'master', "I'm disappointed in you"  

"How so?" asked Tritonio.  

"You're leaving the best loot in the world on the table, friendship, comrades, someone to count on" Anne playfully ruffles Sprigs hair and picks up the crumpled-up portrait, uncrumpling it and handing it to Tritonio, "by throwing those things away, you're only robbing yourself"  

Tritonio hesitantly takes the portrait. Anne isn't sure if her speech got through, but they don't have any more time to lose.  

"Come on Sprig, we got a very Merry Band to save" calls Anne over her shoulder as she grabs her sword and leaves.  

Sprig follows her as they follow the tracks of the caravan. They find it in the clearing and pause, hiding in the bushes, watching and waiting. The caravan is open, inside sits the Merry Band, tied up. A robot comes up to them and grabs them, carrying them to a gigantic judge robot sitting at a gigantic table and holding a gigantic gavel. Two robots with axes stand next to the Merry Band. Anne chews the inside of her cheek, unsure of how to save them.  

"In the name of Darcy! I find you guilty of getting in the way of their plans, to which there is only one punishment, death!" the judge robots voice booms.  

The two robots with axes raise their axes. Anne turns to Sprig quickly telling him to free the Merry band while she distracts the robots. She jumps out, causing all the robots to pause and stare at her.  

"Hey! Permission to approach the bench?" Anne asked.  

"Thank Frog, I listened in class on that topic"  thought Anne.  

The robots attacked her, swinging their axes her way. She cut off one's arm and blocked an axe with her sword. She was really thankful for all the practice with Sasha. The robot she was fighting was attacked by the Merry Band, which had been freed by Sprig. The Marry Band, Sprig and Anne fought off the robots.  

"Order! Order! There will be order in my court!" The judge robot hits the gavel against its desk a couple times.  

The judge robot's eyes became red, causing everyone to stop and stare at it. The desk shook at suddenly the judge robot stood up; the desk turned out to be its legs. It took out another gavel combining them and turning them into one giant gavel. Anne winced. The judge robot released small missiles, shooting them at the Merry Band. One of them almost hit Jojo, who jumped away and ended up at the judge's feet. Anne, Sprig, and the other members of the Merry Band watched in horror as the judge robot raised its gavel, unable to do anything because they were surrounded by robots. Suddenly an arrow flew through the air, piercing the judge robot's eye. Many more arrows hit the robots, destroying them. Anne turned to look where they came from, she saw Tritonio flying down from the trees, he landed in front of Jojo.  

"Mr. Tritonio! You came back! But what about the rules of the street?" asked Jojo.  

"Ha! You think, I, Tritonio, care about rules!" laughed Tritonio.  

The judge robot appeared from behind, but the Little Louise tossed both of the Avians into the air. Tritonio aimed with his bow, but instead of an arrow, in it was Jojo. Tritonio shot Jojo into the robots. Jojo pierced the robot and then flew down and gently landed on the ground.  

"Three cheers for our hero!" shouted the Merry Band.  

Anne and Sprig winked at each other.  

Chapter Text

Sasha:  

Sasha paced the floor in the planning room. Where were Anne and Sprig? It was a simple mission. All they had to do was scout out the area to see if any carts were driving down that route, why was it taking so long? It was afternoon already, they left more than six hours ago. Of course, scouting the whole area would take a few hours, but they should be back by now. Sasha shook her head.  

"They must have gotten themselves in trouble, or maybe they spotted a cart and decided to ambush it by themselves"  

That sounded like an Anne and Sprig thing to do. Sasha couldn't help but chuckled silently, Anne was always jumping into things without a plan. She decided to wait a little more, another ten minutes, if they weren't back by then, she would send out a search team and pray that they weren't caught by Darcy. Just then she heard someone running up the stairs. She glanced up just as Ivy burst through the door, but to Sasha's surprise. Everyone except Grime and Anne had always knocked so far, especially Ivy. Ivy was out of breath, sweat trickling down her forehead, it looked like she ran here from the other side of their base.   

"A messenger dragonfly arrived!" Ivy said in one breathe and then paused to catch her breath, she gave Sasha the folded piece of paper she held, "it's a message from Anne, I haven't read it"  

Sasha took the piece of paper, 'From: Anne' and 'To: Sasha' was written on the top. Sasha tried to stop her hands from shaking while she unfolded the piece of paper.  

Hey Sash! Don't worry, we're safe,  

and we have some great news!  

We'll tell you all about it when we  

get back, which will probably be   

tomorrow morning. :D  

~ Anne and Sprig  

Sasha scanned the letter again. It was clearly Anne's handwriting, and there was no secret code or cry for help anywhere, at least that Sasha knew of, it seemed that they were really safe. Sasha let go of the breath she hadn't even noticed she had been holding. She looked up to see that Ivy was still in front of her, her eyes wide and worried.  

"They're safe, and they seem to have great news" Sasha tells Ivy.  

Ivy lets out a long sigh of relief and Sasha can't agree more with her. Then Ivy quickly apologizes for bursting in like that and leaves. Sasha stands in the middle of the room for a few more seconds and then slowly sinks into the couch behind her, letting all of her muscles relax. Her worries are put to rest for now, but she knows that she will be up at dawn waiting and wondering why they haven't shown up yet even if she knows that they'll probably only appear at 10 in the morning.  

Anne:  

The sun was starting to set already by the time they returned to the Merry Band's hideout. The Merry Band insisted that they stay the night so they don't have to travel through the dark. Anne doesn't want her family and Sasha to worry about them missing for so long, but she caves in when Little Louise suggests to send a message to the Resistance. So they wrote a quick note and sent it via one of the Merry Band's messenger dragonflies. After writing the note they join the Merry Band members by the campfire as Tritonio stirs the kettle with soup that hangs over the fire. He is pouring soup into bowls and handing it around the circle, Anne and Sprig are the last to receive theirs. Anne thanks him and then smirks.  

"So, what happened to no loyalties?" she teases him.  

"Uh, well, you see" Tritonio stutters, "I was just passing by and my arrows just flew out of my bow! What are the odds!"  

Anne hums and nods jokingly, not believing a word he just said.  

"Face it Big T, it feels since to have someone's back"  

"Yeah, maybe" Tritonio glances over his shoulder at Jojo and Little Louise, he smiles fondly.  

Anne smiles as well, but there is one more thing they need to talk about that's really important.  

"Look, being on your own may have worked out before, but the fate of Amphibia rests on whether or not we can defeat Darcy" says Anne.  

"Yeah! We could really use a guy like you!" adds Sprig.  

"Exactly! Sasha keeps saying we need help with our battle strategy, and who's better at strategy than you?" smiles Anne.  

"You're just buttering me up so I help you" Tritonio looks at her skeptically and crosses his arms, as if disappointed that she thought he would fall for that.  

"Well, I learned from the best" shrugs Anne.  

"I must say, you're not the same girl I met last time" Tritonio smiles proudly.  

Anne can't help the bittersweet emotion rising in her at that memory, she still isn't fully over the fact that Tritonio betrayed her, betrayed them. Especially after she had grown to like him, he was the best teacher she ever had, someone who saw her potential and helped her achieve it.  

"Alright, we're in!" Tritonio jumps on the log, getting the attention of everyone else, "The Resistance shall be our new crew!"  

The crowd cheers raising their drinks. Anne and Sprig stay with the others by the campfire until it gets really late, by then there are only a few people left by the dying campfire. Anne and Sprig decided to retire for the night, getting into one of the spare tents and falling asleep right there.  

Sasha:  

Sasha stands at the platform with the staircase leading aboveground, the only entrance and exit of the Resistance base. She has her back to the entrance and overlooks and whole base, at least that's her excuse if someone asks. In reality she is waiting for Sprig and Anne to return. Just then she hears two pairs of footsteps going down the stairs, she rotates her ears and listens closely, she recognizes Anne's footsteps. She turns around just as they get to the bottom of the staircase.  

"Anne, Sprig, you're finally back" she says, trying to hide how relieved she is to see them.  

Truth be told, she is mostly relieved to see Anne back, safe and unharmed. Which makes her feel bad, she should be worried about both of them, but she is mostly worried about Anne.  

"Sasha! We bring great news! We just recruited the greatest strategist in all of Amphibia! Tritonio and his Merry Band!" excitedly announces Anne.  

Sasha has heard of Tritonio from one of Grime's stories. He is an Avian and a great strategist, as well as a thief, and he lives by the laws of the streets, no loyalties, no attachments.   

"How did you get him to join you?" asks Sasha.  

Anne and Sprig tell her the whole story, now it makes sense why they were gone for so long.   

"Oh wow, seems like you both had a long day yesterday" says Sasha, more to herself, then she adds, "I hope you're well rested, because I have another mission for you"  

She sends Sprig away to Grime and leads Anne to the planning room to tell her about the new very important mission. Sasha shows Anne the map of all of Amphibia that is on the wall, there is a circled area where the North Dwarf Tower stands.  

"We have already recruited the Reptiles, and now the Avians, but another good ally would be the Dwarfs. Grime's sister, Beatrix, has a large portion of what's left of the Dwarf Army with her, in fact I have already sent out a letter to ask her to meet with us, and she's on her way" Sasha places her hands behind her back and grins at Anne.  

She waits for some sort of approval or maybe a little nod, anything to tell her she did a good job, but none comes, instead Anne leans in with a worried look. This makes Sasha's grin fall a little, but she doesn't let Anne see how disappointed she is to get no approval. It's stupid anyways, at least that's what she keeps telling herself.  

"But do you think she'll want to join the Resistance? Dwarfs don't really get along with Hobbits and Elves, and vice versa" points out Anne.  

"That's why I sent Grime and Sprig to be the welcome wagon, she'll see firsthand that Dwarfs and Hobbits can work together" Sasha's grin returned.  

"But Grime and Sprig can't work together! Things have been really tense between them," said Anne.  

"Oh, really?" asked Sasha.  

Sasha's ears dropped a little. But then something hit her. Grime and Sprig  can't  work together. They  can't  work together. They were going to show Beatrix the opposite of what Sasha wanted to show her! Anne must have come to the same conclusion at the same time, because they both leaped from their spot and raced towards the staircase leading out of their underground base. Sasha prayed that they either showed up before Beatrix did, or Grime and Sprig didn't mess the whole thing up. They made it to Grime and Sprig just as they were in a middle of an argument.   

"Guys! Change of plans! We-" began saying Sasha but she was interrupted by the sudden gust of wind and a shadow forming over them.  

A giant beetle slowly descended in front of them. It was a black and maroon beetle with three Dwarfs on it, one was Beatrix and the other two were soldiers. Once the beetle landed, Beatrix jumped off it and tackled Grime, rolling and wrestling him. She ended up on top of him, laughing and teasing and taunting him. Sasha frowned at that, she knew that they were siblings, but she still thought Beatrix should respect Grime at least a little more.  

"What's wrong Grimothy? All Dwarfs love a good rustle! Or has living with Hobbits and Elves make you soft?" taunted Beatrix, then she looked up at Sasha, still on top of Grime, "anyway, Sasha, what did you need me for?"  

"Right, we propose that your Dwarf Army joins the Resistance and together we defeat Darcy!" said Sasha.  

"Dwarfs? Serving in a Hobbit army? Everyone knows that Hobbits can't fight" Beatrix cackled and the other two Dwarfs joined in.  

Before forming the Resistance, Sasha would have done the same, but she has changed, hopefully. She has seen the Hobbits and Elves fight, and they were good at it, Sasha knew that.  

"Can't fight, eh?" Sprig walked up to Beatrix; nose high in the air.  

Both Sasha and Grime mouthed silent 'no's and made 'x's with their arms, but it was no use, Sprig ignored them and addressed Beatrix.  

"Then how do you explain me winning a one-on-one fight against Grime?" Sprig asked.  

Sasha wanted to facepalm, but she couldn't, not in front of everyone. Beatrix looked confused and shocked, then a smirk slowly appeared on her face.  

"You lost to this little Hobbit boy? That just proves my point! You've grown soft living with all these Hobbits" Beatrix ruffled Grime's hair, not the playful kind.  

Sasha clenched her jaw.  

"You've wasted my time" Beatrix turned and started walking away.  

Grime growled and leaped in front of her. He hit his chest with his fists several times, then he slapped his cheeks and grabbed the sword one of the Dwarf soldiers carried. He stabbed it into the ground and made a circle around Beatrix, then he stepped inside it, grinning at Beatrix proudly.  

"What did he just do?" whispered Anne to Sasha.  

"Grime just challenged Beatrix to a Dwarf Battle" Sasha whispered back.  

"Ugh" groaned Beatrix, rubbing her forehead in annoyance, "state your conditions"  

"Standard one on one arena combat, loser's army joins the winner's army," said Grime.  

"Deal, but it won't be you who I will battle" says Beatrix, Grime's face falls, Sasha wants to curl up and die right there and then, of course Beatrix would remember the rules, "by the rules, I can choose any of your allies to fight me"  

"Wait what!" gasped Anne.  

Beatrix turned around and started saying a counting rhyme while pointing at Anne and Sasha. Sasha watched in horror, hoping, praying, that the counting rhyme would land on her. Anne might have improved a lot, but Sasha knew Beatrix, she had seen her fight, she knew how to win. Beatrix's counting rhyme was coming to an end and she slowed down her finger, making it look like she was about to end it on Sasha. Sasha couldn't be more relieved, but then Beatrix suddenly turned sharply and pointed at Sprig.  

"Hobbit!" she shouted, grinning evilly.  

Sasha's heart dropped.  

"If this Hobbit beats me, my army will join yours but if he doesn't, you'll join ours" the way Beatrix was grinning, Sasha knew they wouldn't be on the same level as the Dwarfs.  

The Dwarfs climbed back on the beetle.  

"I'll return at dawn for our battle!" shouted Beatrix over her shoulder.  

The beetle started to fly away, but Sasha could still hear Beatrix cackling. In that moment all she wanted to do was grab Beatrix and strangle her, Grime wouldn't be too mad, right? After that she would probably dig a grave for herself and then bury herself, there was no way they could win this war without everyone's help, and Beatrix's army would be a lot of help.  

"Guess I should have brushed up on Dwarf law" awkwardly chuckled Grime, trying to ease the tension and shock.  

Sasha takes a deep breathe, trying her best to calm her anger.  

"You just placed the whole Resistance on a cage match!" shouted Sasha, more shocked than angry.  

She should have seen it coming, should have stopped Grime, but once one starts the Dwarf Battle, one cannot stop it.  

"You just placed everything on Sprig's shoulders!" cried out Anne.  

"Meh, pretty sure I can take her" shrugged Sprig.  

All three of them stared at him in absolute shock, even Anne, who had never met Beatrix before.  

"What?!" They all shouted at the same time.  

"I beat Grime, I'm sure I can beat her as well" Sprig shrugged again.  

Sasha squeezed her fists and fought the urge to strangle Sprig, Anne wouldn't really like Sasha killing her brother.  

"You only won by a hair! And it was in the middle of all the chaos!" Grime crossed his arms, scowling, "arena matches are a different beast"  

Sasha rubbed her temples and sighed. She knew there was no way Sprig would win against Beatrix, especially in an arena, but there was no changing it, so they might as well get Sprig ready. She prayed that everything would work out and then placed a hand on Grime's shoulder.  

"Grime, you were a gladiator, you've been in an arena match before, you have experience, could you show Sprig the ropes?" asked Sasha.  

If Sprig at the very least knew what was coming, his chances at winning would be so much higher than they are now, though they would still be very low.  

"I don't need fighting lessons from Grime! He can't even stop Beatrix from giving him noogies!" Sprig said, offended.  

"Fine by me! Have fun battling the toughest Dwarf in Amphibia!" exclaimed Grime, throwing his hands up into the air in frustration.  

"Enough!" commanded Sasha, stepping in between the two.  

Sasha turned to Anne and asked her for a piece of paper and a pen, surprisingly, Anne had both at hand.   

"We're making a decree!" announced Sasha, then she started to dictate to Anne, "I hereby order Sprig and Grime to spend the night training, and if they instead decided to pout like babies, they'll be banished forever! Anne, do want to add anything"  

"Or at least until the war starts" adds Anne and signs the paper, then she gives the pen and paper to Sasha.  

Sasha also signs the paper, right next to Anne's signature.   

"Happy training you two!" says Anne.  

Anne and Sasha push the two forwards, into the forest. Sprig and Grime grumble and 'boo' and protest, but there is nothing they can do, it's official.  

Anne:   

Anne places the leather tunic over Sprig, it's the only piece of armor they have to will give Sprig more protection while allowing him to stay fast and agile.  

"What do you think, Grime, do I have a chance here?" asked Sprig.  

"Realistically, no" Grime starts, "but you Hobbits always manage to surprise me"  

Grime pats Sprig on the back and the three head to the clearing. In the middle of the clearing stands Beatrix, she is holding two axes, a single swing could cut Sprig in half. Anne gulps nervously. The arena is surrounded by bleachers, the bleachers are filled with Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarfs. A giant cage was placed over the arena by a giant beetle. Anne gulped again. Sprig puffs up his chest and starts walking towards the arena. The Hobbits and Elves cheer for him, while the Dwarfs boo. Anne watches as Sprig steps into the arena. She sits down next to Polly and Frobo. Polly hits Frobo with a metal hammer, creating a sound that resembled a bell.  

"You may begin!" announces Anne.  

She tries to calm her nerves and Beatrix attacks Sprig with her axes. Sprig slides between her legs and appears behind her. Beatrix turns around and attacks again, Sprig rolls away. Anne bites her nails, her heartbeat speeding up. Beatrix swiped her axes horizontally right above the ground, Sprig jumps over the first, one but he can't possibly jump over the second one, it's too close. Anne holds her breathe. Sprig doesn't try to jump over the second axe, instead he falls to the ground and lets the axe swing above him. Anne exhales slowly. She watches as Sprig dodges two more attacks before jumping up and swinging from bar to bar like a monkey. He shoots a few pebbles with his slingshot, but they don't even faze Beatrix.  

"All that speed but you can't pack a punch" laughs Beatrix.  

Sprig, who had been building up momentum, suddenly let go of the bars and landed on Beatrix's face, jumping off of it and grabbing the bars again. Beatrix stumbles a little from the kick to the face and gasps.  

"What was that!" she asks, shocked.  

Anne is also shocked; she had never seen Sprig do anything like that! It was amazing! Sprig jumps from bar to bar, like a bouncy ball, he bounces from one side to another, building up momentum, and when the time is right, he punches or kicks Beatrix in the head, only to jump away before she can do anything.  

"What is this! I've never seen this from Hobbit or Dwarf!" says Beatrix.  

Sprig lunches himself above the cage and then dives down, kicking Beatrix and jumping away again.  

"That's because it's Hobbit  and  Dwarf!" he explains.  

Sprig grabs onto a bar and starts swinging round and round. Anne watches in amazement. Sprig only gets faster with each swing.   

"You're forgetting one thing" Beatrix drops her axes.  

Anne furrows her brows. She doesn't know what Beatrix is planning, but she doesn't like it. Sprig lets go of the bars, flying straight at Beatrix. Beatrix lets him hit her, but before he can jump away, she grabs him and squeezes him.  

"All Dwarfs love a good wrestle!" she cackles.  

The Hobbits and Elves gasp. Anne jumps and grabs at the bars.   

"Sprig!" she shouts.  

Her heart is beating in her ears, she needs to get in there and help him, but Sprig gives her a look that stops her. She holds her breathe, too scared to move. She sees Beatrix say something to Sprig, but can't hear her. Sprig looks around at all the Hobbits on the bleachers. Then he looks back at Beatrix and suddenly, Anne can literally see him getting red. His faces become fully red, his eyes are wide open and his jaw is clenched, he is scowling. She squeezes his fists and pushes his feet into Beatrix's chest, pushing away from her. Anne can't believe it. Sprig lets out a cry of anger and smashes his head into Beatrix's. Anne gasps. Sprig just headbutted Beatrix. Not only that, he knocked Beatrix out!   

"Sprig wins! Sprig wins!" shouts Polly, hitting Frobo several more times to end the battle.  

Anne can't believe that Sprig won, but he did. The cage is taken away and all the Hobbits and Elves run up to the Sprig and pick him up, throwing him into the air. Sasha claps. While Anne whistles and cheers.  

"Good job Sprig!" she shouts.  

The crowd place Sprig back on the ground and he smiles.  

"I couldn't have done it without Grime" he says, turning to smile at Grime.  

"Dang right" says Grime.  

Anne's smile falters a little, but then Grime starts to laugh and grabs Sprig, playfully ruffling his hair, Sprig laughs with him.  

"Great job Sprig" says Grime.  

Anne smiles, but out of the corner of her eyes, she sees Sasha's smile turn a little bittersweet, she wonders why. Before she can ask if Sasha's doing okay, Beatrix coughs from behind to get all of their attention. Beatrix, beaten up and bruised, holding her right hand, looks away at first but then meets their gazes.  

"I must say, Hobbit Dwarf fighting style is impressive" confesses Beatrix, "perhaps, if our armies united, we'll be stronger"  

Then Beatrix looks up and smiles at Sasha.  

"Commander, my troops will join the Resistance" she states.  

Anne can see the way Sasha's whole face lights up, her ears perk up and she smiles. Beatrix and the Dwarfs leave. Ivy and Maddie come up to congratulate Sprig.  

Sasha:  

A few days after recruiting the Dwarfs into the Resistance, Sasha, Loggle, Mrs. Croaker, and Wally set out on a mission to find Canine packs and ask them to join the Resistance as well. Anne and the Plantars were on a mission to recruit the villages around Wartwood. Sasha walked through the forest, sniffing the air and listening for any noises that could mean that there were Canine packs nearby. So far, they were unsuccessful.  

"We've been walking for half a day already!" whispered Loggle, trying to no attract attention to the group.  

"I know right! You'd think we would already find some Canine packs by now" Mrs. Croaker whispered back.  

"Yeah, we've been searching for so long" agreed Wally.  

Sasha kept walking, too focused on finding something that could point them in the right direction to really listen to their conversation. Just then she caught the scent of blood, fresh blood. She raised her left hand, making the two Hobbits and Elf stop talking. The silence stretched for a few more seconds before Sasha finally figured out where the smell of blood was coming from. She stalked through the woods, careful to not make too much noise. When they got closer, Sasha caught the scent of Canines. She paused and raised her hand, making a gesture that meant 'stop'. The group froze as Sasha tried to figure out how many Canines there were. She estimated about four Canines.  

"Seems like they were hunting, should we approach them? Or should we wait for them to start moving again? We don't want to startle them..."  debated Sasha.  

She turned back and gestured for the other three to wait there, then she moved closer to the Canines. She stopped, wondering if she should make her presence known, that would probably be better. She crouched down a little, put her hands palm out so the Canines could see she didn't have any weapons in her hands, then she stepped closer, trying to make sure they could hear her.   

"Who is there!" growled a Canine.  

"My name is Sasha Waybright, I come in peace, I just want to talk to your leader" explained Sasha.  

"Come into view" commanded a Canine, "slowly"  

Sasha slowly moved into view, in front of her stood four Canines, two adults and 2 teens, about the same age as Sasha. These were the parents and their daughters. One of the parents stepped closer. He towered over Sasha and had broad shoulders. Sasha tried not to show how nervous she was.  

"A lone Wolf? What do you need from us?" he asked.  

"I'm co-leader of the Resistance, we are planning to stop Darcy, the one who is causing all this destruction" began Sasha, "they plan to rule over all of Amphibia, and we need as much help as we can get to stop them"  

The father glanced over at his mate and daughters.   

"We can't give you an answer right away," said the other parent.  

"I understand, when and where should we meet up?" asked Sasha.  

"...Tomorrow, same spot, same time" nodded the father.  

Sasha nodded and was about to walk away when she paused and turned back.  

"Do you by any chance know where I could find other Canine packs? Or even better, spread the news about the Resistance," said Sasha.  

The parents shared a look and then turned back to look at Sasha.  

"We might be able to, but we don't guarantee anything"  

Sasha thanked them for their cooperation and then walked away towards her group. She gestured them to follow her. Once they got far enough so there was no chance of being eavesdropped on, Sasha told them the news. All of them were relieved that they didn't have to walk for any longer and that there was a chance that they got more than one Canine pack to join them. When they were heading home, Sasha couldn't help but worry about how all of the species would react when they found out they had to work together, after all, they only knew that they were working with Hobbits and Elves. To make things worse, the Canines probably thought the Resistance was made up of only other Canines, since they only saw Sasha. Sasha could already feel that things were going to get messy, she just hoped they would agree to work together long enough to defeat Darcy.  

Anne:  

"We are here to recruit volunteers to join the Resistance!" announced Anne, "if you join us, we can defeat Darcy, together!"  

Sprig jumped around, handing out brochures with information about the Resistance, of course, it didn't mention the fact that other species would be joining them, it was already hard enough to find people willing to put their lives at stake. Anne looked at the Hobbits and Elves in front of her, some of them were nodding, others were whispering among themselves, Anne hoped that her speech was good enough to convince them to join. One of the Hobbits raised his hand. Anne called on him.  

"Are there any perks?" he asked.  

Anne blinked twice, a little confused.   

"Um... other than saving your home?" she asked.  

The other people joined in, interested in the perks. Anne was a little confused, she had been pretty sure that the ability to fight for their homes would convince them, what else did they want? Hop Pop suddenly stepped in front of her, pushing her aside.  

"Of course, there are! Allow me to tell you all about it!" he reached into his jacket, looking for something.  

Anne knew exactly what was about to happen, she couldn't help but facepalm. Hop Pop had done said and showed the same thing to all the other villagers that asked for perks, and it always ended the same way.  

"This plant was grown underground!" Hop Pop showed off the little plant in a pot that he carried around all day, "in our very own Resistance Garden! Join us today and you too can participate in the agricultural revolution!"  

There was a second of silence, and then the villagers started walking away, muttering about something.  

"Oh no, we're losing them," said Sprig.  

"Anne! Do something!" shouted Polly.  

"Wait everyone!" Anne nudges Hop Pop away and threw her hands into the air to get everyone's attention, "if you join today! You can potentially look like this!"  

She pointed at Loggle, who took off his apron and flexes his muscles. The crowd cheered and all of them ended up joining the Resistance. Anne sighed, at least they didn't lose these ones, unlike the first two villages that asked about perks. They climbed into their fwagon and started driving away, on their way to the next village.   

"Wow! Almost half the caravan signed up! And we haven't even asked all of them! If we do it right, we can get so many people to join the Resistance!" Anne exclaimed.  

Anne, Sprig, and Polly cheered, but Hop Pop groaned and then sighed. Anne looked over at him, he looked sad.  

"What's wrong Hop Pop?" asked Sprig.  

"I just feel like I'm the only person who actually appreciates cultivating nature, I mean, farming is cool!" Hop Pop answered.  

"Right..."  

"Of course!"  

"Farming is the best!"  

They tried to cheer up Hop Pop, but it was easy to tell by their expressions and tone that they didn't agree, at all.  

"I just wish I was surrounded by people who are interested in what I'm interested in" sighed Hop Pop.  

Anne felt bad, she didn't mean to make Hop Pop feel out, but farming just wasn't what any of them were interested in, maybe one day Hop Pop would find like-minded people. Before Anne could say something to lift Hop Pop's spirit, the road they were on suddenly got really foggy, so foggy they couldn't see Bessie tugging the fwagon.  

"Did we take a wrong turn? I have no idea where we even are" Anne unfolded the map.  

Suddenly the fwagon dropped and they began rolling down, they were speeding up and nothing could stop them. Anne and the Plantars screamed in horror, as did Bessie, Anne could even hear Loggle screaming from inside the fwagon. The fog cleared up so they could see where they were going. Anne saw that they were heading for a cliff, they all screamed louder as Hop Pop tried to get Bessie to turn around and away from the cliff, but it was no use. They flew right off the cliff and into the fog below. The last thing Anne remembered was a purple light.  

Sasha:  

Sasha, Mrs. Croaker, and Wally went to meet up with the Canines. Mrs. Croaker and Wally were positioned far enough so they wouldn't be heard, seen, or smelled by any of the Canines. Sasha didn't want the Canines to refuse to join the Resistance because they had to work with Hobbits. Sasha was standing alone in the woods, until she heard a group making their way towards her. She turned to face them as they appeared from behind trees. Sasha recognized this Canine pack, it was the one she met yesterday, but now there were ten of them. Soon after them came two more Canine packs, one was made out of eight members, the other out of seven members.  

"Is that everyone?" asked Sasha.  

"There should be another pack coming" answered the Wolf with brown fur.  

They waited some more, the Canines giving each other suspicious glances every now and then. Finally, the last pack appeared, this one was the biggest one yet, it had 15 members. If all of the packs joined, they would have 40 Canines in the Resistance, maybe even more.  

"Alright, my name is Sasha Waybright" introduced herself Sasha.  

"Albrecht Braun" said the leader of the pack Sasha had already met.  

"Gunther Schwarz" said the leader of the pack of eight members, he had black fur.  

"Annika Kraus" said the leader of the pack of seven members, she had grey fur and curly hair.  

"Mathilde Winter" said the leader of the biggest pack, they had white fur and blue eyes.  

Sasha nodded at each one when they introduced themselves.  

"I'm co-leader of the Resistance, and I have come to ask you to join the Resistance, together, we can defeat Darcy, the one who has been causing all of this destruction" Sasha gave the speech she had been practicing.  

The leaders stared at her for a little while, then they turned and whispered to their mates. Sasha took a step back and pointed her ears in the opposite direction to not eavesdrop, she wanted to stay polite.  

"You said you are co-leader of the Resistance" said Mrs. Kraus, "but you are only a child"  

Sasha refused the urge to flinch or wince. What Mrs. Kraus had said was true, but Sasha couldn't really explain to them why she was co-leader, after all, they still didn't know they would be joining other species.  

"Yes, unfortunately, but this is exactly why I'm  co-leader " explained Sasha.  

She gave no space for any more questions.  

"You must have seen the robots, the destruction. If this continues, you're all going to be turned into slaves or killed," said Sasha.  

The leaders turned and began talking with their mates again, the children stayed quiet, some of them glancing over at Sasha with curiosity. Sasha stood there, waiting for their answer. At last, Mr. Braun turned to look at her.  

"We'll join the Resistance" he said.  

Sasha nodded and then glanced over at the other leaders, this felt too much like how it went with the Reptiles, but this time she was alone. To make things worse, the Reptile leaders lived in peace with each other, but the Canine leaders were rivals for food and territory, so they might not even want to work together, much less with other species.   

"So will we" stepped forward Mathilde Winter.  

"I suppose we'll also join" agreed Mr. Schwarz  

The last pack was Mrs. Kraus's, her pack only had seven members, the smallest one, yet she seemed skeptical about joining. Mrs. Kraus stared at Sasha; Sasha stared back. They were in a stare down; Sasha wasn't about to lose. Mrs. Kraus sighed.  

"We shall join the Resistance" she continued to stare at Sasha.  

"In that case, we'll send out letters to your packs to this location" nodded Sasha.  

She turned and left. Once she made it back to Mrs. Croaker and Wally, she told them the news. The three of them walked back to camp. Sasha couldn't help but smile a little. They had the Reptiles, the Avians, the Dwarfs, and now the Canines. Sasha felt like for the first time, they actually had a fighting chance.  

Anne:  

Anne groaned. Someone was shaking her shoulder and calling out her name. She opened her eyes and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, slowly, she got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.  

"Where are we?" she asked groggily.  

"And why are we all wearing dresses?" asked Sprig.  

Anne glanced around the room, they were all in beds, and as Sprig said, they were all wearing white dresses. The walls of the room were beige and had a drawing of a campfire with drawings of Hobbits circling it. Anne noticed all the flowers in the room. The flower carpet, the flowers drawn on the walls, there was a flower in the campfire, and real flowers and plants in pots all around the room. The group got up and opened the double doors leading outside. Once outside they all gasped. They were in what seemed to be a village, hidden away by tall trees and the fog above them. This was a farming village, with farm land and greenhouses everywhere. Hobbits were farming and carrying vegetables and fruit over to other places. The villagers noticed them and made their way to them, greeting them. One of them came forwards.  

"Hello there! You're finally awake. The name's Horace" greeted the only Hobbit in pants, "welcome to the hidden village of Gardenton"  

The Hobbits all clapped twice at the same time, which creeped out Anne, a little.  

"Gardenton? That wasn't on the map," said Anne.  

"We don't like attracting attention to our little slice of paradise" explained Horace, "a place where every Hobbit is a highly skilled agriculturist. Our plants are treated with the love and respect they deserve"  

"I can't believe this!" Hop Pop kept glancing around, tears in his eyes, "a place full of Hobbits just like me!"  

"Oh! A fellow plantifier?" asked Horace.  

"Yes! Who has two green thumbs and the smell of fertilizer?" asked Hop Pop, and then pointed at himself, "this guy"  

Much to Anne's surprise, all the gardeners laughed.   

"We should recruit them!" exclaimed Hop Pop.  

Anne had never seen him so energized.   

"I don't know, Hop Pop, do we really need plant people? Plus, they said they don't want to bring attention to themselves" Anne scratched the back of her neck.  

"Yeah, the last village made catapults!" added Sprig.  

Polly was also about to say something, but Hop Pop was already walking away.  

"I'm going to recruit them!" he shouted over his shoulder.  

Anne sighed. It wasn't that she was against more plant people in the Resistance, they could use the extra food, but she had a weird feeling about this village.  

"Listen pal, we have a proposal, and as head of this town, I think you'd want to hear it!" Hop Pop said to Horace.  

"Oh, I'm afraid I'm not the head of this community" chuckled Horace.  

"Oh... well... could you take us to your leader?" asked Hop Pop awkwardly.  

"Of course! Follow me" gestured Horace.  

Hop Pop gestured for the rest of them to follow him and Horace. Anne sighed and followed.   

"Hey Horace? Have you seen our snail and wagon?" asked Anne, worried about Bessie.  

"Don't worry, we're taking care of it!" answered Horace.  

Two little Hobbits ran up to Anne and held her hand, leading her after Horace. The way they all smiled and stared didn't make Anne feel any better, it made he feel more creeped out. She really hoped that this wouldn't turn into another adventure, they have had enough of those for a lifetime. They continued to follow Horace down a path. Hop Pop was geeking out about plants and their farming techniques, while Horace was telling him about how the land used to be barren.  

"But then He appeared! And with his guidance, we were able to become one with nature!" said Horace.  

Anne wasn't sure if they were talking about their leader or some higher power that they worshipped, she didn't have the time to ask because suddenly there were screams of agony and crying from behind. She turned around to see that Loggle had accidentally stepped on a flower and now the gardeners were crawling towards said flower, crying and screaming.  

"Uh... is this insensitive if I say this feels like an overreaction?" whispers Anne to Sprig.  

"Please guests, be careful! These plants are as much part of the community as we are!" Horace looked just as hurt as the other gardeners.  

"Some of us don't respect nature" Hop Pop patted Horace on the shoulder and then glared at Anne, Sprig, and Polly.  

Anne felt like that was unfair, after all, Loggle had accidentally stepped on that flower. The one who really disrespected nature was Darcy, with all their cutting down trees and polluting the air and water and soil. She glanced back to see Loggle awkwardly walk around the gardeners and quickly follow the rest of the group, trying to not step on anything else. Anne felt bad for him, but she also felt even more creeped out, if that was possible. Her gut feeling was telling her to get out of there. They made it to a large, old greenhouse. Horace opened the door and lead them inside. It was dark, with only a little sunlight coming in from the shattered windows, plants and fungi were growing everywhere. Anne gulped nervously. She saw a figure hunched over in a chair in the far corner, because of the shadows they couldn't see who it was.  

"Hello! You must be the leader!" Hop Pop outstretched his hand to shake hands with the leader.  

The leader didn't move.  

"Not a toucher I see, that's okay, not everyone is!" Hop Pop awkwardly pulled his hand back, "we would be really happy if you joined the Resistance, we need folks like you!"  

There was an awkward silence.  

"We uh... we also have casual Fridays? And... bagel Tuesdays?" Hop Pop chuckled nervously.  

When there was no answer, Anne stepped in front of the large curtain blocking the sunlight and pulled it off. The sunlight fell on the figure and the group screamed in horror. It was a skeleton of a Hobbit, rotten and with fungi growing out of it. The mushrooms around them started glowing an eerie purple hue and a laugh echoed through the greenhouse. A blue beetle crawled on top of the skeleton. On the beetle's head were growing purple mushrooms.  

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hopediah Plantar!"  

Chapter Text

Anne:    

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Hopediah Plantar!"     

The group leaped away from the beetle.   

"Jeremy the Beetle!" gasped Hop Pop.   

"No, up here you idiot" the beetle rolled its eyes, "it's me! Apothecary Gary!"   

Anne's eyes opened so wide they hurt. She wasn't sure who else she expected, those purple mushrooms should have given him away, but what was Gary doing here? As if on cue the gardeners came out from behind mushrooms, surrounding them. Their eyes were glowing purple.   

"B-but, you're extinct! Bessie ate you!" shouted Hop Pop.   

"Well, I was saved by Jeremy the Beetle. Unfortunately, the world isn't very kind to a small mushroom controlling a beetle, but the people of Gardenton took me in, and together we made a truly symbiotic relationship! They wanted my spores, because it made them better gardeners. I've never had willing subjects before! And let me tell you, it makes a big difference" explained Gary.   

"Yes! With Gary's help, we can be one with nature! We can feel what the plants need!" Horace takes off his hat, revealing purple spores on his head.   

The other gardeners followed suit and took off their head wear, also revealing spores. It was now that Anne noticed that all of them had been wearing head wear of some kind.   

"Well... this has been very educational" chuckled Hop Pop, then he lifted his leg and stomped onto a flower, "kids now!"   

The group ran out of the greenhouse. Behind them, Anne could hear the gardeners screaming and sobbing in agony. The group rounded a corner and hid behind a wall, trying to muffle their hard breathing. Anne watched as the gardeners passed them, she exhaled slowly.   

"We need to find Bessie and get out of here as quickly as possible" whispered Anne   

Just as Anne said that, they heard Bessie's honks coming from a greenhouse further down the path. They quickly sneaked into it, finding Bessie and the fwagon tangled in vines.  

"Hang on girl!" Hop Pop runs up to untangle Bessie.  

The others also run to free her.  

"Not so fast" says a voice from behind.  

Anne turns around. Gary is standing on Horace's head, with the other gardeners standing behind them. Horace snaps and vines suddenly grow out of the ground, wrapping tightly around the group, dangling them in the air. Anne struggles against the vines, but she can't do anything, it feels a little too much like when they were Darcy's prisoners. Anne looks around rapidly, trying to find something that would help her. She tries reaching for her sword, but then remembers that it's not on her because they were changed into the white dresses.  

"Well, well, well, are you ready to be turned into fertilizer!" Gary laughs evilly.  

Before Anne can snap back at him, an annoying beeping echoes through the greenhouse. Everyone looks around in confusion, trying to pinpoint where the beeping was coming from. Anne notices a red flashing light and finds a robot dragonfly on the back of the fwagon.  

"Resistance base located; extermination team deployed" the dragonfly robot announces.  

"When did that get there?" asked Sprig.  

"Extermination team? What-" Gary is interrupted when there is a loud thud and the ground shakes under their feet.  

All the gardeners, including Horace and Gary, run outside to see what is happening. A few seconds later Anne can hear flamethrowers, screams of agony and the smell of something burning. The vines weaken and then release them completely.   

"I know a golden opportunity when I see one" Anne ran up and started getting onto the fwagon.  

The four of them climbed on and rode away from the burning village. Once they were out of immediate danger, Anne allowed them to slow down a little. She gulped nervously, if they hadn't fallen into Gardenton, they would have led Darcy right to the Resistance base.   

"Well... that worked out?" nervously chuckled Anne.  

"Yeah..." Hop Pop sighed, "sure did"  

Anne saw Hop Pop leaning to look back at Gardenton, which was burning. The crops were burning, the vegetation was burning, the greenhouses were burning, everything was burning. Hop Pop kept looking back at it with a sad expression.  

"You want to go back and help them, don't you?" Anne sighed in frustration.  

The smile that Hop Pop gave her was enough for Anne to believe that it was all worth it, even if it absolutely was not. Anne pulled on the reigns, turning Bessie around and riding back to Gardenton. They rode through Gardenton, running and counting over red robots with flamethrowers. Anne saw two robots about to turn Gary into ash, and even though he did try to kill them, she rode right at them. Hop Pop jumped out and knocked out one robot, Anne grabbed her sword, which she found in the fwagon, and sliced off the other robot's arm.   

"Woohoo!" Sprig caught the flamethrower arm and melted a robot's head.  

"We'll help too!" shouted Gary, already on Horace's head, "charge!"  

The gardeners charged at a robot, jumping at attacking it from all sides. They were using gardening tools to turn the robots into scarecrows. Anne kept slicing robots in half, while Sprig melted their heads. When the robots finally stopped attacking, Anne allowed herself to relax a little and breathe slower.  

"Dang Gary! That was some incredible coordination!" Hop Pop said.  

Anne was about to give him the 'are you seriously doing this  right   now !?!?!?' look, but then Gary answered him.  

"Thanks, it comes with the whole hive mind situation" Gary answered politely, "you and your kids aren't so bad yourself"  

"Yeah, we've had lots of practice"   

Anne could not believe what was happening. Did they seriously forget that they were enemies? Gary tried to turn them into slaves once, now he wanted to kill them!   

"Well, we'll still going to kill you" announced Gary and then pointing one of his six legs at them, "attack!"  

Anne picked up her sword, ready to defend herself and her family.  

"Gary wait!" Hop Pop raised his hands, "I know we have some bad history. You tried to enslave my home town and I murdered you that one time"  

Anne's jaw dropped when she saw Gary nodding and agreeing, as if they were talking about the weather.  

"But your skill as a gardener and farmer are undeniable!" continued Hop Pop, making Gary blush, "I've been looking for someone who was interested in farming as much as I am, and well, here you are! Won't you join the Resistance and help us defeat Darcy?"  

"Well... I don't know..." Gary rubbed his chin.  

Anne was shocked that Gary was even considering it.  

"Gary, if we don't, the village will always be in danger" Horace said.  

Anne saw this as an opportunity to have a very well-organized small army join the Resistance and a chance to not be murdered.  

"That's right! They know the location of your village now! They'll come back and attack you once again!" Anne pushed through the crowd.  

"Good point, and Gardenton is so isolated I had no idea that any of this was happening" mumbled Gary, "well, you can count on us, let us know where and when and we will be there!"  

Hop Pop and Gary shook hands. Then the group climbed back onto the fwagon and rode away, heading back to the Resistance base. The ride back was silent for the most part, everyone was still shocked and confused at what just happened. No matter how weird everything that just happened was, Anne couldn't help but smile a little, they were able to get a lot of villages to join them, and now they had a mind controlling mushroom of their own.   

Sasha:  

"You what?" Sasha asked.  

Anne, the Plantars, and Loggle just returned from their mission to recruit the villages close by. Anne had just finished giving her an overview of what happened. Sasha wasn't sure how to feel about it, she was happy that they got a mind controlling mushroom on their side, but she felt guilty for not being there when they were almost murdered.  

"Recruited a village of gardeners and a mind controlling mushroom named Gary" repeated Anne.  

Sasha nodded slowly and shook her head from side to side. She couldn't understand how Anne got into so many adventures daily. She let all of them go except Anne, who she needed so that they could be on the same page.  

"Well, while you were doing that, I got four Canine packs to join the Resistance" announced Sasha, "we now have 40 Canines on our side"  

Anne cheered and hugged Sasha. Sasha tensed up and her breathing hitched, she gently hugged Anne back. When Anne pulled away, Sasha had to force down a whine and the urge to cling to Anne. Pushing those feelings away, she turned to the calendar and pointed at today's date.  

"We have pretty much recruited everyone we could, we have all the species with us, now we just have to get them all here at the same time," said Sasha.  

"And hope they agree to work together" added Anne quietly.  

"Yep, which they will... probably... maybe..." trailed of Sasha, staying positive was hard!  

They both stayed quiet for a few minutes, worrying about the upcoming war. Sasha sighed and let Anne go, it was getting late anyway, they should be resting. That night Sasha couldn't sleep very well, she was too worried. When she did fall asleep, she woke up from a horrible nightmare about Anne and Marcy. She spends the rest of the night awake, planning out the date and time when all the species could meet up and they could plan their attack on Darcy. She was about to go find Anne to ask her if the date she thought they could meet on was alright, but decided against it since Anne was probably still asleep. Just as she sat back down, the door flung open violently. Sasha's head snapped to look at the person who just burst through the door. To her surprise, it was Anne.  

"Sasha! Remember the food we left outside to pick up later?" Anne was breathing hard.  

"Yeah, of course" answered Sasha.  

"Well, someone raided it! All the food is gone! Everything that's left is ripped open boxes and a few trampled beets!" exclaimed Anne.  

"What" Sasha breathed out.  

She pushed past Anne and quickly made her way outside to look at the damage herself. Just like Anne said, the boxed were sliced open, the food gone except a few beets. There were no footprints, so whoever raided them could probably fly, and by the claw marks, it was a creature. What kind of flying creature could have done this? And why? Sasha knew the answer to the second one. With the forests being destroyed, the creatures probably couldn't find enough food in the forests, so they came here.  

"We need to catch whoever did that, we can't lose any more supplies" said Sasha, "they'll probably attack at night again, so we'll have to have a stake out"  

"Right, I can take the first shift" volunteered Anne.  

"Are you sure?" asked Sasha, "you just came from a whole adventure yesterday"  

"You say that as if you weren't busy yesterday as well" Anne rolled her eyes, "plus I can see in the dark better than anyone else"  

Sasha bit her bottom lip.  

"Fine, but you're taking Sprig and Soggy Joe with you, and make sure to be careful" Sasha says sternly.  

Anne nods and runs off to find Sprig and Soggy Joe to tell them the news. Sasha kneels down and sniffs at the boxes, trying to identify the culprit. The only scent she found that wasn't from the food supplies was of rain and forest, like most creatures smelled. Sasha frowns, there really isn't anything she can do about this until after the first stake out, which will hopefully go well. She trusted Anne, but she also knew that Anne and Sprig could get a little reckless, and when one of them set their mind on something, there was no going back. With that in mind, Sasha left to do other things, such as planning out when to get all the groups they have recruited together, which she needed Anne for.  

"Frog damn it! Should have asked her while she was still here!"  silently grumbled Sasha.  

Anne:  

"You guys ready?" asked Anne, "we need to catch whoever took our food supplies"  

"Yep, otherwise we'll run out of food" whispered back Sprig.  

"It has to be a creature; with all this destruction they have no choice but to come into villages to find food" growled Soggy Joe.  

Anne nodded to that. Sasha had said pretty much the same thing. Soggy Joe and Sprig continued to talk about how much destruction Darcy has caused how that has affected the creatures living in forests. Anne listened for a bit, until another sound caught her ears. It was the sound of wings flapping. Something was flying towards them, and it was large. She looked up just as the creature flew above them, creating a strong gust of wind and knocking all three of them over. Anne jumped right back up to see the creature, with its back to them, slice off the top of the crates and chomp down at the food. It was a large creature with large wings and light fur.  

"What is that!" hissed Sprig.  

"A kill-a-moth" whispered Anne, the only one who could actually see the creature properly.  

Anne charged at the kill-a-moth, with Sprig and Soggy Joe right behind her. She doesn't want to harm the creature, after all, it's just trying to survive, and it reminds her of Domino 2. Instead, she wants to scare it away to make sure it doesn't come back. The kill-a-moth flies off, but it also takes all the food supplies with it. Sprig and Soggy Joe chase after it.   

"Wait!" calls out Anne, but they don't hear her.  

She groans and kicks a pebble before running after them, there is no way she'll leave those two alone with a kill-a-moth. She catches up with Sprig and Soggy Joe just as they hide behind a boulder. The kill-a-moth walks into a cave and drops the food there.  

"That must be its home" whispers Anne.  

The kill-a-moth turns around, revealing its face. Anne instantly recognizes it.  

"Domino 2!" she squeals.  

Memories of finding Domino 2 and keeping it as her pet flood her mind, she can't help but smile at all the memories they have created together.  

"I can't believe it! I haven't seen her in so long! All along she had continued to live nearby!" Anne can't contain her excitement, "what should I do? Should I approach her?"  

"Approach her!" Sprig whisper-shouts, "are you crazy! That monster tried to eat us!"  

The rest of the memories hit her like a brick. She feels guilty, it's her fault that the Plantars almost got eaten. The memory of having to trick Domino 2 into leaving leave her feeling bittersweet, she did the right thing, she knows it, but she loved Domino 2, still loves her.  

"I know Sprig, but-" started Anne but is interrupted by mechanical sounds.  

All of them, including Domino 2, look up to spot two robots in the air. The robots land, surrounding Domino 2. Domino 2 screeches and swipes at one of the robots. She creates strong gusts of wind to keep one of the robots away, but surprisingly, doesn't fly away. Anne wonders if it's because of the food, maybe she doesn't want to lose it, but it's not like the robots want that. Anne is pretty sure that if Domino 2 leads the robots away and loses them, then she can return and eat her food, and probably relocate her home. Before Anne can run and help Domino 2 defeat the robots, one of the robots shoots a net at Domino 2 and captures her. The robots fly away with Domino 2. It happens so fast that Anne doesn't even have the time to react properly.  

"Domino 2!" Anne shouts into the sky.  

Domino screeches something, looking right at Anne. It's almost like she's trying to tell Anne something.  

"Woohoo! Problem solved!" cheers Sprig.  

"High five!" Soggy Joe and Sprig high five.  

Anne looks at the sky. Domino 2 and the robots are out of view already because of all the trees. Anne feels her heart ache, Domino 2 has tried to eat the Plantars, but she and Anne had a connection.  

"I'm going to save her" announces Anne.  

"What!" shout both Sprig and Soggy Joe.  

"Anne! Domino 2 is a wild creature! She has lived in the wild-" Sprig starts telling Anne.  

Sprig continues to say something, but Anne ignores him, there is another noise that caught her attention. She places her hand over Sprig's mouth, making him shut up. Anne listens closely, it sounds like... mewling? Anne steps closer to the cave. Inside the cave she finds a large nest, inside of which lay six kill-a-pillars.  

"Oh, my, Frog! Domino 2 has kill-a-pillars!" squeals Anne.  

She can't believe how cute the kill-a-pillars are, they remind her a lot of Domino 2 when she was a kill-a-pillar. She picks them up gently and they snuggle into her, warming her heart, but it also leaves her with a bittersweet feeling. How will these kill-a-pillars survive without Domino 2? Who will look after them while she goes and rescues Domino 2? An idea pops into her mind.  

"We're taking this kill-a-pillars back to Wartwood!" she announces.  

"Absolutely not!" protest Sprig and Soggy Joe.  

"Oh, come on! We can't leave this little defenseless kill-a-pillars in the wild without their mother!" pouts Anne.  

Sprig and Soggy Joe shake their heads.  

"Please" begs Anne, "just until I rescue Domino 2!"  

"Nope! No way! Not in a million years! They're literally called  kill -a-pillars! Kill! They're dangerous and-" Sprig trails off when Anne shoves the kill-a-pillars into his face.  

Anne knows this will work, there is literally nothing cuter than kill-a-pillars, except Marcy, wait what? Did she just think that Marcy-  

"Fine!" caves in Sprig, "but I don't think the rest of Wartwood will like this!"  

Anne pushes her thoughts about Marcy away.  

"Don't be so dramatic" Anne grins, "they're gonna love it!"  

Sasha:  

"You did what!"  

"Why did you think that's a good idea!"  

"Why would you bring  kill-a-pillars  into Wartwood!"  

Everyone was shouting at Anne. Sasha pressed her ears back a little so it wasn't as painful with all the loud voices. She stares at the six kill-a-pillars that Anne holds in her hands, one of them is on her head.  

"Why did you think bringing six kill-a-pillars into Wartwood was a good idea?" asked Sasha.  

Next to Sasha stand Grime, Polly, Mrs. Sundew, Wally, Mrs. Croaker, and Hop Pop. All six of them agree with Sasha.   

"Please! These are Domino 2's kill-a-pillars! All you have to do is watch them for a few hours" begs Anne, "Domino 2 is my precious baby!"  

Everyone shakes their head, Polly even telling Anne that she should leave Domino 2 captured. Sasha sees the way that Anne deflates at that, she hugs the kill-a-pillars closer and hangs her head, making herself smaller. That tugs on Sasha's heart strings.  

"Come on guys, Anne has done so much for you, can't you do this one thing for her?" says Sprig.  

Sasha knows that Sprig hates the idea to keep the kill-a-pillars and save Domino 2 as everyone else, but he has a point. Sasha looks at everyone else, they all look guilty.  

"Alright, we'll watch after the kill-a-pillars" caves in Sasha, it hurts her to see Anne sad.  

Everyone else agrees reluctantly. Sprig gives each of them a kill-a-pillar. Sasha tells them to make a makeshift prison for the kill-a-pillars, which was just a few planks and boxes so they had to sit in a 1.5m by 1.5m square. Wally took the first shift while everyone left. If Sasha had to choose a creature as a pet that wasn't a normal pet, like a kill-a-moth, she would personally choose hybeenas, she just preferred them over anything else.   

About an hour later, Sasha, Soggy Joe, Mrs. Sundew and Ivy, Hop Pop, Wally, and Mrs. Croaker all come outside to check on Wally, only to find him snuggling with the kill-a-pillars. Sasha isn't sure how to feel about it, but they don't really look all that dangerous. Mrs. Sundew and Ivy also grab a kill-a-pillar scratching its chin. Mrs. Croaker caves in after one of the kill-a-pillars climbs onto her head and starts purring. Even Grime and Hop Pop start playing with a kill-a-pillar each. Sasha can't help but chuckle. She sees Soggy Joe pick the last kill-a-pillar. Sasha plays with the kill-a-pillar that Grime was holding.  

"This one has a warrior soul" says Grime when the kill-a-pillar almost scratches Sasha's eye out.  

Sasha laughs.  

Anne:  

Anne made sure her belt that held her sword was on tight. Then she turned to face the way that the robots took Domino 2.  

"I'm coming with you" said Sprig from behind, startling Anne a little.  

"Thanks Sprig, for convincing them to look after Domino 2's kill-a-pillars and for joining me" Anne smiles softly.  

Sprig just grins and together they hurry to save Domino 2. They make it up the hill and find a large cage dome with tons of kill-a-moths inside flying in circles.   

"Look at this" Anne hands the telescope to Sprig.  

"They're using kill-a-moths to power something" whispers Sprig and then adds, "and look, mind controlling collars"  

"Right... we wait for the kill-a-moths to fall asleep and then save Domino 2" says Anne.  

They wait for a few minutes before all the kill-a-moths land and fall to the ground, they are clearly overworked. Anne and Sprig sneak in. They tiptoe to Domino 2, surrounded by kill-a-moths who are twice as large as Anne. Anne holds her breath until they get closer to Domino 2. She gestures Sprig to wait a few steps back as she gets closer. Anne gently grabs the collar and tries to take it off, but it's harder than she thought and she accidentally wakes up Domino 2. Domino 2's eyes are purple.  

"Get away!" Sprig jumps in between Anne and Domino 2.  

Domino 2 knocks Sprig away with her front paw. Anne dodges her claws and jumps onto Domino 2's back, taking out her sword and trying to take of the collar without hurting Domino 2 while she tried to throw Anne off. At last, the collar snapped. Anne was thrown off with the collar. Domino 2's eyes turn back to red and she stares at Anne.  

"Anne! Run!" cries out Sprig.  

"No! She remembers me!" Anne gets up and spreads her hands for a hug.  

Domino 2 screeches and charges at Anne with her sharp teeth bared. Anne's heart sank and she protected her head with her hands, only to feel Domino 2 lick her hand. She opens her eyes and Domino nibbles very gently on her hand.  

"Domino 2! You remember me!" gasps Anne.  

As if to prove that, Domino 2 takes out a toy ladybug that Anne had used to make Domino 2 leave last time. Then Domino 2 rolls over and Anne rubs her belly. Anne tries to stop the tears, but they are already streaming down her cheeks. She hugs Domino 2, and Domino 2 hugs her back, purring loudly. Suddenly she hears Sprig scream. Anne looks up just as Sprig falls into the mouth of one of the kill-a-moths. All the kill-a-moths except Domino 2 rise into the air and start to fly in circles again, generating energy.  

"No!" shouts Anne, she cuts the rope that tied Domino 2 and climbed onto her, "Come on! Up, up, and away!"  

Domino 2 takes off suddenly, causing Anne almost to fall off. She clung on tightly, adrenaline pumping through her blood. Domino 2 headbutts the kill-a-moth that ate Sprig, causing it to spit Sprig out. Anne catches him and tugs Domino 2 towards the exit.  

"Hey, you okay?" asks Anne.  

"Yeah" grumbles Sprig.  

On the way to the exit Anne pulls a lever that opens the gate, they fly out but Domino 2 stops just a little away from the cage. She looks back and lets out a little whine.  

"You don't want to leave them behind" guesses Anne.  

Domino 2 nods and looks at Anne pleadingly.  

"We have to save them" she sighs.  

"Or we don't" suggests Sprig.  

"Yeah, we do" Anne glares at Sprig, "plus they're generating energy for Darcy, we gotta stop that too"  

Sprig grumbles something but agrees in the end. They turn back around and fly back in. Domino flies close to each kill-a-moth. Sprig uses his slingshot to make the collars fall off while Anne cuts the ropes with her sword. They release all the kill-a-moths and their eyes return to red. Anne cheers but then Sprig screams again. Once again, a kill-a-moth has grabbed Sprig.  

"Sprig!" shouts Anne.  

The kill-a-moths fight over Sprig, each one stealing him from another, trying to eat him, but someone else steals him from them before they can. Anne's breathing picks up and grips Domino 2's main tighter. There has to be a way to save Sprig. She tugs Domino 2 to fly and save Sprig, but she doesn't move. Instead, she lets out a loud and long screech, catching the attention of all the other kill-a-moths. The kill-a-moths stop fighting over Sprig and one of them brings Sprig and lets Domino 2 take it from them. Domino 2 takes Sprig into her front paws and gently hands him to Anne.  

"T-thank you" Anne's voice is trembling.  

She hugs Sprig closer to her chest, her heart still racing. She tries to blink away the blurriness from her eyes, but fails, so instead she just buried her face into Sprig's beanie.  

"W-why did they stop?" mumbles Sprig.  

He is swaying from side to side, his eyes unfocused. Anne holds him tighter and breathes out slowly. She looks up to see all the other kill-a-moths hovering around them, as if waiting for a command. Anne's face lights up in realization.  

"Wait! I think Marcy said something about this once! Kill-a-moths form groups and have a leader that they all follow, so Domino 2 must be the leader!" explains Anne.  

Anne feels a pang of guilt hit her suddenly. She hopes that Marcy is still alright and that they can save her in time. She also regrets not listening to Marcy more, Darcy's words echoing in her mind about how she and Sasha never really listened to Marcy, never really got to know the true her.  

"That means... if we've tamed Domino 2, we've tamed them all?" Sprig croaks out.  

"Yeah!" excitedly says Anne, they she addresses all the kill-a-moths, "follow me!"  

They fly on Domino 2 back to base, will all the other kill-a-moths following behind them. When they arrive to camp, Anne spots Sasha, Grime, Soggy Joe, Hop Pop, Mrs. Sundew, Ivy, Mrs. Croaker, and Wally all sitting in a closed off area outside, they're playing with the kill-a-pillars. Anne smiles, she steers Domino 2 to land close by, all the other kill-a-moths follow. The Resistance members that were playing with the kill-a-pillars jump up and grab their weapons. Anne doesn't blame them; they are after all surrounded by about 15 giant kill-a-moths that could eat them in one bite.  

"Hi guys! You can put your weapons down! They're with us!" calls out Anne before a fight breaks out.  

Everyone except Anne and Sprig was really confused and uncomfortable with the kill-a-moths, but then Sasha steps forward, holding a kill-a-pillar that oddly resembles her and petting it with her other hand, and grins.  

"With us?" she asks, after Anne nods, she turns to address everyone, "well guys, looks like we just got air cavalry!"  

Sasha:  

Sasha ties the last letter to the last messenger dragonfly they have. She and Anne had agreed on a date and were making preparations to meet all the species and convince them to work together. Anne didn't seem too worried about how things would go; she kept telling Sasha that everything would be fine. Sasha wasn't all that convinced, but she hoped that the war looming over the horizon might convince them to work together for at least a little bit.  

"Sash! Wait up!" called out Anne.  

Sasha turned around and searched the crowd to find Anne. At last, she did, finding Anne struggling to get through the crowd. Anne bumps into two Hobbits carrying supplies, apologizes quickly, and runs up to Sasha, grabbing her hand and pulling her away.  

"Wha- hey! Where are you pulling me! I'm not done with-" Sasha protests but Anne just keeps pulling her along.  

They make it to the plan room, which is empty. Anne pushes Sasha into the couch and sits next to her. Sasha can easily see the excitement bubbling in Anne.  

"Alright, what do you want?" sighs Sasha.  

She isn't really annoyed, she actually likes seeing Anne so excited about things, especially after seeing her so depressed after finding out that she lost her hand. Sasha pushes the dark memories away, right now she has to focus on the present.  

"Not me, what do  you want!" Anne bounces on the couch.  

"What do  I want? What do you mean?" asks Sasha, tilting her head to the right.  

"You know what I mean" Anne rolls her eyes and then grins at Sasha, waiting for an answer.  

Sasha furrows her brows, trying to think of why Anne was so interested in what she wanted.   

"Well... I..." Sasha feels a little embarrassed to say what she wants out loud, but it's just her and Anne, so... "I want a lot of things, but I think what I want most is to fix things. I want to save Amphibia, make it safe again. I want to save Marcy. And most importantly, I want-"  

"Wait, wait, wait!" interrupts Anne, "I meant what do you want for your birthday!"  

Sasha tilts her head again, raising an eyebrow.  

"My... birthday?" she asks.  

"Yeah" Anne says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "it's April 2, your birthday is in two days"  

Sasha freezes. Her birthday is in two days ?????? When did that happen?????  

"Oh my Frog... don't tell me you forgot" gasps Anne.  

"I... I-I... uh... what?" stutters Sasha, dumbfounded.  

She stands up abruptly and grabs the calendar, checking today's date. It was in fact April 2, which is in fact two days away from April 4, her birthday. She stares at the calendar. Somehow, she had placed the date of meeting every Resistance member the day after her birthday, April 5, and didn't even notice it.  

"You did forget!" Anne accuses her.  

Sasha places the calendar back carefully and turns around to face Anne. She isn't sure how to feel about it, sure she didn't celebrate her birthday until she joined the Dwarfs, and even then, the first two were a mess, but it was still important to her, how did she forget about it? Sasha came to the conclusion that with all the work piling up, her birthday completely flew out of her mind.  

"I... I suppose I have..." mumbles Sasha.  

"Dang it! This would have been perfect for a surprise party!" grumbles Anne, then shakes her head and smiles softly at Sasha, "I guess you were really busy, so busy you didn't even notice you placed the big meeting right after your birthday"  

Sasha can only nod.   

"Well, you still have to answer me, what do you want on your birthday?" asks Anne.  

"Oh. Um... anything" shrugs Sasha.  

Anne looks annoyed and disappointed.  

"Fine, but then you gotta promise me you won't be sad when I get you the wrong thing" grumbles Anne.  

Sasha laughs at that. While she doesn't say it out loud, she knows that she will cherish anything and everything Anne gives her. Anne leaves promising to make Sasha the best birthday she will ever have. Sasha doubts it, the best birthday would have Marcy, Percy, and Braddock on the guest list as well as everyone else, unfortunately those three weren't with them at the moment. Sasha shakes the bad thoughts out of her head. It might not be the best birthday ever, but she's still excited, she's turning 14 after all. Sadness washed over her again, they hadn't celebrated Marcy's 14th birthday because the war happened about a week before that.  

"No! Stop thinking about that, you're gonna give her the best 14 and a half birthday to make it up"  

Chapter Text

Anne:    

The first thing that Anne does is make a guest list. She grabs a piece of paper and a pencil and sits at her desk. She pauses, would Sasha like everyone to know about her birthday? Or would she prefer to keep it between close people? Technically, Anne could still through her a surprise party by being the one with the guest list and whole idea, but... would Sasha like that? Anne bit her bottom lip, then she got up.   

"Grime knows Sasha better than anyone"  she decides.   

Anne finds Grime training some Hobbits, once he notices her staring at him, he excuses himself and makes it to her.   

"Commander Anne" he salutes her.   

Anne cringes at that.   

"Grime. I’ve got some important things I have to talk with you about" explains Anne.   

She leads them to her room, Sasha is probably still in the planning room, and Anne would like to surprise her. Once they're in her room, she sits down with a pencil.   

"I'm thinking of throwing Sasha a birthday party" she begins, "and I need to know who to invite. Would she rather have everyone know about her birthday, or only a few people, or maybe everyone knows that it's her birthday, but not everyone knows about the party..."   

"Ah... you're throwing her a party..." Grime hums, deep in thought.   

They decide that it's better to invite only close people to the party, but it's alright if others know about her birthday, plus they'll need some help from them. The guest list is rather short:   

• Grime  
• Anne  
• Wally  
• Loggle  
• Mrs. Croaker  
• Sprig  
• Ivy  
• Maddie  

Anne isn't sure about the last three, but Grime reassures her that Sasha seems to have some sort of bond with them. Grime suggests asking Mr. Flour to bake them a cake for Sasha and ask Stumpy to make the food. They'll need help with the decorations, and Anne thinks that she can handle it, with the help of Sprig, and maybe Ivy and Maddie. Next, is planning the gifts. Gifts are hard to come up with, especially since they are in the middle of a war, so resources are scarce.   

"How about instead of an item, the gift is like... I don't know... helping her?" shrugs Anne.   

She wasn't very serious about it, but Grime seems to really think about it.   

"We could do all her work for her on her birthday, that would be really helpful" says Grime.   

"Ah... yeah..." nods Anne.   

Truthfully, she does not want more work, but it's only for one day, plus Sasha always takes some of Anne's work, so it would only be fair. She would also let Sasha sleep in, though that would never work with Sasha's schedule. Instead, Anne decided to bring her breakfast, even if it meant waking up at the crack of dawn to make said breakfast and catching Sasha when she had just woken up.    

"Should we decorate the planning room? So, Sasha walks out and boom! Party!" asks Anne.   

"No. We'll be too loud, she'll hear us" points out Grime, "we need another room"   

"We could do it in my room"   

They decide to gather everyone on the guest list and tell Mr. Flour to bake a cake so that they can all help. Grime goes to Mr. Flour to order the cake, while Anne gathers everyone in her room. She tells them the plan, and everyone agrees to come and help. They start planning how to decorate the room, making sure that they stick to things they can get. Once the planning is over, Anne sends everyone to gather the materials, telling them to make sure Sasha doesn't catch them. Grime returns soon after and tells her that the cake will be done by the evening of April 3, just in time. By the time everything is gathered, it's getting late already, so they decide to decorate tomorrow.    

"We should make sure that none of them have missions tomorrow or the day after, so they can party" suggests Anne, then she adds, "or at least short and easy missions"   

Grime agrees and they make their way to the planning room. Sasha is already there, planning something.   

"Sash! Whatcha doing?" Anne watches over her shoulder.   

"Planning the meeting" mumbles Sasha, then she turns to look at Anne and Grime, "think everyone will fit in the base? I've calculated how many people will appear, give or take, but I'm not sure they'll all fit"    

"Maybe if we remove the statue in the middle?" suggests Grime.   

"And clear some space, move some boxes" adds Anne.   

Sasha nods and looks back at the map. While she does that, Grime moves to look at the mission list. Anne watches Sasha ponder. She feels someone staring at her and looks up, to find Grime pointedly staring at her. When she opens her mouth to ask why he's staring, he places a finger to his lips to silence her, then points at the missions list makes a face that screamed 'we got a problem!'. Anne gets up and makes her way to him. She looks at the list and mentally winces. Wally, Loggle, and Mrs. Croaker are on a mission with Sasha tomorrow. Ivy and Maddie are also on a mission tomorrow, and Sprig and Ivy as well as two other Resistance members are on a mission the day after. Anne glances at Sasha and then replaces Sprig and Ivy with two other Hobbits, someone who will be able to do the mission just as well. Grime points at the mission with Sasha, Wally, Loggle, and Mrs. Croaker, and gives a thumbs up.   

"Ah! They'll keep Sasha busy so we can keep the party a surprise!"  catches up Anne.   

She nods at Grime and then glances back at Sasha; she seems to have not noticed their plan. Ivy's and Maddie's mission is just to gather herbs, so not too long. They decide to keep that one there.      

Sasha:    

Sasha feels like something is going on, something that they didn't want her to know about. Anne and Grime have been talking to each other more, whispering and talking through eye contact. They stood for way too long at the missions list, and she could hear them erasing and writing something. Once they left, together (they arrived together too...), Sasha got up and looked at the missions list. Ivy's and Sprig's names were replaced by two others. Sasha decided against changing the names back, after all the two Hobbits Anne chose also work, and she must have had a good reason, right?   

The strange things didn't end. On her way to get something to eat, she bumped into Wally, carrying a bunch of colorful paper.   

"What's that for?" she asked out of curiosity.   

"Huh!" yelped Wally, stumbling over his words, "What's what for? What? Nothing, nothing! I uh- hear that? Someone's calling me!"   

With that he ran off, bumping into multiple other people. Sasha shrugged it off, it probably wasn't anything she needed to worry about, Wally was rather mysterious at times, especially about his past. For someone who lived on the streets, he had quite a lot of knowledge about rich things. Sasha continued on her way. She saw Loggle carrying string, cones, and cups in the same direction that Wally was heading to.   

"Loggle!" she called out, making her way to him.   

He looked at her, then at something far away, then back at her. By that time Sasha had already made her way to him.   

"C-commander!" stuttered Loggle, then turned and ran off.   

Sasha just stared at him running off, her jaw hanging. What was happening today? She shook her head and decided to grab some food before finding out. She made it to Stumpy's and saw Mrs. Croaker talking to Stumpy about something, the conversation seemed to be getting heated. Sasha decided to intervene before things escalated, but as she was making her way to them, Mrs. Croaker noticed her.   

"Shh!" she hissed to Stumpy, "I'll be back later, keep quiet!"   

With that she hurried off, leaving a very stumped Stumpy with Sasha.   

"What was that about?" she asked.   

Stumpy shrugs, not meeting Sasha's eyes. She frowns.   

"What would you like?" Stumpy points at today's meal choices.   

Sasha knows that he's trying to change the subject, she decides to let him and glances at the board. There isn't much of a choice, but she's glad that there even is one, having at least some sort of choice makes you feel more in control, at least that's what Sasha had learned over time.   

"First choice please" she orders.   

Stumpy disappears and appears again soon, handing her the plate. Then he mumbles a bad excuse and disappears again. Sasha sighs and eats her food. What was happening? Maybe something got broken or went wrong, and they were trying to patch it up before she found out? Did she think she would be angry? Well, she might be, but only a little, she hoped they weren't scared of her, that's not something she wants anymore. Before she can start spiraling into 'what if's, she notices Sprig and Anne talking just out of earshot. Anne looks panicked, fidgeting with her fingers and hair. Sprig says something and Anne throws her hands up in what seems like frustration. She sits down against a wall and bangs her head gently against the wall several times.   

"What's going on there?"  wonders Sasha.   

She finishes her food and gets up. She starts walking up to them, catching some of their conversation.   

"You did warn her" points out Sprig.   

"I knoooooooow" whines Anne, "but I want it to be spe-"   

Sasha meets Anne's eyes. Anne's eyes widen and she quickly shushes Sprig, scrambling up and pushing Sprig into the Med Bay. Sasha can hear a muffled yelp and then a thud, followed by Maddie and Sprig arguing. Sasha tilts her head to the right in confusion, her brows furrowed. She makes it to Anne. Anne leans against the wall, making finger guns at Sasha.   

"Heeeeeyyyyy" stretches out Anne.  

"Look, I'll get straight to the point" sighs Sasha, "did something happen? Did you break something? Did something go wrong?"  

"What? No!" Anne looks genuinely confused.  

Sasha frowns. Anne wouldn't lie to her, right? She really hoped that if they did break something, they wouldn't hide it from her. She didn't want them to be scared to tell her, she only wanted to help.  

"Really? Because Loggle, Wally, and Mrs. Croaker have been avoiding me. Stumpy was acting all weird and trying to get away. You and Sprig were whispering suspiciously" listed Sasha, then she added, "Look, if something happened, I'm not gonna be mad. Well, I might be a little mad, but not a lot, I'll help you fix everything"  

"Don't worry, nothing's broken, nothing's gone wrong. Everything is under control!" reassured her Anne.  

"Promise?" asked Sasha.  

"Promise" Anne stuck out her pinky.  

It might have been a little childish, scratch that, it was very childish, but it was their way of making the strongest promises. If someone pinky promised something, they weren't going to break it, not even if their life depended on it. They connected their pinkies and made a pinky promise.  

"Alright" relaxed Sasha, "can you at least tell me what's going on? What are you all doing?"  

"Uh... w-well... I-I... we-I-we um..." stuttered Anne, "gotta go, sorry!"  

With that Anne turned around and speed walked away. Sprig, who was peeking out of the Med Bay, quickly hurried after her. Sasha was left standing alone again. She sighed. They were going in the same direction as Loggle, Wally, and Mrs. Croaker. Sasha wondered for a second if she should follow them, but decided against it, instead going into the planning room. She trusted that whatever was going, Anne had it under control, though she couldn't shake off the feeling that this would turn into an adventure, hopefully nothing dangerous.  

"Knowing Anne, this will be dangerous" Sasha shakes her head.  

Sasha's inner clock is telling her to go to sleep soon, so she has another ten minutes before she needs to get ready to sleep. Sasha uses that time to look over all the missions and plans, then checks the calendar. Two dates are circled. One of them is April 4th, the day all the species come together to defeat Darcy. The other date is... April 3rd, with 'Sash's b-day' written in Anne's handwriting. Suddenly everything made sense. The whispering, the colorful paper, cones, cups, it all made sense. This was why they had all been avoiding her, they had been planning her birthday.   

"Knowing Anne, she's probably throwing me a surprise party"  Sasha smiles.  

She decides against telling anyone that she knows and instead just goes straight to bed. Her grin is glued to her face, and for the first time in a while, she falls asleep happy and excited to start the next day.  

Anne:  

Anne stretches and grins. Tomorrow was Sasha's birthday, which meant they had all of today to decorate and choose gifts. All the materials were in her room already. Loggle, Wally, Mrs. Croaker, and Sasha had already left for their mission. There was a knock on the door and Anne opened it to find Polly, Sprig, Ivy, and Maddie standing at the door.   

"Alright, we have a lot to do, so let's get started," says Anne.  

Ivy and Maddie cut the paper into different shapes, Sprig and Polly glued the shapes to the string, Anne hangs the string around her room. Mrs. Croaker had managed to bring some lights, so they hung those as well. They move the table and plan the seats.   

"Anne? Could I leave my present here? I don't want to forget it later" asks Ivy.  

"Sure, leave them in that corner" Anne points at the far corner.   

Ivy hops over and places a box wrapped in a bow on the floor. Maddie follows and places a little bag. Sprig and Polly also leave their presents on the floor. Sprig's is wrapped in colorful paper, while Polly's isn't even in a box or bag, it's just wrapped in a bow, though Anne isn't surprised that it's not in a box. Anne gulps nervously. They all have their presents ready, and she knows for a fact, so do Wally, Loggle, and Mrs. Croaker. Grime probably also has his present ready, but she has nothing. Technically, she would be making breakfast and doing Sasha's work, but she still needed a present, and she still had no idea what to give her.  

"Well, we better go, before Sasha comes looking for us" says Maddie.  

Ivy skips after her and they both leave. Anne glances at the gifts and turns to Sprig.  

"Hey Sprig, what are you going to give Sasha?" she asks.  

"I'm giving her a slingshot, I carved it myself" answered Sprig, then laughed awkwardly, "think she'll like it?"  

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll like it" reassures Anne.  

Sprig smiles and he and Polly leave. Anne stands in her room alone. She looks around, everything is pretty much ready. They have the whole room decorated, the food is ordered and going to be ready tomorrow, everyone has their presents ready, except her... Anne glances over at the present pile. She could say that breakfast and doing Sasha's work is a present, but she still wants to give Sasha something physical, something that Sasha can keep, something that'll remind Sasha of her. She doesn't want to say it out loud, or even think about it, but she knows that she's scared. She's scared of the war, scared of things going wrong. Sasha could- she could- she- Anne shakes her head. If anything went wrong, at least Sasha would have something to remind her of Anne.  

"Stop. Just stop. Everything is going to be fine. But... something so Sasha can remember me if I- if she- if... if things went wrong... that... that would be... nice..." thinks Anne.  

She heads over to the box next to her bed. It was a box full of her stuff. Sasha said that when making the Resistance, she had moved all of Anne's stuff down into this room, so she could have them when she returned. Part of Anne knew that it was Sasha's way of coping with not knowing if she or Marcy were... a- a- were... Anne shakes her head again, scolding herself for having such dark thoughts, she needed to stay positive, plus, she had seen Marcy, she knew she was fine. Anne goes through the box, pulling out things that she forgot she had in her room. She stumbles upon a small bag with hair ties and hair clips. Something pink catches her attention. She takes out the pink hair clip. It's simple.  

"Way too bland, no way I can give it to Sash"  an idea pops into Anne's mind,  "but if I decorate it! Oh! I might have some modeling clay!"  

Anne searches through the box, finding the modeling clay, some of the colors are already used up, but there is a little pink, red, and white left. She grabs the clay and hair clip and sits down at her desk. She starts with the pink, making a little hybeena face. She makes the eyes, nose, and antennas out of red clay. Then she mixes a little pink and white to create lighter pink to make the two stripes on the antennas. Very carefully, she props up the little red and pink hybeena head to let it dry. She can't help but smile at it. Sasha was always preferred hybeenas over kill-a-moths, so Anne thinks that it's the best present she can make.  

"Alright, time to go do some work while this dries, then I'll glue it on" Anne nods and leaves.  

She arrives at the planning room and finds Grime already in it.  

"Ah, you've finally arrived. If we want to finish without Sasha knowing, we must start now. Wally has sent us a message saying they ran into a 'problem' and will be gone for longer than they planned" Grime pushed a list to Anne.  

Anne looks over the list, it's a bunch of missions that need to be done and things that she has to check.  

"Does Sasha check all of this every day?" she asks.  

Grime nods, before going back to his work. Anne looks at the list again, it's quite a lot of things to check. She feels guilty for doing so little compared to Sasha. She shakes that thought out of her head, she doesn't have the time for all these negative thoughts. She goes over the missions first; she finds the people and gives them information on the mission before sending them out. After sending everyone out on missions, she sets out around the base, checking on how things are going. The first stop is storage.  

"Alright... check over the food and water supplies... our resources... weapons... armor..." Anne mumbles under her breath.  

Next stop is the Med Bay. She finds Maddie in the Med Bay.  

"Ah! You've already returned!" smiles Anne.  

"Huh? Oh, yeah, got everything restocked, we'll need a lot of potions and medicine and herbs for... well..." Maddie trails off.  

Anne suddenly remembers that she's still a kid, no matter how mature she acts. It doesn't even matter that she's a kid, everyone is scared, no one wants to acknowledge the war looming over the horizon.  

"Right, uh... so everything restocked?" Anne breaks the silence.  

Maddie nods, showing Anne all the herbs and materials, they'd gathered. Anne ticks off that box and moves to the next thing on the list.   

"Anyone sick or injured?" she asks.  

"So far, no one" replies Maddie, busying herself with organizing the herbs.  

Anne leaves the Med Bay and walks about the Resistance base, checking that everything is working and that everyone is doing fine. She ends her check up by stopping at Stumpy's.  

"Stumpy?" she calls out.  

He appears from behind the sink, drying his hands.  

"Yeah?"  

"Think I could use the kitchen tomorrow morning?"  

"How early?"  

"Like... before Sasha wakes up? Around dawn probably"  

"Ah... making breakfast for her?" guesses Stumpy.  

Anne feels her face heat up for some reason.  

"Uh, yeah, you know, birthday and all" she whispers the last part, not wanting any attention.  

"Sure, sure, just clean up after" agrees Stumpy.  

Anne beams at him and heads back to the planning room. On her way back she bumps into Grime, who's carrying a giant box on his shoulder. The box is carefully and neatly wrapped.  

"Woah! What's that?" asks Anne, curious.  

"Ah... I heard that you all placed your presents in your room, so I thought I'd also do that" mumbles Grime, looking a little embarrassed.  

"Aw... you got her a gift too" smiles Anne.  

Grime grumbles something under his breath and leaves. Anne makes it to the planning room. She feels a pit in her stomach. Compared to all the other gifts, her’s is so small. Sure, she'll be doing Sasha's work for her, but so will Grime, and his gift is  giant . She's making Sasha breakfast! Though Mr. Flour and Stumpy will also be gifting food... Anne shakes her head. The size of the present doesn't matter, what matters is that she made her gift with love!  

"Get a grip, Anne! You still have a ton of work to do!"  hyped herself up Anne.  

Sasha:  

This was getting tiresome. Wally got them 'lost' by taking a wrong turn, Loggle 'accidentally' stumbled into a Love Dove nest, Mrs. Croaker had to 'rest' because she was 'too old for all this adventuring' and then 'sprained' her ankle, which 'magically healed' ten minutes later. After the mission was done, which took twice as long as it should have, Loggle stumbled into the Love Dove nest,  again.  Wally got them lost, again. And Mrs. Croaker had to rest,  again.  

"They could have just told me to wait out here"  grumbled Sasha,  "though it's not like they know that I know about the surprise party"  

"I think I might be getting too old for these adventures" said Mrs. Croaker, louder than necessary.  

Sasha knew that was a lie. Mrs. Croaker might have been old, but she wasn't  that  old, she could still kick ass. Sasha sits down as well, if they want to keep her away from the base, they must have a good reason, unless they're going to decorate the whole   base and invite  everyone.  That would not be great. In fact, Sasha would dislike that a lot. But if it was Anne's idea, well... she might be able to tolerate it. Sasha wonders what Anne has planned herself, more importantly, what will she be gifting Sasha? Not that she needed anything! Being Anne's friend again was already more than enough, but Anne did say she would be giving her something, so...  

"The Love Doves are back!" shouted Loggle.  

He ran out of a bush, followed by the Love Doves, the same ones as the last two times. Sasha groaned in annoyance. Did Loggle really need to get the Love Doves every time? Couldn't they just sit in peace and just... play cards or something. Sasha jumps out of the way and hides behind a tree. Love Doves are very aggressive creatures, no matter how much you fight them, they almost never give up, so Sasha chose to not waste her energy and just run or hide.  

"What should we do?" asks Wally, crouching next to her.  

"Let's just leave, we can escape, no need to fight them"  

"Huh? Oh... well..." stutters Wally.  

"We don't have to go back to base straight away, we could just... chill or something" suggest Sasha.  

"Ah... that is a rather good idea"  

The four of them escape, running into the woods. The Love Doves give up hunting them down and leave them be. The four of them sit down and rest, trying to catch their breath. Sasha picks up a couple pebbles after everyone can breathe again.  

"Want to play a game?" she asks.  

Anne:  

Anne stretches. She's been hunched over the planning table for the past couple hours. She and Grime had finished all the work for today and tomorrow, so they could all just relax tomorrow. Anne cleans up and looks at the time, it's getting late, she has about an hour before she should head to bed. The door opens suddenly, revealing a very tired Sasha. Sasha staggers into the room and falls onto the couch, groaning into it.  

"Rough mission?" asks Grime.  

"Something like that" Sasha's voice is muffled by the couch.  

"Well, I better get going" Anne stands up and leaves the two of them.  

She heads to her room. The hair clip and little clay hybeena is still on her desk. The hybeena had dried, so she took out some super glue and glued it to the hair clip, making sure that it was still working before letting it dry. While that happened, she changed and got ready for bed. The hair clip is ready, so she places it in a box and ties it with a bow. It looks good, though she would have liked to be able to wrap it in colorful paper. Her mind was going over all the breakfast options she could make for Sasha. Should she make her something with eggs? Maybe something with lots of meat? That would be too heavy for breakfast. Maybe she should lean into something sweeter, like pancakes. Anne turns on her alarm clock and goes to sleep. She lays for about ten minutes before rolling over, then rolling over again. She opens her eyes.  

"Frog damn it. I'm way too excited to fall asleep" sighs Anne.  

She rolls over a couple more times, trying to force herself to sleep, but nothing worked.  

Anne rolls over and groans. She reaches for her alarm clock to turn it off, but it's too far, past Anne had thought this through. Anne groans again and forces herself out of bed, staggering to the clock. She turns it off. It reads 4:30. Anne growls at the clock. Why in the world did she set an alarm clock at 4:30? The sun wasn't even up yet! Sasha wasn't even up- oh... right... Anne straightens up, a smile growing on her face. She isn't sleepy at all anymore, instead she's filled with excitement. Anne places her box with the other gifts and then dresses into her armor. She has a perfect dress in her closet for this occasion, it's also her only dress that survived. Anne hurries into the kitchen, taking out ingredients and pans.  

"Alright... I'll be making pancakes, so I'll need..." Anne walks around the kitchen, grabbing everything she needs.  

Sasha:  

Sasha stretches and yawns before getting out of bed. She didn't sleep very well, and for the first time, it wasn't because of nightmares, but because of excitement. Before she can get out of bed, there is a knock on her door. She wonders who could be up at this hour, well, except Grime, but he usually doesn't knock on her door.  

"Come in" she calls out, getting out of bed.  

The door opens to reveal Anne with a tray. Anne was wearing a beautiful, simple blue dress, ending just below her knees. Sasha recognizes the dress, it's the only one she could save. Sasha looks up at the tray. On the tray is a plate, a glass, and a fork. Sasha can smell the sweet scent of pancakes, cream, syrup, and berries, her mouth starts watering.  

"W-what is this?" she asks.  

"Breakfast!" smiles Anne, handing the tray to Sasha.  

"F-for me?" Sasha can't believe this is happening.  

"Of course! It's your birthday after all!" Anne smiles brighter.  

Her smile is so bright, her eyes sparkling. She grabs the tray and breathes in deeply.  

"This smells  so good" Sasha licks her lips.  

"Well try it then!" exclaims Anne.  

She seems to be even more excited than Sasha. Sasha leads the way into the planning room, the table is already cleared, so she places the tray on it and sits on the couch. She grabs the fork and takes a bite. The cream is sweet and seems to melt on her tongue. The pancakes are fluffy and soft. The syrup is sweet while the berries are a little sour, perfectly balancing each other out. Sasha can't help but hum. She turns to Anne, who is also sitting on the couch, excitedly smiling at her. Sasha feels bad to be the only one eating, so she cuts a piece of the pancake with cream and syrup and raises it to Anne.   

"Huh? Oh! No, no! I already had breakfast" Anne refused.  

Right on cue, her stomach growled loudly. Anne's face turned red.  

"Really? I think your stomach disagrees" teases Sasha, "come on, take a bite, I don't mind sharing"  

Anne slowly leaned in. Sasha expected her to take the fork, but she just opened her mouth and bit down on the fork. Sasha's heart skipped a beat. She was feeding Anne! Her whole face felt like it was on fire. She held back a cough and instead stuffed her face with pancakes, then, against her better judgement, she continued to feed Anne. Anne didn't seem to find this strange, she even moved to sit closer, their thighs and shoulders bumping. Sasha had to remind herself that this meant nothing to Anne, it meant absolutely nothing, they were just two gals being pals.  

"Mm! This is  so good! I need to make more of these" marveled Anne, her mouth full.  

There was a little cream on her cheek that Sasha  really  wanted to wipe off.  

"You, uh, got some cream on your cheek" mumbled Sasha.  

"Oh? Here?" Anne wiped the other cheek.  

"No, no, the other one" Sasha said.  

Anne wiped her cheek, somehow missing the spot. It was as if she was doing it on purpose, to mess with Sasha. Sasha rolled her eyes.  

"You missed it, idiot" she wiped it off with her finger.  

Her hand lingered there for a moment. Anne chuckled awkwardly. Sasha snapped out of her trance and pulled her hand away; she grabbed her fork and stuffed some more pancakes into her mouth. When she glanced at Anne, Anne's face was red and she was holding the cheek that Sasha wiped with her hand, looking at something far, far away. Sasha mentally cursed herself. She didn't mean to make things awkward between them.  

"Stupid crush! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why can't you keep yourself in check? Idiot! So, so stupid!"  scolded herself Sasha,  "There's a war on the horizon and you're over here acting like a lovesick teenager! You have an army to lead! Get your head on straight!"  

Sasha finished the pancakes and stood up abruptly, startling Anne.  

"Ah! You're finished!" exclaims Anne, she seems to have returned to normal, "Come on then, get dressed!"  

Sasha disappears into her room and pauses. Does she have anything to wear? Not really. She only has her armor. She steps out in her armor. Anne frowns.  

"Wait here, I'll get you something" she disappears before Sasha can protest.  

Sasha waits in the room, unsure of what to do. She's wearing a skirt and a shirt, with her armor on top and her cape, it's her usual outfit. Sasha grabs her brush while she waits and tries something new with her ponytail, she wears it higher, which isn't that much of a different hair style, but it's better than nothing. After a few more minutes, Anne returns with a jacket in her hands. It's a maroon jacket with cuffed sleeves. It's slightly rips at the bottom, but Sasha finds that it gives it a cool effect.  

"Here, I think it'll fit" Anne hands her the jacket.  

Sasha pauses and takes off her cape and armor. She puts on the jacket, which fits her perfectly. It smells a little like Anne, which means she had worn it at some point. It makes Sasha feel safe.  

"Wow, you look good in that" whispers Anne.  

By the look on her face Sasha guesses she wasn't supposed to hear that, so she ignores it, even if her face is on fire. Anne grabs her hand and drags her out of the room, heading across the base. It's still quiet, with only a few Hobbits walking around, finishing night shifts or just having trouble sleeping. They don't bump into anyone of their way and make it to Anne's room. Anne stops in front of her door and knocks. Sasha can hear muffled whispers and hurried footsteps. At last, the door opens, revealing a colorfully decorated room. The table is moved to the middle and the bed is tucked into the corner. The crowd, consisting of Grime, Wally, Loggle, Mrs. Croaker, Polly, Sprig, Maddie, and Ivy, all cheered.  

"Happy birthday!" smiles Anne, leading her into the room.  

There are colorful triangles and lights hanging from the ceiling, and everyone is wearing party hats. Anne gives one to Sasha, and she wears it.   

"You... you did all this?" whispers Sasha.  

She couldn't believe this. All she expected was a present or two and that's it, not a whole party.  

"It was Anne's idea, we just helped," said Sprig.  

They played games, mostly card games and board games, some of which Sasha didn't even know they had. Sasha won a few, lost a few, but she had never been happier. She laughs at the jokes and teasing. For the first time in forever, she's having fun, lots and lots of fun, her mind isn't filled with dread or worry, she isn't guilty to feel happy while people are miserable, she just goes with the flow. At some point, Sasha's having way too much time to notice, a birthday cake appears on the table.  

"How about some cake?" calls out Wally.  

They dim the lights and light the candles. Everyone sings 'happy birthday' and then silence falls over the room as Sasha makes her wish.  

"What should I wish for? Should I wish for peace? To win the war? To save Marcy? To not lose anyone in the war? Or should I wish something for myself... it's my birthday after all... no. That would be too selfish. I wish for... I wish to win the war without losing anyone"  decides Sasha.  

She knows it's a stupid wish. They might win the war, but there is no way they don't have casualties, its war, casualties are part of war. She blows out the candles anyway, and everyone cheers. She smiles. Loggle cuts the cake and gives the first piece to her, it's a brownie. Sasha loves brownies, only one person knows this, Grime. She smiles at him, and he seems to understand what that smile means. They finish eating and then gift giving begins. There is a bit of arguing about who gives their gift first, but in the end, Mrs. Croaker wins. She hands Sasha a small box, wrapped in colorful paper. Sasha unwraps it carefully, not wanting to rip the paper. In the box is a red scarf.  

"It's... it's beautiful" whispers Sasha.  

The scarf is soft. She places it back in the box and places it on the table. Next comes Loggle, his box is slightly larger and made of wood, not wrapped. Sasha opens it and takes out a small figurine of herself, Loggle, Wally, and Mrs. Croaker in attack position C.  

"D-did you carve this!" Sasha can't help but feel amazed.  

"Ah, yes" chuckles Loggle.  

Wally comes next, giving her another box. It's a rather fancy box, wrapped in fancy wrapping paper and a bow. She glances at him with a raised eyebrow, and he avoids her gaze. Sasha decides not to think too much about how he got all this fancy stuff, instead opening the box to find a red crown in it, with a small heron head in the front.  

"Woah! Where did you get this!" exclaims Sasha.  

"Well, I've been here and there" vaguely gestures Wally.  

Sasha tries on the crown, it fits perfectly. She places it back in its box and on the table, she has no idea how she managed to deserve all of this.  

"Me next!" shouts Polly, she jumps over, carrying a flail and giving it to Sasha, "Here, it has aided me in many situations, now, it's yours"  

"Uh... thanks?" says Sasha.  

The flail isn't wrapped, which Sasha isn't surprised about, it would be rather hard to wrap, but there is a bow tied to its handle. Sasha's surprised that Polly has this, and that she was able to carry it, it's heavy, especially for a little Hobbit. After Polly comes Sprig, carrying another box, this one only has a bow. Sasha unties it and takes out a handcrafted slingshot.  

"You made this?" she guesses.  

"Uh... yeah" mumbles Sprig, shuffling and fidgeting.  

"I like it!" reassures Sasha.  

Sprig deflates, sighing in relief. Ivy and Maddie step forward together. Maddie's holding a bag while Ivy holding a box. Sasha grabs Maddie's bag first. In it are a couple glass bottles, each one has a little paper stuck to it with its name and what it does.  

"Are these... potions?" asks Sasha.  

"Yeah. There are instructions in the bag" explains Maddie.  

Sasha thanks her and takes Ivy's gift. She opens the box to find a dagger in it, with a beautifully carved handle. She picks it up and gives it a test swing.  

"Damn, this is nice" she grins.  

Grime steps forward with the biggest box yet. He places it on the floor for Sasha.  

"Woah! What did you get me?" asks Sasha, opening the box.  

Inside the box is a dark red case. Her heart skips a beat.  

"Is this..." she glances at Grime, who smiles at her.  

Sasha opens the case, revealing a dark red, four string bass guitar. She picks it up gently, putting on the strap and gently strums the strings. The sound is strong and deep, echoing a little in the room. She plays a simple tune and marvels at the sound. The wood is smooth and shaped a little like a fish tail, but cooler. Sasha places it back in the case and on the table so it isn't accidentally stepped on.  

"I love it" she hugs Grime, not caring about everyone watching.  

She grips Grime tightly, then let's go, backing away a little. She's really happy about everything.  

"Right... my turn I guess" mumbles Anne.  

She comes closer and hands Sasha a small box, smaller than her hands. The box is wrapped in a bow. It's the smallest gift so far, but Sasha doesn't care, she'll treasure anything that Anne will give her. She's a little surprised that Anne even gave her a gift, after all, she made her breakfast. She opens the gift and takes out a small pink hair clip. Glued to the hair clip is a handcrafted pink and red hybeena. Sasha is amazed by the details, the little eyes and nose, the antennas, the cute little face.  

"I... I love it" Sasha smiles softly.  

She clips the hairclip to her hair.  

"How do I look?" she asks.  

"Awesome" mumbles Anne.  

Someone knocks on the door. Wally opens the door and lets Stumpy in, who is carrying multiple trays of food. It makes Sasha's mouth water. They eat and then all head back to their rooms. Sasha sighs, she has a ton of work to get done.  

"Oh, by the way, we did all the work for you!" says Anne, as if she could read her mind.  

Grime nods. Sasha gasps at them.  

"You what! You did all of it! All the work!" repeats Sasha.  

"Yep! You have the rest of the day off!" smiles Anne.  

"But... what about the daily checkup?" asks Sasha.  

"I'll get that done right now" says Grime, "you can hang out while I do that, just have fun"  

Sasha can't believe they actually did all her work. Before she can say something, Anne drags her to the planning room, saying that she still wants a rematch. Sasha laughs.  

Chapter Text

Anne:  

Anne yawns. She places down her card and waits for Sasha to finish her turn.  

"Um... Boonchuy? That's the wrong color and number" points out Sasha.  

Anne looks down. Sasha's right, she put a red 6 on a yellow 2.  

"Oh, sorry" Anne mumbles and takes the card back, she skims through her cards and places a yellow one.  

"If you're tired, we can go rest now, we've got a big day tomorrow" suggests Sasha.  

Anne nods. She's been up since 4:30, she really needed sleep if she wanted to last tomorrow. Anne yawns again and stretches before pushing herself off the couch. She stands there for another second, stretching, then yawns and walks over to the door. She heads to her room, which is still decorated. The people who were invited did help her clean up earlier. They moved the chairs and table back to their places, took all the plates, cups, and food, gathered the wrapping paper and bows, and took down the lights and decoration. Anne changed out of the dress and fell face first into her bed.  

"I'm so tired"  thought Anne.  

She lay for another minute, but sleep didn't come. She could feel it at the very edge of her mind, just out of reach, but in sight, it was as if it was mocking her. She rolled over and got under the blanket lying in a more comfortable position, she turned off the lights and closed her eyes, but sleep was still out of reach. No matter what she did, it just wouldn't come to her.   

"Am I too tired to rest? Or am I just too worried about tomorrow? Probably both"  thought Anne.  

She groaned and rolled over again. She closed her eyes and just went through scenarios of the meeting, she tried sticking to the good ones, pushing away the bad ones. She imagined a cage, a large cage, with all the bad scenarios, then she blocked it with multiple walls and grabbed the best scenario, running through it again. In this scenario, everything went well. All the species met, agreed to work together and they made a plan, then they all attacked Darcy's army and won, freeing Marcy and- Anne could feel the darkness seeping into the scenario, she stopped before it could take over.  

"Guess I'll just lay here" mumbled Anne.  

Her eyelids felt heavy, but whenever she closed them, the darkness came back. She forced herself to keep her eyes open.  

Sasha:  

Anne left, closing the door behind her. Sasha smiled, gathered the cards and went to bed. She lay in bed for a minute, listening. Once she was sure that there wasn't anyone that could hear her, she groaned loudly. For a long while, she had been denying her crush on Marcy and Anne, but once she had accepted it, she had been trying her hardest to keep it under control. When the war started, Sasha hadn't been able to focus so much on controlling her crush, and she had let it grow.   

"Frog, can't even control my emotions"  grumbled Sasha.  

She couldn't help but smile a little. She closed her eyes and saw their eyes. Anne's blue eyes, like the sky, or the ocean, she could drown in them and wouldn't even mind. Marcy's green eyes, like the grass, she would look into them and get lost. She liked Anne's scales, they looked so pretty, especially when they shimmered in the sunlight. Marcy's feathers were just so soft, they had so many details, she would love to just run her hand through her wings. And their hair-  

"Oh. My. Frog. What am I? A lovesick teenager?" groaned Sasha.  

Sasha rolled over and hid her face in her pillow. She peaked out of it and rolled back onto her back. They would be together again soon. Once they gather everyone and attack Darcy's army, they'll be able to save Marcy. That is, if all the species agree to work together. Sasha frowned. Tomorrow was the big day. Tomorrow she had to be able to convince everyone to work together. Tomorrow they had to gather and make an actual plan on defeating Darcy. Tomorrow...  

"And if I can't make them work together? If everything fails? What will I do then?"  asks herself Sasha.  

Sasha rolls over and tries forcing herself to sleep, but dread and anxiety don't let her. She really needs to sleep.  

...  

Sasha opens her eyes. She's tired, but it seems to be morning already. She doesn't remember falling asleep, but she doesn't remember being awake all night either, so she must have fallen asleep at some point. Sasha pushes herself out of bed, she needs to be ready for everyone to arrive. She goes through her morning routine on autopilot, her mind running through scenarios and how she should handle them. She knows that nothing will make her ready for this meeting, but maybe it'll help. She finishes her breakfast, already missing the taste of those fluffy pancakes Anne made for her.  

"Get your head on straight, Waybright! You got to focus; you can't be distracted"  scolded herself Sasha.  

She walks out of the base. She's there first, which is a blessing and a curse. She gets some alone time, no distractions. Except her brain won't shut up and it's making her more and more anxious. She wonders where everyone else is just as Anne walks out of the base with Sprig, Polly, and Hop Pop. Sasha relaxes, at least she isn't alone anymore. Before Sasha can greet them, the ground starts trembling and Sasha can hear footsteps thundering from all directions. She raises her head, sniffing the air.   

"They have arrived" she warns the Plantars and Anne.  

Beatrix and the Dwarfs appear from the left. Tritonio and the Avians appear from the right. The Reptiles appear in front of them. The Canines are nowhere to be seen, but Sasha can smell them somewhere from behind the Plantar house, probably confused at why the other species are there.  

"Hello everyone!" Sasha doesn't bother greeting all the leaders, there's just too many.  

"What is the meaning of this, Sasha? I agreed to work with Hobbits and Elves, but I draw the line at Avians and Reptiles!" growled Beatrix.  

"You never mentioned anyone except Hobbits and Elves!" added Tritonio, eyeing everyone else suspiciously.  

"You never mentioned working with other species at all" growled someone from behind.  

Everyone stopped arguing, grabbing their weapons and staring at the figure stepping out of the shadows. It was Mathilde Winter, and they looked absolutely pissed to be around all the other species.  

"Right..." Sasha tried to keep her nervousness hidden, but with all eyes on her, it was harder than she thought, "how about we talk over this inside? Away from prying eyes"  

The leaders look around, then agree reluctantly. Sasha leads the way into the Resistance, keeping her ears alert for any fighting or arguing. They leave everyone in the base, while taking the leaders with them to the planning room, Sasha feels like it will get a little crowded. It was crowded. There were five Canines (counting herself), six Reptiles (counting Anne), a Hobbit, two Dwarfs, and an Avian. Sasha takes out the map and points at the Avian kingdom.  

"Darcy must have some sort of machine or control room to control all those robots and metal claws, if we find it, we can take out their whole army at once" explains Sasha.  

"Alright! Any ideas? Remember, this is a safe space full of chill vibes!" says Anne.  

They sit in silence for a few seconds, before Beatrix slowly raises her hand. Before she can even say anything Tritonio laughs.  

"What! I haven't even said anything!" growls Beatrix.  

"Let me guess, you want to bash into the kingdom, beat everyone up, and run through the whole castle till you find the room?" mocks Tritonio.  

"Maybe" huffs Beatrix.  

"Typical, it's a dumb idea" laughs Tritonio.  

Sasha has the urge to grab him and throw him out the door, at least Beatrix was trying.  

"Hey! All ideas are welcome! Bad ones, good ones, all of them" scolds Anne.  

"Right... how about sneaking in? We attack from the water, surprising Darcy" suggests Ms. Daeng.  

The other Reptile leaders nod their heads.  

"Oh, because we can all swing and breathe underwater like you?" asks Tritonio.  

"Tritonio" warns Anne, writing down the idea.  

The Reptile leaders glare at Tritonio.  

"Well... maybe we could-" starts Hop Pop.  

"How about an actually good idea?" interrupts Tritonio, "How about we take a small group of people, dress them as orphans, and sneak into the castle? We find the room and take control of the robots!"  

The urge to throw Tritonio out quickly turns into the urge to strangle him. Sasha grips the table and tries to calm herself.  

"I don't think that'll work. Orphans aren't going to trick a bunch of robots" Sasha shoots down the idea before anyone else can.  

The look on Tritonio's face makes her want to grin at him, but she has to be professional.  

"With the right orphan costume, you can trick anyone" grumbles Tritonio.  

"Ha! Look who has the bad idea now!" laughs Beatrix.  

The Reptile leaders snicker.  

"Alright everyone, be nice," says Anne.  

They sat in silence for a few more seconds, finally Mr. Braun stepped forward.   

"I think we should circle the Kingdom and attack, destroy all the robots and then kill Darcy, there is no need to find the control room" he suggests.  

"That's literally just the Dwarf's idea, but with more steps" whispers Mr. Dokbua to Ms. Daeng.  

He might be whispering quietly enough for the others to not be able to hear him, but not quietly enough so that the Canines can't hear him. Mr. Braun steps up to him, towering over him and growling. Sasha groans mentally.  

"What did you say" growls Mrs. Kraus.  

The Canine leaders circle the Reptile leaders, baring their teeth at them.  

"Woah, woah! Break it up! We need to be making plans, not tearing each other apart" steps in Anne.  

"Anyone wants to hear my idea?" huffs Hop Pop, annoyed that he keeps getting ignored.  

Everyone stops. The Reptile leaders snicker. The Canine leaders chuckle and give each other looks.  

"You hear anything?" asks Tritonio.  

"Nope, maybe a small animal squeaking" snorts Beatrix.  

"Oh! Ignoring Hobbits! How mature" grumbles Hop Pop.  

The whole room explodes into laughter, everyone except Hop Pop, Anne, and Sasha. Sasha hits the table, catching everyone's attention.  

"We're spit balling ideas, stop being immature babies" she growls.  

"Alright, alright" grumbles Tritonio, "but what kind of plan can a Hobbit come up with?"  

"I know right, what you gonna do? Talk it out?" laughs Beatrix.  

The others join in the laughing again. This time Sasha doesn't get to step in, something hits the table loudly, making the wood crack a little. Sasha winces at the loud noise and turns to see Anne, with her prosthetic on the table. Anne glares at every leader in the room one by one. Sasha had never seen Anne so nervous. Tritonio and Beatrix look away, the Reptile leaders duck their heads when Anne gets to them. The Canine leaders don't try to stare her down, maybe because they're all shocked that a Reptile is currently glaring at them.  

"Gather your soldiers, we're doing team exercises" Anne doesn't leave room for arguments, slamming the door open and glaring at everyone as they leave the room.  

Sasha stands in shock. Everyone leaves, except Anne and Sasha. Sasha wants to say something, but Anne leaves before she can. Sasha stands a couple more seconds, then follows. They make it to the middle of the base. All the leaders have gathered their soldiers and stand in groups facing Anne, who is standing on the moved fountain. She isn't furious anymore, at least she doesn't look furious anymore. Once Sasha joins her, she steps forward a little.  

"Alright! To defeat Darcy, we have to be able to work together!" says Anne, she smiles, "First up, is the mirror exercise! Everyone, gather around in a circle and mimic my movements!"  

Anne strikes a pose. Sasha rolls her eyes but smiles. She strikes the same pose. Everyone else grumbles but obeys. They form a circle and follow Anne's movements.  

"What is the point of this" grumbles Ms. Daeng.  

"If it's to make us feel stupid, it's working" adds Tritonio.  

"It's all about harmony! Can you feel it?" explains Anne.  

Everyone groans but follow the next few poses silently. Sasha starts thinking that maybe it's working, until Anne stands on one leg. A Dwarf starts tilting, loses balance and falls down, knocking over the Avian next to him. The Avian knocks over a Reptile, who knocks over a Canine. They all fall like dominos. Sasha winces as they start arguing.  

"Alright, let's just move on" sighs Anne.  

Anne:  

"Next up is the Species Knot! Try to untangle yourself while holding hands!" grins Anne.  

She did this activity in class, it was rather fun, and was great for bonding. Anne, Sasha, Grime, Sprig, an elf, and an Avian are a group. They quickly untangle themselves. Anne cheers and looks around, her smile instantly falling. The other groups, each containing one of each species, struggle with the exercise. They argue and taunt each other. One group crashes into another and suddenly they're all tangled. Anne facepalms.  

"Okay, we still got a few activities to go" Anne says, more to herself than anyone else.  

...  

"Next activity is the three-legged race!" announces Anne.  

They had paired up everyone and tied one of their legs to the others leg.   

"Runners! On your mark! Get set! Go!" shouts Anne.  

The runners set off. Anne winces at the fails. Many Reptiles got their tails stepped on, Avians got their wings pulled at. Canines ran way too fast for their partners, Hobbits and Dwarfs were way too short. There was only one pair that made it to the finish line. A Dwarf and a Hobbit. The only reason they made it was because the Dwarf pretty much carried the Hobbit, which was against the rules. Anne facepalms again.  

...  

"Okay! Last exercise! This one is called the fall of trust! You guys have to catch this Canine" explained Anne.  

She made the Canine turn around and cross their arms over their chest.  

"Alright, when I say go, you-" Anne didn't get to finish her sentence, the Canine leaned back and fell into the crowd.  

There was a loud thud and many yelps and screams. Anne winced and glanced over the edge of the mushroom. On the floor lay the Canine, under them lay multiple Hobbits, Reptiles, and Avians. They started arguing again, which quickly escalated into fighting. Soon enough they were punching and kicking and biting each other.  

"This is a complete disaster!" shouts Sasha.  

Anne looks over at Sasha. She had never seen Sasha so worried and scared. Anne gulps, she had let her down, she was supposed to get them all to work together, not try to kill each other!  

"Well, at least they don't have weapons?" Anne tried to be optimistic.  

"Did somebody say weapons!" shouted a Dwarf.  

Anne couldn't even say anything, she just watched as everyone ran up to Polly, who had collected their weapons. Polly gave out weapons left and right.  

"I really shouldn't have trusted Polly with gathering the weapons" facepalmed Anne.  

Everyone was fighting again, this time with weapons.  

"People! People! Let's talk this through!" shouted Anne, but her voice was drowned out by the fighting.  

"Oh Frog, this is going terribly wrong" Anne heard Sasha whisper.  

Anne turned to look at Sasha, who had her face buried in her hands. Anne glanced back at the Resistance members. They have divided themselves by species, each group led by their leader or leaders. They were out for blood.  

"Charge!" they all shouted.  

Anne glanced between them, then at Sasha. She clenched her fists. Time seemed to slow down as Anne noticed a helmet and sword on the ground next to her, she scrambled to get it in time. Then she hit the helmet with the sword with all her strength. There was a loud sound, which echoed through the Resistance base. It was so loud that Anne had to press her hands against her ears, and even then, her ears were ringing. She looked up and saw that everyone had stopped and also clutched their ears. When they all let go, Anne got back on the fountain.  

"Enough!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the Resistance base, "All this time I thought I could heal this rift between species. But I was wrong. There isn't a quick fix for this. You are the only ones who can fix it. For Frogs sake! There is a war on the horizon! If we don't work together, we  will  die. Darcy will win, they will take over Amphibia and destroy it, is that what you want?"  

The crowd in front of her stood still, completely silent. They looked away when she tried to make eye contact. Anne got off the fountain and walked away.  

Sasha:  

Anne walked away. Leaving everyone there. Sasha glared at them and then quickly followed Anne. She found her in the planning room, facing away from the door, leaning against the table and looking at the map. Sasha walked in; Anne didn't look up.  

"Damn, Boonchuy, you were a boss out there" complimented Sasha.  

There was a moment of silence, and then Sasha heard Anne sniffle.  

"Are you... are you crying?" asked Sasha, unsure of what to do.  

Anne turned around. Tears were running down her cheeks.  

"S-sorry" she mumbled, her voice cracking  

"Wha- what are you sorry for?" Sasha moved closer, gently grabbing Anne's face and brushing away the tears with her thumbs.  

Anne stayed silent for a moment. It broke Sasha to see her so... so heartbroken, so sad and tired. She caressed Anne's face, waiting for her to answer.  

"Sorry for letting you down" whispered Anne.  

"Oh, Boonchuy, you didn't let me down" reassured her Sasha.  

"B-but I did" argued Anne, pulling away a little, "I was supposed to get them to work together, but I failed"  

Sasha felt like an arrow went right through her heart, making it crack. She pulled Anne into a hug, squeezing her. She heard Anne gasp quietly, before burying her head in Sasha's shoulder. She sniffled and mumbled something incoherent. Sasha was pretty sure her shirt was getting wet from the tears, but she didn't care.  

"It wasn't your fault that they wouldn't work together" before Anne could protest, Sasha continued, "it's not. It's their fault. We both thought that since there is a war going on, they would stop being such babies and work together, at least for the war. It's their fault that they didn't work together, they could have at least tried, but instead they just taunted and mocked and made fun of each other"  

After a moment of silence, Sasha couldn't help but add:  

"Especially Tritonio. Frog, I want to strangle that Avian"  

That got a quiet giggle out of Anne. It was watery, but it was a giggle, nonetheless. Sasha smiled, gently rubbing Anne's back. They stayed like that for a few more seconds before Anne finally pulled away. She rubbed her eyes and then smiled at Sasha.  

"Thanks, that meant a lot to me" the soft look in her eyes made butterflies flutter in Sasha's stomach.  

"Anything for you, Boonchuy" joked Sasha.  

She wasn't really joking, she would in fact do anything for Anne. Sasha heard footsteps approaching the door, many pairs of footsteps. She turned to look at the door, and a second later, someone knocked. Out of the corner of her eye, Sasha saw Anne quickly drying her eyes and fixing her look. Sasha paused a moment before opening the door to give Anne more time to get ready, then she opened the door, revealing all the leaders standing behind it.  

"We've got a plan!" announced Beatrix.  

"Hopadiah got us thinking" said Tritonio, "what if we combine all of our plans?"  

"If we attack Darcy's front door" started Mr. Schwarz.  

"And we attack from the ocean" continued Ms. Jaikieow.  

"That would work as a great distraction while a small group sneaks in and finds the control room!" ends Hop Pop.  

"That's... a great plan!" grins Sasha, then she turns to Anne, "It's just like that one book Marcy always talked about!"  

"Oh yeah! She always wanted us to read it!"  

Silence falls between them. Anne's face falls and she looks guilty. Sasha feels the same way. If only they had listened to Marcy more, maybe then she would have told them about the war, maybe then none of this would have happened. Sasha pushes the dark thoughts away.  

"You came up with this together? I thought you hated each other?" teases Sasha, trying to lighten the mood.  

"Well, Anne was right, no one will solve this problem for us" said Tritonio.  

"And at the end of the day, we want the same thing, to save Amphibia" adds Beatrix.  

"We might not be able to forget the past, but if we work together, we might have a future" grins Hop Pop.  

"Alright! Let's draw up the plan!" says Sasha.  

They sit down around the table.  

Anne:  

They all leave the planning room. It was getting late, and everyone was tired. There aren't enough rooms for everyone, so many people have to be roommates with others. Much to Anne's surprise, some people pair up with other species. Soon enough, everyone left for their rooms. Anne had given her room to two Reptiles, planning to sleep on the couch in the planning room. She heads there and flops down on the couch.  

"Maybe you should go to bed, before you fall asleep here" suggests Sasha.  

"Gave my room away to two Reptiles, so I'm going to crash here" mumbles Anne, sleepily.  

"What!" yelps Sasha, startling Anne.  

Anne looks up just as Sasha grabs and drags her off the couch.  

"H-hey!" shouts Anne.  

She really just wants to go to sleep.  

"You are not sleeping on the couch; you can take my bed" Sasha starts leading Anne to her room.  

"But where will you sleep?" asks Anne.  

"I'll take the couch"  

"No, no, that wouldn't be fair, it's your bed"  

"Well, I give it to you"  

Anne glances over at the bed. An idea pops into her head.  

"What if we share the bed?" suggests Anne.  

"What"  

Sasha just stares at her; her brain doesn't seem to comprehend what Anne just said.   

"We could share the bed?" repeats Anne.  

"I- we- share- we- together?" stutters Sasha.  

"Well, yeah" shrugs Anne.  

"Uh... s-sure" mumbles Sasha.  

Anne pulls Sasha into the room and closes the door. She takes off her prosthetic and places it on Sasha's desk. Then she gets into bed. She lays next to the wall, while Sasha lays on the other side. The bed is smaller than Anne thought, so they lay rather close. Anne can feel her face heating up, she isn't sure why, maybe because she's so close to Sasha? Probably. Anne catches Sasha staring at her. Sasha blushes and looks away, embarrassed. Something flutters in Anne's stomach, but she's too tired to figure it out. Her eyelids feel so heavy.  

"Good night" she mumbles.  

Sasha:  

Sasha waits a little longer. Once she hears Anne's heart and breathing slow down, she exhales slowly. Her heart seems to be beating a mile a minute, like it's trying to jump out of her ribcage. She stares at Anne for a while, memorizing every single detail. Anne looks so calm, so... peaceful. Sasha smiles. Right as she's about to go to sleep, Anne lets out a small whine. Sasha's eyes open wide. Anne is still asleep, but her expression has changed. Her eyebrows are knitted together, her nose scrunched. Anne curls into herself a little more, another whine escaping her lips.  

"Is she... is she having a nightmare?"  

Sasha gently raises her hand and places it on Anne's shoulder, she wanted on waking Anne up, but Anne relaxes, so she doesn’t. After a second, she shifts closer, closing the distance between them, snuggling into Sasha's chest. Sasha's heart skips a beat, and her face feels like it's on fire. She prays that Anne doesn't wake up due to her heart beating so fast and so loud. After a few more seconds, Sasha calms down a bit. Sleep must be clouding her brain, because she wraps her arms around Anne and pulls her impossibly closer. Anne seems to relax further, or maybe it's just sleep playing tricks on Sasha. Sasha hides her face in Anne's hair, breathing in the smell of the ocean, fish, and wood. She smiles.  

...  

Sasha floats on a piece of wood. She stares at the bright blue sky; it looks just like Anne's eyes. Sasha pushes herself up, now sitting on the piece of wood. She finds herself in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by water from all directions. She doesn't feel scared, or even worried, instead she feels... safe? Protected? Sasha lays back down, rolling onto her side. She can feel cool scales against her arms and torso, as well as legs. Something tickles her chin, something like hair. Sasha opens her eyes. She blinks the haze away. She tries rolling away, but something clings to her, letting out a little whine. Sasha looks down and finds familiar brown curls.   

"Oh, it's Anne"  she smiles.  

"It's Anne... oh shit! It's Anne!"  Sasha screams silently.  

She doesn't dare move, scared to wake Anne up. She's not sure what's happening or how Anne got into her bed, and more importantly, why were they- oh. Sasha remembered now. They ended up sharing a bed and snuggling because Anne had a nightmare. Sasha wants to scream and curse herself for allowing this to happen, but she can't, not without waking up Anne, and she can't do that.  

"Actually... I might have to"  thinks Sasha,  "is it time to get up yet? Yeah. Ugh. Do I really have to wake her up? She looks peaceful. Of course I do, what am I thinking"  

Sasha shifts a little further. Anne mumbles something incoherent and shifts closer. Sasha sighs, but she can't help but smile, it's just so... cute. Sasha gently strokes Anne's cheek.  

"Anne?" she whispers, "Come on, it's time to get up"  

Anne mumbles something again and snuggles deeper into Sasha's chest.  

"Come on Boonchuy, we can't lay in bed all day" chuckles Sasha.  

Anne mumbles something close to 'why not'.   

"We have stuff to do. You know, leader stuff" Sasha continues to stroke Anne's cheek.  

"No work, just sleep" grumbles Anne.  

"Come on, please?" asks Sasha.  

Anne doesn't move for a moment, but then raises her head and smiles sleepily at Sasha. Her eyes are half closed and her smile is so... silly, it makes butterflies erupt in Sasha's stomach. She hopes she isn't blushing too much.  

"Okay... but only 'cause you said 'please'" Anne untangles herself.  

Part of Sasha wants to pull Anne back in and just spend the rest of the day in bed, but a bigger, more responsible part of her tells her it's time to get out of bed and get to work. Sasha forces herself out of bed, no matter how much she just wants to stay and snuggle with Anne.  

"Come on, Boonchuy" Sasha helps Anne out of bed.  

Anne pulls Sasha into a hug suddenly, making Sasha's breathe hitch.  

"Thanks for not leaving me on the couch" Anne smiles and leaves before Sasha can say anything.  

Sasha just stands in the middle of the room, smiling like the lovesick idiot she is.  

Chapter Text

Anne:  

"Oh my Frog, oh my Frog, oh my Frog!"  Anne's brain screamed at her.  

She wasn't sure how she had made it out of the room without becoming a stuttering mess and making a fool out of herself. Anne didn't have anywhere to go, her room was occupied, so she hid in an empty hallway and buried her face in her hands, hoping that no one would find her. She screams silently. Last night she had been tired, so she didn't think much when she suggested sharing the bed.  

"Oh my Frog. We shared a bed!!!!! Ahhh!!!! No, calm down Boonchuy. It was like a sleepover, yeah, exactly that. Oh my Frog. We snuggled. How do you explain that? Why were we snuggling? Was Sasha okay with that? Of course she was, idiot, why else would you wake up still in that position? But maybe she didn't want to wake me up? Oh my Frog. The way she woke me up? Ah! She was so gentle, and sweet, and pretty. Wait what? Ahhh!!!! What is happening to me? Why do I feel so... so hot? Why is my face on fire? Am I having a fever? Oh Frog my stomach feels like something's crawling in it. I must be sick"  Anne's thoughts were so loud, she was sure someone would hear them.  

After a few more seconds, she pushed those feelings down and went to wash her face, maybe that would make her feel better. After getting ready, she meets up with Sasha in the planning room. Sasha's talking with Grime, but she turns to look at Anne when she enters, smiling softly. Anne feels something crawling in her stomach again, she feels strangely light. For some reason, she doesn't mind it, just smiles back and joins the conversation.  

"We got news that Gardenton is on their way here" told her Sasha.  

"Oh right! Gardenton!" Anne had completely forgotten about them, "Are you sure everyone will be okay with a mind controlling mushroom?"  

"That is exactly the problem, they come later today, so we need everyone to be ready for them" Grime sighs in annoyance.  

Anne also sighs. They had just gotten everyone to work together, now they also needed to add Gardenton.  

"Well, there is only one week before Darcy plans to attack, so we don't have much time to argue and fight" points out Sasha.  

"Right..." Anne can feel the dread and worry weighing her down, "maybe we should warn everybody about Gary? Give them a little heads up?"  

"That's a great idea" nods Sasha.  

The two of them leave the planning room and stand on the fountain. Sasha blows a horn that she seemed to get out of thin air. She blows into it, catching everyone's attention. They wait a little while everyone gathers. The crowd whispers among themselves, confused at the sudden meeting.  

"We have another town by the name of Gardenton joining us later today" announces Sasha.  

The crowd seems fine by it.  

"It's a town made up mostly of Hobbits and Elves" continues Sasha.  

Anne inhales deeply and then exhales slowly.  

"And a mind controlling mushroom" she adds.  

There is a moment of silence, then everyone starts speaking at once.  

"A mind controlling mushroom!"  

"But isn't Darcy using a mind controlling mushroom?"  

"Wait, you mean  that  mushroom?"  

"Didn't Bessie eat that mushroom?"  

Sasha raises her hand. Everyone quiets down.  

"I know this sounds weird, but they are normal folk like us" Anne leaves out the part about plant powers, "having our own mind controlling mushroom would increase our chances of winning"  

There was some more whispering among the people, most of them didn't look too convinced, but in the end, they all agreed to work together. Anne and Sasha were just about leaving, when Toadie suddenly ran up the fountain.   

"Gardenton is here" he said in between gasping for air.  

"Alright everyone! Make space for more people," shouted Sasha.  

Anne and Sasha left for the exit, meeting Gardenton outside.  

"Gary! Glad you could make it" greeted Anne.  

She shook Horace's hand and then led them inside, to meet everyone else. On the way down, Sasha explained that there would be other species, Gardenton didn't seem to mind. When they made it to the middle of the base, the other species glanced at Gardenton curiously. They greeted each other, mingling. Sasha explained the plan to Horace and Gary while Anne stood next to her and looked at everyone interacting. There was no arguing or fighting so far, so that was good.   

"That's a rather good plan" complimented Gary.  

"Great, then you are free to go and mingle" smiled Sasha, "we'll figure out where everyone can rest by the end of the day"  

Gary and Horace mingled with the other leaders. Anne glanced at Sasha; she was still smiling. Anne couldn't help but smile as well, Sasha looked so happy.  

"We need more space" mumbled Sasha.  

"Right... how about carving out more rooms? Like maybe a giant room that everyone can sleep in? Or maybe connecting the rooms close to each other, placing more sleeping areas" suggested Anne.  

"That is... a great idea!" snapped her fingers Sasha.  

Anne puffed up her chest, happy that she could help. Sasha gathered people to help carve out more rooms and remove walls. Anne found Loggle and told him that they needed more beds. Everyone got to work, making more rooms, more beds, more everything. They had more than quadrupled the number of people they had. They worked late into the night but didn't finish. Still, there was more space, even though some people still had to sleep on moss. Anne yawned and headed to sleep on the couch.  

"Boonchuy? You could... well..." mumbled Sasha when Anne lay down on the couch.  

Anne looked up, hoping, praying that Sasha would say what she hoped she would say.  

"We could... share the bed... again... but only if you want to! I understand if you don't! I could take the couch and you can take-" rambled Sasha.  

"Let's share the bed again" interrupted Anne.  

...  

They lay in bed. Anne couldn't fall asleep, no matter how hard she tried. Sasha seemed to be asleep, but it was hard to tell. Anne lay a little longer. Her mind was racing. She wasn't sure why she felt so... hot. Something was crawling in her stomach again. She glanced at Sasha. She looked peaceful. Anne's eyes fell on her scar. She frowned. She needed to find Darcy and punch them real hard. For hurting Sasha, for hurting Marcy, for hurting her family, for trying to take over Amphibia, for cutting off her-  

"Boonchuy?" whispered Sasha.  

Anne snapped out of her thoughts and looked up, to see Sasha giving her a confused look.  

"Yeah?" asked Anne.  

"You should sleep" mumbled Sasha.  

Anne could tell she was fighting sleep from the way her eyelids were closing slowly, only to be blinked open again.  

"You should too" teased Anne.  

They lay in silence for a while. Anne fidgeted with the edge of the blanket, wondering if she should ask Sasha, wondering if that would make things awkward. She wasn't sure Sasha would be alright with that, last time might have been an exception. Maybe they were both too tired to care? But then why did Sasha wake her up so gently? Too many questions and not enough answers. Anne still couldn't figure out why she cared so much, why did she feel so nervous? So... skittish? Worried? Flus-  

"Anne?" Sasha broke the silence again.  

Anne looked up again. She felt her face heating up. Why must Sasha be so soft with her? Why did it make her feel so... strange, but in a good way?  

"Yeah?"'  

"You don't have to say yes, if it makes you uncomfortable, I'll leave" started Sasha.  

Anne's eyebrows knitted together. Sasha looked so nervous, so shy. She wouldn't look her in the eyes and fidgeted with her fingers, nibbling on her bottom lip.  

"Do... do you want to... you can say 'no' of course but do you... do you want to... snuggle?" asked Sasha.  

Anne's eyes widened.  

"I made things awkward didn't I, sorry I-"  

"Yes!"  

Anne winced at how loud she said that, as did Sasha. They stared at each other. Anne shifted closer, just a little. Sasha gently wrapped her arms around Anne's waist. Anne gulped and carefully wrapped her arm around Sasha. She had her head buried in Sasha's chest. They lay rather stiffly for a few seconds. Before Anne finally relaxed a little. Sasha also relaxed, exhaling slowly.  

"This is nice" mumbled Anne.  

She felt Sasha nod. Anne yawned and snuggled deeper into Sasha's chest. Sasha smelled of metal and leather and something else, something so familiar, but Anne couldn't name it, maybe it was just part of Sasha.  

"Goodnight" whispered Sasha.  

"Night" Anne closed her eyes, letting sleep take her.  

Sasha:  

The next three days were filled with work. They finished carving out more rooms and making beds. The Gardenton citizen grew moss to make the beds softer. Sasha helped everyone figure out where they slept. They made more missions to destroy Darcy's factories and free more towns and villages. News of the Resistance spread like wildfire, they got new recruits every day. Usually, it was groups of five to ten, though sometimes they came alone. Sasha would meet the new recruits and get them up to date with their plan on attack. Today she was rather busy, so Anne was the one who greeted the new recruits.  

"Hey, Sash?" Anne peeked from behind the door.  

"Yeah" answered Sasha, not really paying attention.  

She was rather busy with getting all the new supplies. They had more than quadrupled their numbers, so they needed more supplies to keep everyone fed and healthy. The problem was getting those supplies, with Gardeton, they could grow their food and herbs, but they still needed meat.  

"I got the new recruits settled, we got two Canines, five Hobbits, and two Dwarfs" reported Anne.  

Sasha's ears perked up. Two Dwarfs. Percy and Braddock weren't part of Beatrix's army, which meant they were still out there somewhere. Any new recruit who was a Dwarf could be them, it was the reason Sasha personally greeted them. She got up and speed walked to the door, Anne stepped out of the way, looking a little confused. Sasha didn't have the time to explain, she had to check if it was them. She really hoped it was them, she had missed them immensely. She made it to Stumpy's, hoping to ask him if he saw the new recruits, when she caught a familiar scent. Her heart dropped.  

"It can't be, she wouldn't be here, right?"  Sasha sniffed the air, trying to pinpoint the person.  

She looked around, trying to find any Canine. Her heart was speeding up. She refused to believe it was true till she actually found her. Maybe it was someone else who smelled like her. No, that couldn't be. Maybe she mistaken the scent? No, she could never do that, even if she tried, it would haunt her forever. Her eyes fell on a Canine about 15 meters away. The Canine had her back to her, but Sasha could recognize her anywhere. That familiar silver blond hair, the way she was standing, the scent.   

"No, no, no, no- stop. Don't jump to conclusions, maybe it's someone who looks like her, maybe it's just your brain playing tricks on you"  Sasha made up excuses.  

She strained her ears, trying to hear the conversation that Canine was having with a Reptile. She couldn't catch the words, with all the other voices, but she recognized the voice. Her heart raced, adrenaline pumping into her blood. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't move. And then the Canine turned around, as if she could hear Sasha's racing heart. Their eyes met. Red ones staring right into pink ones. Sasha ducked out of view, rushing to get out of there. Her eyesight blurred and her chest hurt, she couldn't breathe, she needed to breathe, why wasn't she breathing!  

"It's her, it's her, it's her- she found me! B-but how? H-how did she find me? Why now, why here? It's her, it's her, it's her!"  screamed her brain.  

She wasn't sure where she was going, her body was moving on her own. She was aware that someone had called out her name, but she didn't care, she needed to get out of here. She pushed through people, trying to get out of there. Some part of her knew she was making a scene. She really shouldn't be doing that, but she couldn't get her emotions under control, couldn't stuff her panic deep, deep down, like she always did. She made it to the planning room, opening the door and flying into the room, closing the door behind her and leaning against her. Her mind was racing, her heart wanted to jump out of her ribcage. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't see anything except that face, those blood red eyes staring at her.  

"Sash? You okay?"  

Sasha wiped her head up, staring into familiar sky-blue eyes. Sky blue eyes that were worriedly staring back at her. Sasha's mind stopped. She gripped her shirt, hoping it would ground her.  

"Yeah" mumbled Sasha.  

Her voice was too shaky, too high pitched. She was breathing too fast. Anne would notice something was wrong, she would ask questions. What would Sasha do then? What would she say? She needed to get out of there.  

"Are you sure?" asked Anne.  

She looked so worried. Why did she have to worry her, why couldn't she just suck it up and deal with it, why was she overreacting. Sasha nodded, not trusting her voice. Anne didn't look convinced. What would her mother say when she saw how pathetic she was? Just one look and she was already crumbling. Sasha felt tears prick at the edge of her vision. She blinks furiously, she couldn't cry, not in front of Anne.  

Anne:  

"Are you sure?" asked Anne.  

Sasha nodded. She looked about to cry, blinking away the tears. Anne wasn't sure what to do. Sasha was saying she was okay, but she was clearly lying. She was trembling and hyperventilating. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.  

"Sash?" she stepped closer.  

Sasha flinched, her ears turning away, pressing against her skull. Anne winced; she was too loud.  

"Sorry" whispered Anne.  

Sasha shook her head, eyes still shut, digging her claws into her shirt. She wasn't breathing properly.  

"Sasha? Hey, can you breathe with me? Come on" coaxed Anne.  

She took deep breaths.  

"Come one, in 2 3 4, out 2 3 4, in 2 3 4, out 2 3 4" Anne continued to take deep breaths.  

After a few more seconds, Sasha started repeating after her. They went on until Sasha's breathing evened out, only then did Anne stop.  

"Is it alright if I hug you?" she asked.  

Sasha nodded and stumbled forward. Anne outstretched her arms and caught her, stumbling a bit from the momentum. She wrapped her arms around Sasha, gently rubbing her back. Sasha hid her head in her shoulder, letting out a tiny sob. Anne hugged her a little tighter. She had never seen Sasha cry, it felt... strange. She had always seen Sasha as the strong one, the one she could lean on if things got too hard. She feels guilty for never asking Sasha if she was alright, never being there when Sasha felt sad or broken. Anne glances at the door. It's closed, but anyone could walk in at any moment, she figures Sasha wouldn't like that.  

"Want to go to your room?" she whispers.  

She feels Sasha nod. Anne removes her hands and tries to shift away, but Sasha tightens her grip on her waist and staggers forward. Anne wraps her arms around Sasha again. They waddle over to Sasha's door; Anne opens it, and they waddle inside. Anne closes the door. It's dark in the room, but they can both see in the dark, so Anne figures it's fine. They stand in the middle of the room for a few minutes, neither saying anything. Then suddenly, Sasha lets go and steps back, trying to dry her cheeks. Anne can see the tears falling down her cheeks, it breaks her heart.  

"S-sorry" mumbles Sasha.  

Her voice is so quiet and shaky. Anne feels as if someone keeps firing arrows into her chest.  

"Hey, hey, you have nothing to be sorry about, everyone has bad days, everyone's allowed to cry" Anne gently takes her face into her head, caressing her cheek.  

Sasha lets out a small, broken sob, and then another one. More tears ran down her cheeks. Anne panics. Had she said something wrong? She didn't mean to make things worse.  

"Oh Frog, I'm sorry, did I say the wrong thing?" panics Anne.  

"N-no" Sasha answers in between sobs.  

After a second of thought, Anne pulls Sasha back into the hug. Sasha buries her head in Anne's shoulder. Anne's pretty sure her shoulder will be wet soon enough, but it doesn't matter, what matters right now is making Sasha feel better. They stand there, Sasha crying into Anne's shoulder as Anne rubs her back, for a while. Maybe it's been an hour, maybe only five minutes, it's hard to tell. Sasha's body shakes and trembles. She lets out sobs and whines and sniffles. Anne isn't sure what to do, she isn't sure there is anything she could do. Hopefully being there is enough. Once Sasha's sobs quiet down and she isn't shaking and trembling as much, Anne decides it's time for answers.  

"What happened?" When Sasha tenses up, Anne quickly adds, "You don't have to answer, I'm not going to force you, but if you do want to talk about it, I'm here"  

There is a moment of silence. It stretches on and on, Anne figures Sasha isn't going to say anything, but Sasha surprises her.  

"I... I met one of the recruits" mumbles Sasha.  

Her voice is muffled by Anne's shoulder, but Anne heard it. Her blood boils. Who dared break Sasha like this, who could have done it? She needed to find out who did it so she could go find them and make them sorry.  

"W-well, I d-didn't really meet them, I-I... just... saw them..." continued Sasha.  

Now Anne was confused.   

"It w-was one of the Canines"   

Anne let her continue.  

"It was... my... my...."  

Anne felt her stomach drop. One of the Canines was someone Sasha knew. There were two Canines, a Fox and a Wolf. A Wolf that looked rather similar to Sasha... a Wolf with silver blond hair and red eyes... Sasha had never spoken about her past before she joined the Dwarf Army, but Anne had wondered about it many times.  

"My... mom" Sasha's voice was so quiet that Anne almost didn't hear her.  

Anne inhaled sharply. Her blood boiled again. Sasha's mom was the one that caused this. Anne pulled Sasha impossibly closer. She had the urge to find Sasha's mom and punch her. Punch her with her prosthetic, that would hurt more. But she couldn't leave Sasha, not when she needed her most.  

"S-sorry" Sasha apologized again.  

"Wha? For what?" Anne was genuinely confused.  

"For being so weak, and pathetic, and for not being able to deal with my own stuff myself. I didn't mean to drag you into this, you were probably busy and now you have to deal with me. Frog, one look at my mother and I became a scared little kid again. So pathetic" each word coming out of Sasha's mouth just made Anne want to punch Sasha's mom more.  

"Don't say that" growled Anne, "you aren't pathetic, or weak, or whatever else your mom made you think you are"  

Before Sasha can argue, Anne continues.  

"And you didn't drag me into this. I wasn't busy, and honestly, I'm happy that I was here when this happened, I wouldn't want you dealing with this alone"  

Sasha sniffles.  

"If you want, I could kick your mom out of the Resistance" suggested Anne.  

Sasha shook her head.  

"Alright" whispered Anne, "do you want to sit down?"  

Sasha nods. Anne pulls away slowly, and this time, Sasha does the same. Somehow, she looks so small, even though she's taller than Anne. Anne gently grabs her hands and pulls her towards the bed. Sasha sits down, then lays down. She pats the empty space next to her, looking at Anne with fear in her eyes, as if she's scared of what Anne will think. Anne lays down. Instantly, Sasha rolls onto her side and shifts lower, so she can hide herself in Anne's chest. Sasha clings to Anne.  

"What has your mom done to you"  wonders Anne.  

She takes out Sasha's ponytail and strokes her hair. She has a feeling that they'll be there for a while. She glances at the clock. It's only 8pm, still stuff to be done. But Anne's sure that Grime can handle it, right now, Sasha needs her more. She continues to stroke Sasha's hair. It's so smooth and silky, Anne feels a little jealous, her hair was almost always a mess. She had thought of cutting it many times, but the thought of having short hair again made her stomach squirm. Anne pushes the thoughts away; she needs to focus on Sasha right now. She isn't sure what to do or say, she doesn't know enough about Sasha's and her mom's relationship to say the right things.  

"Thanks" mumbles Sasha, as if she hears Anne's worries about not doing enough, "this really helps"  

"Anything for you" whispers Anne.  

She means it. If Sasha's mom lays a finger on Sasha, or hell, even looks wrong in her direction, Anne will punch her. Though she'll probably get in trouble for that.   

"Wait, you're co-leader! There is literally no one higher than you! No one can tell you what not to do! Plus, I don't think Sasha will mind. But mom and dad might... I'm sure they'll understand if I tell them the reason, but I'll have to ask Sasha for permission first. Does Grime know about Sasha's relationship with her mom? Should I ask him? Or would that be wrong of me? I'll ask Sasha first. But if she doesn't tell me, should I really be asking Grime?"  wondered Anne.  

There were too many questions. Anne decided to deal with that later. She looked down at Sasha, who seemed to have fallen asleep.  

"Sleep well" whispers Anne.  

Sasha:  

Sasha wakes up slowly. She's comfortable, surrounded by the ocean, it's warm and safe. Sasha opens her eyes slowly, finding herself staring at a shirt, from underneath the shirt peek out dark blue scales. Sasha's mind wakes up a little more. She's confused for a second, before remembering the other day. Sasha clings to Anne tighter, not wanting to get up and face the day, face her mom. She feels like crying again.  

"Sash?" mumbles Anne.  

Sasha shifts back so she can look up at Anne. Anne smiles sleepily at her, her eyelids droop a little, before fluttering open again. Sasha must have woken her up.  

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up" sheepishly said Sasha.  

"I was waking up anyway" shook her head Anne.  

Sasha smiled. She doesn't want to go out and deal with her mom, the thought alone makes it harder to breathe. She feels Anne's hand in her hair, gently stroking it. Her movements are slow and lazy. The feeling of Anne's hand stroking Sasha's hair makes her relax. She melts under Anne's hand. She feels her tail starting to wag and has to force it to not, she doesn't want Anne to see her wagging, it's embarrassing.   

"We should probably get up" Anne yawns.  

"Or we could stay for a little longer?" Sasha hopes that Anne says yes.  

"You? Wanting to sleep in? Impossible" jokes Anne.  

Sasha wants to laugh, but she can't, because Anne is right. Sasha looks back down, fidgeting with the blanket. Getting up means having to go around the base, and there was a chance of bumping into her mom. Her mom probably already knows she's here, she probably smelled her, or someone said something to her about her. Sasha really didn't want to see her mom right now, or ever.  

"Is it... because of your mom?" whispered Anne.  

Sasha winced. Was she that easy to read? When did she become like this? She used to have the best poker face. She used to be able to hide nightmares from Percy and Braddock. Why did Anne see through her facade? And why was she... thankful?  

"I just... don't really want to deal with her" mumbled Sasha.  

She felt Anne nod, as if she understood. Sasha couldn't help but feel jealous. Anne had it all, good parents, a grandfather, two siblings. She didn't have to constantly worry about not reaching expectations. She didn't have to worry about disappointing the people she cared about. She didn't have to worry about running into someone and spiraling into a panic attack. She didn't have to hide how she was feeling. She didn't have to fight for the respect of people. Sasha pushed the jealousy away. Anne deserved that. She was kind and empathetic, she cared about people and tried her best to help them. Meanwhile Sasha... Sasha was manipulative and pathetic; she used people and then stabbed them in the back.  

"How about you stay in the planning room, while I'll deal with everything out there? That way you won't run into your mom" suggested Anne.  

There it was again, that kindness, as if Sasha hadn't been a bitch to her. She wanted to refuse, she didn't deserve this kindness, but she found herself nodding. The fear of running into her mom was stronger than the little voice in her head.  

"Alright, I'll bring you breakfast" Anne got out of bed before Sasha could even protest.  

Anne left, leaving Sasha alone in her room. She lay for a bit longer, then finally pushed herself out of bed. She changed into her armor and glanced in the mirror. The Canine staring back looked pathetic. She looked tired and scared. Sasha closed her eyes and when she opened them again, there was a different Canine in the mirror. This Canine had everything under control, this Canine could stare anyone down. Sasha brushed her hair and left her room.   

Anne:  

Anne grabbed a plate and walked back to the planning room. She walked in and placed the plate on the table. Sasha mumbled a 'thanks' but didn't look up from her work. She looked different, colder and more lifeless. Anne didn't like how Sasha looked.  

"You alright?" she asked.  

Sasha nodded. She picked up the fork and took a bite out her breakfast before returning to her work. Anne sighed and left; it was like Sasha hid her true self behind a thick wall. Anne greeted people, met some new recruits, made sure everything was running. She walked past Sasha's mom multiple times, which was just a coincidence of course. She sent people on missions and managed the supplies, making sure to report back to Sasha. Each time she walked in, Sasha had the same poker face and almost no reaction. It began to really worry Anne, but she didn't know what to do. At one point, Grime approached her.  

"Anne? Could we talk? In private?" he asked.  

"Oh, sure" Anne let Grime lead the way.  

They made it to an empty hallway. Grime checked to make sure no one could hear them and then finally turned to Anne.  

"What's going on with Sasha?" he asked, "she isn't telling me anything"  

Anne winced. Of course, Grime would notice. She kind of hoped that he would. Maybe he would be able to help. Anne opened and closed her mouth. It wasn't her place to tell him, especially since Sasha didn't tell him anything. Which was bad, Anne was pretty sure Grime knew Sasha better than anyone, so if she didn't tell  him  then things must be really bad.   

"Should I tell him? It would be really helpful... but... Sasha didn't tell him anything... so I shouldn't. But maybe that would help Sasha? But that wouldn't be fair to her... ugh! Why must this be so hard?"  grumbled Anne.  

She glanced at Grime, who was looking at her intensely.  

"I uh... can't really tell you?" she winced.  

"I understand" nodded Grime.  

Anne was rather surprised at how quickly Grime accepted that answer. He left. Anne waited a little before also leaving, she had to make sure everything was going well. She walked around the base, making it to the training grounds. There were about 15 people training. An odd number. Anne joined them, sparring with a Reptile. She did her tail trick, surprising the Reptile. The other Reptiles saw this and tried it out, cheering when it actually worked. They changed partners, Anne sparred with an Avian, and then a Dwarf, then a few Hobbits, and then another Canine. She looked up to see Sasha's mom. She was going to spar with Sasha's mom.  

"Oh Frog... what do I do? Should I refuse? No, that would be way too suspicious"  panicked Anne.  

Sasha's mom lunged at her. Anne dodged the attack. Sasha's mom didn't hold a wooden sword, which wasn't that strange, many people, especially Canines, preferred hand to hand combat, but Sasha's mom was attacking with her claws.  

"Woah! Hey there! Keep your claws out of this! It's just sparring!" shouted Anne, dodging another attack.  

"Deal with it" growled Sasha's mom.  

Anne blocked an attack with her wooden sword, then pushed Sasha's mom back. She needed to end this right now. This time, Anne attacked first, swinging her sword and making Sasha's mom stagger backwards. She tripped her with her tail, causing Sasha's mom to fall down. Anne pointed her wooden sword at Sasha's mom's neck. This was the end of their sparring.  

"Next time, keep your claws to yourself" warned Anne.  

Sasha's mom growled, baring her teeth at Anne. She grabbed Anne's sword and ripped it out of her hands.  

"Should have knocked me out right there" grinned Sasha's mom.  

She jumped up and attacked Anne. She was aiming right at her face. Anne wasn't prepared for that, so she didn't have the time to dodge, instead she blocked it with her arm. If it wasn't for her prosthetic Anne would have been seriously scarred. Anne stumbled backwards from the force of the slash. She dodged more attacks and kept backing away.  

"Hey! This is sparring! Stop trying to claw my eyes out!" shouted Anne.  

She must have shouted pretty loudly, because soon enough, Sasha's mom was attacked by everyone in the training grounds. They pinned her down, trying to not actually hurt her while also not get hurt themselves. Anne exhaled, her heart was still beating like wild, but at least she wasn't in immediate danger.  

"What is the meaning of this!" barked Grime from behind.  

Anne turned around to find Grime marching towards them, he didn't look happy.  

"Captain Grime! This lady was attacking Anne!"  

"She was trying to claw Anne's eyes out!"  

Shouted the crowd. Grime stormed up to Sasha's mom, who was still pinned to the ground. He looked down at her.  

"What's your name?" he asked.  

Sasha's mom growled at him. Grime sighed and then told the crowd to take her with him. They took Sasha's mom away. Anne wasn't sure where exactly they were taking her, but hopefully somewhere where she couldn't hurt others.  

"Anne! Are you alright!" cried out Sprig.  

Anne turned just in time to catch Sprig as he jumped into her arms.  

"I was so worried! I rushed here as fast as I could, but the crowd beat me to it" his voice was muffled by Anne's shoulder.  

"Don't worry, dude. I'm not hurt, not a single scratch" reassured him Anne.  

Ivy and Maddie ran up to her as well. Anne placed Sprig down. Maddie checked her for any injuries while Ivy complimented her for her fighting skills. They talked for a bit, before Grime returned and pulled her away.  

"Who was that?" asked Grime.  

"That was... uh..." Anne scratched the back of her neck, unsure of what to say, "She's well, uh..."  

"Is she... Sasha's mom?"  

"Huh! How did you know!"  

"Sasha described her to me once, that Canine fit the description perfectly"  

"Oh... makes sense"  

"Is this the reason Sasha has been... distant?"  

"Yeah... she saw her yesterday and kinda... panicked?"  

Grime nodded slowly, his face turning dark.  

"So, um... where did you take her?" asked Anne.  

"When we were renovating the Plantars basement, there was a cell, we decided to not remove it" explained Grime.  

Anne wasn't sure how to feel about there being a cell under the Plantars home for who knows how long, but at least it had a good use, holding a very aggressive Canine. Anne's face lights up. She needs to tell Sasha about this!  

Chapter Text

Sasha:  

"-then Grime took her away!" finished explaining Anne.  

Sasha sat on the couch, staring up at Anne, who was standing in front of her. Sasha wasn't sure what to feel. Anne had just told her that her mom had attacked Anne, that she had almost injured her if it wasn't for all those other people.  

"You could have been hurt" muttered Sasha.  

Her blood was boiling with anger. She wanted to go to her mom and strangle her, but she knew she wouldn't be able to face her, let alone fight her.  

"But I wasn't" shrugged Anne.  

Sasha took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her mom could have seriously injured Anne, and Anne was just shrugging it off like it was nothing.  

"But you could have" sighed Sasha.  

She was trying to keep calm and collected.  

"But I wasn't, and it was thanks to you! Sparring with you helped me keep up with her! And you know, everyone else also  really  helped, wouldn't be here without them" smiled Anne.  

Like she hadn't just been fighting for her life. Like Sasha's mom hadn't just been trying to rip her apart. Like she would have been fine if all those other people didn't step in. Sasha stood up, grabbing Anne by the shoulders and giving her one good shake.  

"I don't think you understand, Boonchuy. My mom isn't someone you mess with, if she was taking it seriously, you wouldn't be standing here" growled Sasha, "and I- I... I don't think I could handle that"  

Sasha hangs her head, releasing Anne's shoulders and letting her hands hang by her sides. She felt like she could drown in the guilt. She should have been there to stop her mom, should have been there to tell her off. She should have been the one her mom attacked. Instead, she had hidden in the planning room all day, pretending that the only reason she wasn't out there was because she was busy. She was hiding, like the coward she was, like the coward she still is. What would she do if her mom had injured Anne? Would she be able to do  anything?  Or would she be too terrified to go against her mom? Would she be able to face her, to stop her, to argue and growl and shout at her? Or would she be trembling like a little child, too scared to look her in the eyes? Would she-  

"But I  am  here. I'm here right now. I know that things could have gone much worse, but they haven't. I'm not injured, I'm a little sore, and a little tired, but I'm not injured. In all honesty... I... I'm kinda... happy? No, grateful? Well... I'm just glad that it wasn't someone else, because if it was, I'm not sure they would have been able to get out unharmed" Anne gently took Sasha's face into her hands.  

Sasha could have melted right there and then, but she couldn't do that, so she stomped out the urge to smile and wag and just live in the moment.  

"Still, I wish I was there to stop it" whispered Sasha.  

"Oh... well... it ended well, and now she's locked up so-" shrugged Anne.  

"Wait what!" Sasha pulled away, straightening up, "What do you mean she's locked up!"  

"Huh? Oh, um- uh- Grime, Grime took her away and then I learned that you found like a... cell? Prison? Um, anyway, so he locked her up, there" rambled Anne.  

Sasha relaxed at that. Her mom was locked up. She couldn't get out, couldn't hurt anyone anymore, couldn't approach Sasha, couldn't do anything except sit there. Sasha felt a giant weight being lifted off her shoulders, she felt free. She could go out again without the fear of stumbling into her mom, or worse, her mom seeking her out. Sasha smiled, letting out a small chuckle. She pulled Anne into a hug. She heard Anne gasp quietly and for a second feared that she had overstepped a boundary, but then Anne hugged her back.  

"You're really happy," laughed Anne.  

"Well, it's... I... I feel free" mumbled Sasha.  

She felt her face heat up instantly. That was probably the cheesiest thing she had ever said. She prayed Anne hadn't heard it, which was stupid, she said it right next to her ear, of course Anne heard it. To her surprise, Anne just hummed in response, confirming that she had in fact heard it. Sasha let out a breath of relief internally, grateful that Anne didn't say anything. Unfortunately, Sasha heard footsteps approaching the door. She pulled away against her will, she would rather no one see this. Anne looked sad for a second, but then the door opened, startling Anne.  

"Sasha?" Grime stepped into the room.  

Sasha stepped forward and greeted him.  

"Has Anne told you about... the sparring incident?" he asked, glancing at Anne questioningly.  

"Yep, she filled me in on everything" nodded Sasha, then she leaned in and lowered her voice so Anne couldn't hear them, "thanks for locking up my mom"  

Grime nodded, a soft smile on his face, probably because Sasha had just confirmed that that was her mom, Grime probably already figured that out.  

Anne:  

There were three more days before they set out and attacked Darcy's army. Sasha had been out and about, now free to do whatever she wanted without the fear of bumping into her mom. Anne watched as she sparred with another Canine, throwing out feedback every now and again. Anne smiled. Sasha looked happy, and no one seemed to think that her absence was weird.   

"My mom isn't someone you mess with, if she was taking it seriously, you wouldn't be standing here, and I- I... I don't think I could handle that"  Sasha's words echoed in Anne's head.  

"She wouldn't be able to handle me getting hurt. Would she handle me getting ki- stop thinking about- of course she wouldn't be able to handle it, how would she be able to handle that. Would I be able to handle that? If things didn't go as planned, if things went terribly wrong? If they both fell..., would I be able to continue? Would I be able to lead the Resistance? Or would I just... give up? Would I-"  

"Boonchuy! Wanna give it a go?" shouted Sasha.  

Anne snapped out of her thoughts, she looked at Sasha, who was holding a wooden sword, pointing at the ground in front of her. Anne smiled but shook her head. At the moment, she preferred watching others spar. While they sparred, Anne's mind drifted back to the plan. The plan was simple. A small group of people, which was herself, the Plantars, Sasha, and Grime, would fly on Joe Sparrow and Domino II, they will sneak into the castle and find the control room, which Anne figured was the room with all those wires that Darcy kept Marcy in. They would rescue Marcy and stop the robots. For this to happen, everyone else needed to attack Darcy's army with all they got, so there was no way they could ignore them.  

"What if it doesn't work? What if Darcy sees through the distraction? Or notice us running around their castle? Or- nope, stop, not more 'what if's it's going to work"  Anne slapped her cheeks.  

She shook her head then decided that she needed some fresh air. She stepped outside. It was a nice warm day, or it would have been nice if it wasn't for the smoke covering the sky and the fact that everything was in shambles. She turns to Chuck, who is sitting right outside the door, keeping guard. He tilts his hat in greeting, Anne nods back.  

"If anyone asks, tell them I went out for some fresh air," says Anne.  

She walks off, careful not to be noticed. She doesn't want any trouble. She makes it to the outskirts of Wartwood and sits against a broken-down wall. She keeps her guard up, not wanting to be jumped. After a while, she relaxes a little, letting her eyes wander, taking in the vegetation around her. She doesn't allow her mind to wander, afraid that if she gets lost in thought she's going to be jumped. It's eerily quiet, but Anne likes the change, especially to the noisy Resistant base. Everyone is running around, trying to get everything together, trying to cram in a little more sparring. Everyone's scared and worried and nervous; in three days they all gather and march towards the Avian kingdom. Some of them might not live to see the next day, some of them won't know the outcome of this war, some of them will lose loved ones.  

"Frog, what's with all these negative thoughts?" groans Anne.  

She doesn't want to be negative, but everything has been happening so fast. They have three days.  Three days.  That's all they had. Three days and then... who knows.  

"At least, Sasha will have that hair clip" smiles Anne.  

She shakes her head.  

"Stop. You can't- can't- you're going to make it, you have a lot of things you need to do, lots of things you need to fix. You can't  not  make it, not before you make sure Marcy's alright, not before you fix this friendship," said Anne.  

Somehow, talking to herself out loud, telling herself these things, it made her feel better, more in control. Anne decided she had to live, just so she could fix all her mistakes.   

"Alright, I think it's time to head back" Anne stood up slowly.  

She stretched and looked around, before heading back to the Plantars house.  

...  

Three days had passed in the blink of an eye. Anne wasn't sure when all the time went, but now she was standing with Sasha, Grime, the Plantars, and Frobo outside of Wartwood, with everyone in the Resistance ready to follow them. Grime, the Plantars, and Frobo flew on Joe Sparrow, while Anne and Sasha flew on Domino 2. The Reptiles had broken off and were swimming towards the Avians Kingdom through the ocean. There were other people riding kill-a-moths. Avians were flying and everyone else was marching towards the castle. It really felt like a fantasy, like at any moment, Anne would wake up and this would be a dream.  

"Hey Anne..." said Sasha from behind, "we should really talk about Marcy"  

"You were thinking about her too" Anne let out a quiet, sad chuckle.  

"She wanted to hide this whole war from us! I don't even know what to think of that!"  

"We've all made mistakes, Sasha" Anne sees the way Sasha winces at that, "plus... this could have been partially our fault"  

"How?!"  

"Maybe she didn't feel safe telling us this, because we've always ignored her. We've ignored her interests, and maybe, we've been ignoring her needs. Maybe she felt like we wouldn't have listened"  

They both fall silent for a while.  

"Still... can we really safe this friendship?" mumbles Sasha.  

"We have to try"  

Silence falls over them again, this time because they have made it to the Avian Kingdom. They fall back, and they see Jow Sparrow do the same. There are robots outside the castle walls, as well as collared creatures, controlled by those collars. Anne watched as the Resistance attacks. Avians at kill-a-moths swoop in from above, while Reptiles appear from the ocean, completely surrounding the kingdom. Canines are ripping robots apart, Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarfs and hitting them with all they've got. The Resistance was large, but there are still almost double the robots. Anne reminds herself that this is only a distraction.  

"Come on, let's move" whispers Sasha.  

Anne steers Domino to land at one of the castle towers. Joe Sparrow is close behind. They all get off and sneak inside, slowly and quietly making their way to the control room. Anne leads the way, since she's the only one who's been there, but she doesn't really have a full idea where it is. They walk through long hallways and corridors; each one looks almost identical to the last one. They almost get caught by robots but hide out of view just in time. While walking along another long hallway and trying not to be caught by robots, Sasha starts lagging behind. Anne lets Hop Pop take the lead.  

"Sasha?" she asks, keeping her voice quiet.  

"Alright, so let's say that you're right, we've been taking Marcy for granted, that doesn't change what she's done!" hisses Sasha.  

"It's not about what's she's done, it's about why she's done it" sighs Anne.  

"So, I'm just supposed to forgive her! Like none of this happened!" growls Sasha.  

"Forgiveness is hard, and it takes time, it might take months or years, but it's worth it in the end, I mean, look at us" Anne smiles.  

Sasha's eyes seem to fill with tears, but she blinks them away.   

"You're right, of course you're right, let's go save that lovable nerd" smiles Sasha.  

Anne nods. They continue walking through the hallways, unsure if they've been in this one before, or if it just looks similar. At last, they stumble into a large room, a familiar room. Anne's heart sinks when she recognizes it as the throne room. They are standing in the corner where Darcy had first appeared from, this is probably how they got there. Images flash through her mind, her right arm starts burning. She knows it isn't really burning, but the pain is there.  

"Hate this place" Sprig whispers from behind.