Chapter Text
It all happened so fast, how could she even know what to do? What to feel? How could she process it? One moment, she was reuniting with her lost friend, the other, tragedy strikes.
It was so unfair, so wrong, why couldn’t she see why this was wrong? Why couldn’t Sasha take a little thinking about how, not only her, but all of those around her would react about all of this? Anne always thought that Marcy was a little too much out of reality, and at times, feared for her friend when she had to take a serious life changing decision, but now she saw, that she was worried about the wrong friend.
And now, she will forever have to carry this guilty, a life was taken because she wasn’t enough, as a friend, and as family, her friend was a murderer, her siblings are now orphans, the one adult that had confidence and truly appreciated her was dead, her Grandpa in all but blood was dead, Hop pop, was dead.
-------------------------------------
Five minutes before…
Grime was holding Hop Pop by the collar of his shirt, a circle of toads circled around Anne and the defeated Sasha, everyone was on its toes, it was as if at that moment, anything could happen, a miracle dues ex machina that could save the old frog life, or the impulsive toad could get frustrated with the whole ordeal and just toss him to his death.
After a moment, no miracle occurred, no bomb was detonated, and no frog was dropped, instead, a malicious smile grew on the captain’s face, as he looked over his disciple and surrogate daughter, defeated and humiliated on the ground.
“Change of plans.”
He put Hop pop at the prank that leaded directly to his damnation, sticking his sword on the frog’s coat, so he could not run away.
“Grime! What do you think you are doing?”
Sasha asked.
“What I’m doing, lieutenant is assuring that no soldier in this platoon goes with such disrespected.”
He started to walk, calmly and lazily in Sasha’s direction. Passing through her, and stopping in front of her sword, giving one hateful glare and snarl in Anne’s direction, he kicked Sasha’s heron sword in the air, caught it with his tongue, and turning around, offered it’s hilt to the lieutenant girl.
“You do it.”
“What?”
“WHAT!?”
Where Sasha’s response was little and frail, short of a whisper, Anne’s was loud and indignant, short of a shout.
“You made everything you could for that little friend of yours, you put your life on the line and served great tribulations, and she still sided with these frogs she knows for less than half a year. I say, that you should pull the reins a little, show her what happens when she starts to have this type of ideas.”
“Sasha! No! Don’t listen to him!”
“What will be lieutenant? Will you really let her walk over you? Diminish your authority? Or you are going to show her what the toad warriors are made of?”
“SASH! Please, I will listen to you, I won’t fight you again, I will come with you and never contrary you again I promise just please, please don’t do this!”
At that moment Anne was all but begging, and Grime’s face was serious, more serious that Sasha had ever seen.
“So what will be, Sasha?”
Sasha had a thinking face the whole time, but then, she looked at Anne’s pleading and desperate face, she remembered all she had to do to find her, all the bugs she had to fight, the dirt and work she had to bear, all for Anne to turn on her in spite of some slimy frog. She made her decision.
Seeing Sasha resigning her face, with an anger glare in her direction, and immediately, getting up while taking her sword from Grime, Anne felt her stomach freeze.
“No, no, Sasha, Sasha, don’t, don’t do it, don’t do it! SASHA! STOP DON’T!”
But it was in vain, the blonde girl walked, slowly and determined in the elderly direction, all the while Anne begged her to reconsider. When she saw it wasn’t enough, she got up, but was stopped by a sound coming from behind.
When she looked, the toads that were circling the top of the tower where now pointing their weapons to the villagers of wartwood.
“Don’t try anything beast or the frog’s get it”
She was mad, she wanted to punch a hole in grime’s face, to beat some sense into Sasha, she wouldn’t do it and risk any of her friend’s life’s, but she was still fuming.
It was then that a voice broke though the air.
“Anne, Sprig, Polly.”
They turned their faces so hard they almost fell over. Anne’s rage evaporated in an instant. There, speaking with a sad and wobbly smile was the old frog, their old frog, their Hop Pop.
“You three listen to me now, and listen well.”
He took a fulfilling breath, while the kid’s all just looked at him, with varying degrees of dread.
“Polly, I’m sorry that I won’t be here to see you grow your legs, lose your tail, go to school and teach you how to drive Bessie, the last two goes for you too sprig…”
His eyes started to water, as well as the three kids, when they understood what he was doing.
“I know that I can never take you to ice cream, or our morning bucket walks, or even read a bedtime story for you again, but I assure you my dear, I am always thinking of you, whatever I am, and even if you don’t see me, rest assured that I will always be looking for you.”
Anne never saw Polly as much as shed a tear, but at that moment, she was full on blowing her eyes, crying and sobbing, it put in perspective that she truly was just a baby.
“Sprig, my genius boy, you have to be strong, I know how much you have been already, and I’m sorry that you have to pass through this again, I know how much it hurts you, and that I haven’t been the better grandparent I could be, but I want to know my boy, all the mistakes I did, all the times I pushed or criticized you, was because I saw how great you could be, how smart and strong you already are and how much you could become, I just wanted you to be your best self, and I’m sorry for pushing you too hard sometimes. Rest assured though, no matter what you become, I will always be proud of you.”
“D-d-don’t go, Ho-pop, I will be g-good I p-promise, I will l-listen to you, so p-please...”
Felicia come closer and wrapped the two crying children in a hug.
“I’m truly sorry my boy.”
He stopped, and his gaze was turned to her, to Anne, and the admiration and happiness in that look was what finally broke all her walls, all her barriers, all the dams, and the tears started to cascade.
“Anne, my dear Anne, I know I’m not your real Grandpa, and neither I have been your adopted one for too long. But oh frog if I don’t feel like it, if I don’t feel like I have raised you since the egg.”
He gave a mirthless laugh, trying to council a sob.
“You don’t know how much pride swell my hurt to look at you, how much you have grown since you first came into our home, how much I couldn’t help but feel guilt, that I couldn’t do more for you, to help you find your way home, your friends. I always blamed myself for what happened to Sprig and Polly’s parents ya know? And I caught myself thinking, more than once, that I was guilt for you too, they would know how to raise you better, and you could have a real family taking care of you in these trying times. You three could have.”
The three of them were all crying, completely messes, completely children, desperate and helpless to save the only parental figure still in their lives.
“It will be hard in the start Anne, and I’m talking from experience here, not only as a father, but as a person who lost a lot of people through the years. The first weeks are the worst, you have so much guilt and rage, and so much responsibility and everything is uncertain, you feel as if you are not doing a good work, and that any other person would be more prepared for the job, these feelings never go away, not truly… But, but It gets better, little by little, you learn how to deal with it, how to do better, you will make mistakes, but you will also learn from them, and I assure you as well Anne, even when I go, I will at least rest in peace, knowing that you will be there to look for them.”
Sasha was almost at the plank.
“Kids, remember. Polly, no weapon training before bed, you can hurt yourself. Sprig, keep your room tidy and clean, I swear there was a moss colony there the other day. You two, always listen to your sister, she knows better.”
He looked to the people of Wartwood, most of them also in tears.
“If our friendship was as true as I think it was, them I ask, please, that you help looking for my children, i don’t know what I would do if something happened to them.”
They all nodded and sobbed.
He took a deep breath
“And Anne?”
She couldn’t take her gaze off him.
“Thank you for being in my life.”
--------------------------------
Sasha looked at the old frog, sprouting nonsense time and time again, what right this little pest have to pretend being Anne’s family? To say he was proud of her, and what was wrong with Anne to listen to him? What she didn’t understand and didn’t really wanted to, she was too tired for that.
Which was strange, why was she so tired? She haven’t fight as much as she normally does, she hasn’t even spoken or yelled this much, so why was her body so heavy? Her head so dulled? What reason was for that?
She didn’t care, or better, in this moment, she couldn’t afford to care, she had disappointed Grime once, Anne was mad with her for no reason, she just wanted to kill this slime frog and get over with the world for some hours.
But then, in front of him, she became confused. The sadness in his eyes when looking to the slime twerps was replaced by anger, it was ok, she knew anger, she understood it, and she could work with that. But them, it became something else, something softer, pity? She thought first, but dismissed, it wasn’t pity, it looked more like… Concern? But this is wrong, she is killing him, he is just some slimy frog, he can’t fell concern, not for her, not for Anne, what, what is happening?
He sighed.
“You are about to hurt my family even more and I can’t forgive you for that, but, I know that you are just a kid too, and I’m sorry...”
‘What is he doing?’ she thought while getting her sword high in the air
“You shouldn’t have to bear the weight of taking a life so young, I’m sorry I can1t stop you, and… I prefer to go with the least regrets I can muster, so, for what you are about to do, I forgive you kid.”
The word stopped, she her mind stopped, her brain and train of thought stopped, she was frozen almost completely in that one place.
Her sword was the only part of her that moved.
Sasha saw red, Anne saw blue, in the morning, Toad Tower was on the ground, the toads dispersed themselves to the north, with their mission complete but her pride hurt, the frogs returned to wartwood with one less in their midst.
They all camped in the plantars property that day, all mourning the loss of a great friend and neighbor, but none more than the plantars kid’s, now left alone to fend in a brutal and uncaring world.