“Now put back the box, or this twerp learns how to fly.”

A lot of thoughts had been going through Anne’s mind. For one the king was a world conquering tyrant who tricked them all into thinking he was the sweetest king around. Worlds laid in the balance on them getting that box out of the king’s clutches. Whatever they did, they had to win. But these thoughts and worries were immediately silenced.

There was Sprig, held helplessly at the mercy of a tyrant. Her best friend.

They were so close. They had won! They had got the box, and it was over.

And yet it wasn’t.

Anne’s eyes widened in horror as the king dangled Sprig over the edge of the window where it was hundreds of miles to the ground.

“Anne, don’t!” Sprig pleaded as Andiras squeezed him, his eyes pressed shut with pain.

She felt as if the old king was squeezing her heart, along with Sprig’s body, until it burst. No, she couldn’t let him do this to Sprig.

“Polly, do what he says!” Anne said in panic and fear. She needed to get her friend back, no matter what.

Hesitant at first, Polly put the box back down, pain in her eyes. Anne understood, they needed that box. But she also knew it needed to be done. Sprig needed to be safe.

As the box powered the castle up once more, Andrias smiled, a knowing smile that sickened Anne to the bone. He hadn’t won. And he wouldn’t. This was just a minor but needed set back, right? He looked at Sprig with that same smile, not moving his arm away from the window. Anne wanted to scream and shout to get Andrias to bring her friend away from danger. Yet Anne didn’t dare.

She heard one of the frobos bringing Polly back to the group beside her. She wouldn’t take her eyes off of Sprig and the king.

“Okay dude, you have what you want. Now please, just put him down!” Anne pleaded, worry and fear coursing through her. “He’s my best friend.”

Anne paused for a moment, choking a little, looking right at Sprig.

“In this world, or in any other world.”

Despite Sprig being far away, she could still see him smile, tears forming.

“Anne…” Sprig said.

And for that moment, everything was alright. It was over. Sprig was safe. Everything was going to be ok.

“That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate.”

It felt like the world was in slow motion. The realization spawned in Sprig’s eyes right before Andrias’s giant fingers opened, dropping Sprig into the open red sky. He didn’t even have the chance to scream.

Just like that. Sprig was gone.

The frog that found her when she was living in the wilderness alone. Who stood up for her in front of the town. Who went on wacky adventures with her. Who always got in trouble with her. Who always had her back. Who made her time in Amphibia the time of her life.

Her best friend. The one that never left her. Never betrayed her. Cared about her.

Gone.

No more Spranne against the world. Just the world against Anne. They were supposed to stay together forever. Stay by each other’s side. But he was gone. Never be by her side again. She would never be by his side. He was taken away. Gone gone gone gone gone.

Memories flash by in a blur. Their first meeting. Them fighting off that big lake monster. Backing her with her fight against Sasha. Comforting her after the aftermath. Reading late into the night, only for Sprig to fall asleep on her. The weeks of being cooped up in the fwagon.

And that's all of what was left of him. Memories.

And no more would be made.

And who was to blame?

Who cut his time short?

Took him away from her?

Andiras.

That backstabbing good for nothing stone hearted evil tyrant.

He caused this.

He took Sprig away.

He didn’t even care.

It was almost…amusing to him.

To take one’s life.

To create all of this pain and suffering.

It.

Was.

All.

His.

Fault.

He needed to give Sprig back to her.

He needed to give him back.

He needed to give him back. He needed to give Sprig back…

All of this hate, this pain, it felt like it was powering her. She opened her eyes, but was barely aware of her surroundings. Her emotions were overflowing in her. Blinding her.

Barely did she notice she got up. Barely did she notice the shocked others around her, or what the tyrant had said.

“Give him back.” Anne said, preparing to push all of her hurt, her pain, her anger onto Andrias.

“Give. him. BACK!”

She didn’t know what was happening. All she knew was that Anrdias took Sprig away from her, and he needed to give him back. The pain, the hatred of the tyrant, it was overwhelming. She wanted to punch him, force him to bring Sprig back.

And just like that, her fist collided into his smug face.

She stared at him as he fell, his crown gone and his face in utter shock. She looked at him, still feeling her pain. She would make him give Sprig back. Bring him back…bring him back.

She was faintly aware of Andrias attacking her, but she didn’t care. Small inconveniences to her goal. Red flew all around her, angering her more. Anne screamed an angry cry. She striked again, being held back by what seemed to be a shield. She felt anger rising in her again. Coward, he needed to bring Sprig back! He took him away, he needed to give him back! And just like that, she struck him again, the king flying back.

She floated to the floor, Andrias covered with cuts and bruises. This brought her little joy. Andiras hadn’t given back what he had taken.

“Give him back.”

She was starting to feel weak. Her strength seeped out of her.

“Give him…back.”

At those last words she passed out.

Everything was dark and black. Noises were being made, but she wasn’t sure what they meant. She still felt pain, but now also emptiness, A large void.

She wanted to sink into it. The nothingness felt nice. Maybe it’d take away her pain.

But that’s when she heard it.

“Anne!”

Like a dagger that sliced through the darkness, the voice sounded like a melody.

Sprig.

Anne opened her eyes, moving her body towards the direction of the voice. It was hard, but when she saw the pink frog running at her, yelling her name, it felt as if all of the pain went away.

“Sprig?!” She cried in surprise and amazement.

“You’re-” Anne said with tears rimming her eyes. “Alive!”

There he was, hugging her, alive and well.

He was safe. He was back.

She had her best friend back.

“Oh thank goodness.”

She felt like a huge storm was lifted from her. She felt lighter, more free. Clear headed.

For the second time in the entire situation, everything felt like it was going to be ok. What mattered most was back. The biggest situation was over, and they could do it.

The rest of the Planters joined in on the hug. Everything was ok.

“Marcy caught me just in time!” Sprig said, pulling back from the long hug. “Can you walk?”

“Marcy?” Anne said in confusion. Marcy saved him? But how? When?

That was when loud footsteps came close, and a shadow loomed over the family.

“I’ll have to admit,” said a voice from above, dripping in distaste. “Even I’m surprised. Somehow you still got the gift kid. Which means…”. Andrias brought is blazing sword up, murder in his eyes. “I can’t let you live.”

What did that mean?

Anne didn’t even have time to process when the floor jerked, and the sound of the castle powering down rang through the hall. Andrias was stopped dead in his tracks.

“What?” Andrias asked in surprised confusion, turning around to where the box’s pedestal was.

The box was not there.

Instead, there was Marcy across the castle, holding it in her hands, a colorful portal in front of her.

“No!” Andrias shouted in a panic, running towards the girl.

Anne and the Planters didn’t even have time to react before Sasha and Grime ran in front of him, stopping his pursuit.

“Me and Grime will hold him!” Sasha yelled at the Planters. “Just go!”. Sasha pointed to the portal with her heron sword before refocusing on the giant in front of her.

Anne knew those two couldn’t hold Andrias off for long, but they should have long enough.

She tried to get up, but couldn’t. She felt so weak and tired she couldn’t even stand.

Luckily Hop-pop and Sprig were able to help her get off the ground, and support her as they speed walked to Marcy. Every step was hard. It felt like she had concrete on her feet. Anne breathed heavily, her body wanting to collapse. But she kept going.

“Quick, into the portal everyone! Hurry!” Marcy said in fear as the family made it. The portal had many colors, it was quite beautiful. But the electricity around it showed great power. The Planters scrambled in, sticking their heads out waiting for Sasha to make it back to the portal so they could all get to safety.

She could see that Sasha and Grime were not doing well, They were avoiding fatal blows, and keeping Andrias occupied, but they had not thrown any good hits on him either. However, their time was up and the king knocked both of them out. He ran to the portal shouting, “The box!”. Panic and anger were in his eyes. Those were the eyes of someone that was desperate. Would do anything to get what he wanted.

But Anne did not expect for him to do what he did next.

“Marcy, hurry!” Anne cried. They couldn’t let Andrias get the box. After all they went through.

Marcy, who was staring at the box doing some command, looked up. “I just need to-”

shing

Marcy froze, eyes wide.

It felt as if the world froze, time had stopped.

Through her chest was a blazing yellow sword.

Andrias’s sword.

Anne froze in shock.

“Now look what you made me do.”. The king said, his menacing voice echoing through the silence.

No, no no no. This can’t be happening. No no no no NO-

Marcy’s eyes watered. She struggled to speak, pain in her voice.

“I-I’m sorry.” she said excruciately. “For everything.”

And with that, Andiras pulled the sword out, and she collapsed, dropping the box.

“Marcy!” Anne cried out, before a blinding light flashed around her.

The light faded, and familiar sounds started to get louder. Anne opened her eyes to see a blue sky, and an airplane flying overhead.

She got up looking around.

Cars. Planes. A city.

She was home.

“Now put back the box, or this twerp learns how to fly.”

Hop-pop had been so focused on his granddaughter, Polly, he didn’t even notice his grandson being swept up by a giant.

To be fair, Polly was in immediate danger. She was running past frobos and lazers to grab the box. If she grabbed the box, they won. If not, Polly was in great danger. Not only that but she was using her newly grown legs. When a pollywog grew her legs, she was supposed to take it easy. Not run for her life, doing flips and dodges!

He still couldn’t believe his little granddaughter was growing all up. His baby at last had legs! Despite all the chaos, a little happiness shined through it all.

However, with Sprig now in immediate danger, his attention was quickly diverted.

He already had to experience the shock and fear of losing his granddaughter, being crushed by the tyrant. Now he had to experience the fear all over again, instead his grandson being dropped from hundreds of feet up.

Hop-pop froze, his mind blank. His family has been in danger many times.But what do you do when your family is in danger by the all powerful king of Amphibia? He was the most powerful newt; no frog could stop him.

“Anne, don’t!” Sprig called out to Anne.

Luckily for Hop-pop, Anne had kept her wits.

“Sprig! Polly, do what he says.”, Anne called out to Polly.

Polly put back the box, and to Hop-pop's relief, the frobots brought her back to the group. The reason Sprig was in danger was because he was separated from the rest of the group. At least he could keep his granddaughter safe.

“Frobo.” Polly said syphtheticlly, hugging the head of the once frobot.

Hop-pop patted her affectionately, however most of his focus was on Sprig. Hop-pop trusted Anne though. She knew what she was doing. Throughout her time with the family, she proved herself again and again getting them out of situation after situation. This was just one more. Anne could take the reins.

“Okay dude, you got what you want. Now please, just put him down! He’s my best friend…in this world, or any other world.” Anne said, a little choke in her voice in the end.

Hop-pop smiled, his heart warmed. He had seen Anne’s relationship grow with his grandson. Other than Ivy, Sprig never had any friends. It made Hop-pop happy to see him make another, despite her being a strange creature from another world. Sure, there had been bumps in the road. But they always had each other’s back. They even made their own little thing, “Spranne against the world” along with a secret handshake. It was very sweet.

“Anne…” Sprig said smiling, touched.

Hop-noticed Andrias’s look though. That was one of unforgiveness.

“That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love them, the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate.”

His eyes widened. Hop-pop was frozen, in a block of ice. The world was blurry.

Just like that. As easy as opening a hand. His grandson was gone.

Andrias dropped Sprig out of the window to his death.

He couldn’t think straight. All he could do was stare out the window where Sprig disappeared into.

The sky was the color of blood.

He stayed in this blank spot for a long time. Memories of his boy flashing through, an empty hollowness growing deeper and deeper. He didn’t even feel the tears run down his face.

He has failed his family.

Hopadiah Planter swore on every vegetable that he would do whatever it took to keep what was left of his family safe. He would be there.

A feeling of dread returned. One he felt all of those years ago. Guilt caught him in its giant claws. The echoes of that terrible shriek shook him. Acid bubbled up his throat.

Until a luminating blue light tore him away from the cold memories.

Anne was on her knees on all fours in a position of loss and pain. Except there was a glowing blue aura circling her. A soft humming of power filled the air.

“She’s still connected to the stone!” Andrias said in surprise. “But that’s impossible…”

The circle of blue consumed her, moving like a flame.

Hop-pop's eyes widened at the sight.

“What’s going on?” Hop-pop asked, turning to Grime. He was the only adult in the room that was trustworthy that had been consistently around another one of Anne’s species.

“I don’t know, maybe it’s a human thing?” Grime replied in a way that said ‘Why are you asking me?’.

Hop-pop trained his eyes back on his granddaughter, still in confused shock, Anne’s hair had turned a glowing blue, and the leaves and sticks in her hair multiplied, equally glowing.

Finally, she got up, facing Andrias.

“This is not a human thing.” Sasha said quietly.

“Give him back.” said an eerie layered voice. Hop-pop realized with a shiver down his spine it was Anne’s.

“Give. Him. BACK!”

With that cry from Anne, she exploded in a beam of blue light shaking the entire castle. Hop-pop nearly fell over, partially in shock. The light was blinding and he had to blink several times to shake it off.

Blue electricity crackled around her. She jumped, her arms leaving a blue glow before disappearing in smoke from nearby exploded frobots.

Hop-pop wheezed. When the smoke cleared, he saw Andrias looking around frantically.

“Where’d she go-!” he said before Anne suddenly appeared, punching him squarely in the face.

His crown flew off of him before lodging itself into the brick wall. Hop-pop, along with the others gasped in shock. Anne had just punched the king of Amphibia, removing his crown. The most powerful newt in the world! Hop-pop simply couldn’t believe it. He could barely process what was happening.

Anne’s blue aura returned when she appeared, before disappearing once again when she landed on the floor effortlessly with a mid-air backflip. Anne had always been athletic, but he had never seen her quite this much. Her collision caused blue petal-like beams of light to shoot out, and several glowing leaves to leave her hair.

Andrias came back around, an angry wildness in his eyes as he aggressively interlocked his hands, throwing them down at Anne, crushing the floor beneath. Hop-pop's breath caught in his throat. He couldn't lose another Planter-! Yet when he brought his hands back up, she wasn’t there. Hop-pop let out a deep breath. He relaxed just slightly at the sight of Anne still being safe.

A single orange glowing leaf floated down in front of him, revealing Anne’s new position on the castle's ceiling. She summoned the blue fire around her again, seeming to be powering up. Her eyes were a glowing piercing blue. They were eyes of anger, pain, and yet a stoic, emotionless look of power. Even from such great a distance, Hop-pop could see it.

Once again, she disappeared leaving a couple crackles of the blue electricity and an outline of a flower being pushed out before becoming nothingness.

The king was absolutely enraged, pointing at her as she disappeared yelling “Fire!”. Anne reappeared as the robots shot hundreds of lasers right at her.

Hop-pop had a strong urge to vomit. How in frog's name could Anne avoid all of those lasers, staying alive and well? Even with these strange powers of her.

She dodged them with ease, flying down towards Andrias at a speedy rate yelling a battle cry in that creepy layered voice, fist surrounded by a blue flame.

She reached Andrias, slamming down on him, engulfing the two in a bright blue flame. When the light cleared, Andrias had spawned an orange partially transparent shield out of seemingly nowhere. Anne’s fist pushed against the shield, slowly cracking it. The king struggled, trying to stay up. The amount of power Anne was pushing on him caused bolts of electricity to fly all around the room, crumbling some of the castle’s infrastructure. Andrias let out an angry roar right in her face, seemingly making Anne angrier as she pushed harder. The branches in her hair grew and she glowed brighter. Finally she opened her hand, destroying the shield and pushing Andrias down, flying to the side. The blue outline of petals appeared again being pushed out from the breakage of the shield.

Anne easily did a slow flip in the air slowly floating down to the floor while the dust cleared, once again engulfed by the transparent blue fire.

Andrias shook his head, bringing himself back to his senses. He was a mess, bruises and cuts all over. Anne did a real number on the king.

Finally he looked up at Anne with a sort of fear in his eyes. Anne’s back faced Hop-pop and the rest of the party, but her position was one of strength. Petal outlines moved up the blue fire, and bolts of electricity crackled around her.

“Give him back.” Anne said again quickly.

“Give him…” The flames and electricity disappeared. “Back…”

With that, Anne fell onto the floor, passed out and powered down.

Hop-pop couldn’t believe what he witnessed.

What was that? How did Anne do that? Since when could his granddaughter do that?

However, Hop-pop was relieved that Anne made it out unscathed. He didn't understand what happened, but Anne was still Anne. Powers or not.

His confused thoughts were interrupted by the king’s chuckling. Hop-pop focused back onto Andrias, who had gotten up, holding his shoulder. Anne must have dislocated it.

Andrias pulled out his flaming sword.

“It looks like she can’t control it.” he said with an evil smile.

Hoppadiah Planter had never seen anything remotely like what he experienced Anne do, but in that moment it did not matter. Anne wasn’t moving and she was in danger.

He ran to his granddaughter, Polly trailing behind. Fear coursed through him. He needed to make it to Anne before Andrias did.

When they got to her, she groaned, eyes closed. She looked absolutely exhausted. She looked pale and extra warm to the touch.

“C’mon Anne, get up!” he exclaimed desperately, trying to pick up Anne’s limp body. He didn’t even feel a muscle move. Once again Hop-pop felt that sickening feeling, but it was cut short.

“Anne!” a familiar voice rang out.

Hop-pop looked up and tears sprung from the corner of his eyes.

Sprig.

He was alive.

His grandson was alive! And running towards them, alive and well.

“Anne!” he cried out again, embracing Anne, who had suddenly woken up by Sprig’s voice. She leaned up a little, her eyes showed much tiredness, but also pure relief and joy.

“Sprig?” Anne said in disbelief, voice cracking.

“You’re- alive!” she said returning the embrace, tears forming. “Oh thank goodness.”

Hop-pop and Polly joined the hug. The family was back together again. It felt good to hug all of his grandchildren, comforting them. They also comforted him. Hop-pop smiled.

The haren's shrieking silented and the fire disappeared. The guilt was washed away by a wave of pure relief.

Sprig peeled himself away from the hug, facing Anne. “Marcy caught me just in time! Can you walk?”

“Marcy?” Anne asked, very confused.

Hop-pop however was not focusing on the revelation. Heavy footsteps came toward them as Andrias’s menacing shadow loomed over the family. Hop-pop’s smile instantly disappeared and his eyes enlarged as he craned his head up at the giant.

“I have to admit.” Andrias said gravely. “Even I’m surprised. Somehow you still got the gift kid. Which means…” Andrias leaned in, sword ready to strike, “I can’t let you live.”

Dread didn’t even have time to seep into Hop-pop before the ground jerked, and a loss of power rang through the castle. Andrias’s face went from angry to absolutely terrified.

Hop-pop, who was thrown momentarily into the air, fell back to the ground along with the other members of the party. He groaned, his back immediately aching. Thank goodness he didn’t land on his bad knees.

He got up slowly, finally able to see what took the castle’s power away.

Marcy.

She was on her knees holding said box with a bright, colorful portal in front of her. Hop-pop’s heart skipped a beat. Safety.

“No!” Andrias shouted, running to Marcy in a panic, leaving Hop-pop and his family alone.

Hop-pop needed to make a decision, and fast. On one hand, the portal would get his family out of Amphibia and away from the murderous king’s grasp. On the other hand, that was exactly where he would bring his family if he went with plan A. If he was smart he’d get his grandchildren as far away as possible from Andrias. Both of his options were a risk.

Luckily, he didn’t need to make the decision. Sasha did.

Sasha and Grime ran in front of the newt titan, ready for a fight.

“Go!” Sasha yelled, pointing at the portal. “Grime and I will hold him off!”

It was a funny moment for Hop-pop. The girl that tried to kill him and tear apart his family was now saving them, keeping them together. It was funny how life worked like that sometimes. It brought things full circle.

But this was not the time to contemplate these things. He needed to get his grandchildren to safety.

Anne was already struggling to get up, pain in her eyes. Hop-pop and the rest of the family helped her up, supporting her as she limped with the rest of the family to the colorful portal that meant safety. Every step Hop-pop took, closer to the portal, the moths in his stomach became more persistent, slamming the walls of his stomach. His knees decided to act up, begging him to sit down as they shook like earthquakes. The powerful glow of the interdimensional doorway got larger and larger; his hope grew alongside it.

He heard the grunts of the toad-human duo behind him, along with the angry growls of the king. Sasha and Grime were holding the newt off, but for how long? Surely a child and a single toad couldn’t hold off the titan of a king for long, not even such valiant fighters as the pair were.

Finally, the family reached Marcy, the portal right in front of them. It hummed with energy, crackles of electricity rimming it. He sucked in a breath. The amount of power was breathtaking.

Marcy snapped Hop-pop out of his temporary trance.

“Quick, into the portal everyone! Hurry!”, she cried with great urgency.

The Planters climbed in, taking great care not to go into the portal completely.

The dimensional door tickled going into it. Little bits of electricity would spurt across the part of the body going in. It felt warm and fuzzy, but not in a homy way. One that did not hurt, but felt powerful. As if the whole universe was accommodating in that small circle, giving relief, and wonder.

The white beyond made Hop-pop’s skin crawl, knowing that beyond it was an entire world that would swallow him and his family up whole. The white light hid a wild unknown, and Hopadiah Planter did not like it. But if this new world got his family away from that tyrant, then it would be worth it.

Just as Hop-pop feared, Sasha and Grime were defeated, thrown across the room. There was nothing stopping Andrias now.

“The box!” he cried as he charged towards the portal party, sword in hand and a wild look in his eyes. It unnerved him, more than the sinister grin the king wore earlier.

The king was a refined individual who was kind and kept the peace. Who was formal and always kept his stature. To see the king unhinged, angry, crazed, out of line. It wasn’t right. At least with the sinister grin, he kept his composure. He showed his power, and radiated it. This new look on the king made him afraid as he would be of a wild animal, not as a powerful and intelligent king. He felt a horrible shiver down his spine. This worried him deeply.

Marcy needed to close the portal and get in before it was too late. Anne was on the same page.

“Marcy, hurry!” Anne called above him to the unsuspecting Marcy.

Her head was still down fiddling with the box, seemingly hyper focusing.

Anne’s cry caught Marcy’s attention though, and she looked up.

“I just need to-”

A yellow glow appeared, sourcing from her chest and glowing as far as her chin. Marcy froze, her eyes as large pill bug pancakes.

Hop-pop slowly looked down, fear encasing his every bone and nerve.

Piercing through her copper armor plating, a glowing yellow sword of a certain newt hung. It had gone straight through her lanky chest.

Marcy Wu, a mere child, had been stabbed by the king of Amphibia.

Andrias just stood behind her, positioned in a stable stance, holding the sword that had cut through. His eyes were cold and merciless, not even caring about what he had just done.

“Now look what you made me do.” he said in a bone chilling tone that echoed through the silent hall.

Hop-pop’s slime coat ran dry, his throat closing in on itself. He should have been shaking, but his body had been paralized by a terrible venom. The venom of the sight before him. He knew Andrias was a murderer. But to see him stab a child in cold blood, just like that. Hop-pop simply couldn’t.

“I-I’m sorry.” Marcy finally stuttered, her voice horse. “For everything.”

Andrias’s yanked the sword out of Marcy’s chest, and she crumbled to the ground in a sprawled out heap. That’s when Hop-pop saw the music box fall out of her hands, and on the hard floor. The lid closed.

A blinding light flashed into Hop-pop’s vision, blinding him. He felt like he lost consciousness for a little as the world came back into focus.

Unusual noises once muffled came clear. Loud noises that overwhelmed the old frog.

Some of the sounds sounded like Bessie and other snails, yet more mechanical. Not to mention other loud sounds that made Hop-pop want to cover his ears. The air wasn’t clean. It smelled terrible and choked him slightly.

He groaned, opening his eyes to a new world. Above him were clouds in a blue sky. Next to him was the rest of his family, waking up alongside him. The material he was laying on was hard and slick. It was warm to the touch with a consistent vibration.

Hop-pop slowly got up, joints aching. His jaw dropped.

Surrounding him were hundreds of noisy metal boxes held up by black circles. There was also glass. Some he couldn’t see through, but the ones he could he could see other’s of Anne’s kind.

“Oh my frog-” Hop-pop finally managed to say, his mouth numb. “What is this place?”

Finally, Anne spoke up.

“Home.”

“Put back the box, or this twerp learns how to fly.” Andrias said, his voice cold and menacing.

Marcy shivered. This was not a tone she had heard Andrias use.

Calculating, yes. As king he needed to make decisions that would affect society, for better or worse. He needed to be calculated. Calm. The entire world rested on his shoulders, he needed to be smart.

His voice had always been calm or excited. Happy and kind. Not the kind of king many back on Earth would imagine.

But he was a lier.

A fake.

The entire time the king had used Marcy. She was simply a Flipwart pawn.

All of the exchanges between the two, the laughs and respect, were fake. Andrias never even liked her. He was simply biding his time to strike.

“Anne, don't!” Sprig cried, interrupting Marcy's thoughts.

Sprig, poor Sprig. Caught in the tyrant's grasp, facing his death. She calculated from the amount of time it had been, and the speed, subtracting the time with the castle powered down, it would take 37.62 seconds to hit the ground below.

Marcy looked over at Anne, her panic crystal clear. Anne needed to stay calm. When playing Flipwart you don't want to show any sign of uncertainty. Keep a poker face as people say.

“Sprig! Polly do what he says.” Anne called out quickly.

Marcy felt a little unsure. They needed to think about this decision. By putting back the box, the group was giving back the power to destroy dimensions. Starting with Earth. Marcy may have not wanted to return there, but she still cared. She wasn't heartless like another newt she knew.

The pollywog did as Anne commanded, placing the box on the pedestal sadly. Marcy frowned as the box came into contact, tightness forming in her chest. She worked on controlling her breathing, like she did with video games. Even in the face of death, she needed to be calm if she had any chance of making it out of the situation.

The sound of the castle repowering echoed through the tense room as Andrias smiled deviously. He knew he won. Marcy narrowed her eyes. She beat Andrias once, she could beat him again. She knew him better than anything in the room. She could beat him. She just needed to think.

Time skipped as suddenly she heard Anne again.

“Okay dude, you have what you want. Now please, he's my best friend. In this world or any other world.”

At this moment something felt wrong. A pit fell in her stomach as she became pale.

She knew what was going to happen.

This happened in one of her games. This was a trope in every movie.

Andrias has no reason to spare Sprig.

That small frog was going to die.

Marcy wanted to shout, but her throat had caved in on itself. She wanted to run at Andrias, but her feet had been cemented in place. All she could do was watch as Andrias dropped Sprig hundreds of miles to the hard ground below.

“That's the thing about friends isn't it? The more you love them the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate”.

Nothing could prepare Marcy for that moment. Not the video games. The movies. Not even the total realization about what was going to happen.

Her eyes became wet as she stared out the window where Sprig disappeared into.

Anne's friend.

A small innocent frog that did nothing to deserve that fate.

And a thought hit her.

This was her fault.

She caused this.

If she never used the music box, it wouldn't be in Andrias's hands.

Sprig would be alive.

Blood was on her hands because she was selfish. Stupid.

More blood would be on her hands soon. Full dimensions worth.

She had to fix this. The game was still going. She could still flip Andrias's pawn.

Sprig's fate wasn't final. If she learned anything from her movies and games, it was that fate could be changed.

Just like in “War of the Warlocks”, good could win even in the most impossible situation.

She was going to save Sprig. She just needed a plan. And fast. Marcy calculated she had 31.3 seconds at this point.

She needed a distraction of some kind. But what could work? Andrias was smart, he'd know if something was up.

And that's when a miracle happened.

Marcy snapped back to reality to see Anne on all fours, a glowing blue substance flowing around her. Andrias's eyes were fixated on her, full of shock and fear.

Marcy looked at the window to her right. This was her chance. She looked back at Anne. She didn't know what was happening to her friend, but it was exactly what Marcy needed.

She needed to start to make up for her mistakes.

With adrenaline pulsing through her veins, she ran to the window. Behind her, a frobot shot a red laser, narrowly missing her. Marcy didn't stop though. She jumped out the window, into the open red sky. The wind rushed through her cloak. Marcy wanted to scream, but she refocused. Determination flowing through her she whistled for Joe Sparrow, hoping he'd hear.

The loyal steed came a split second later and she landed safely on his saddle. She steered downwards, shooting towards the ground at a speed faster then she had ever traveled. Marcy had lost track of time at this point, but she just hoped she'd make it in time.

Finally she saw a tiny pink blob down below. Sprig!

“C’mon Joe! Faster!” Marcy said, gritting her teeth.

Tears streamed down her face at the speed. The small frog was getting closer and closer to her, but he was also getting much closer to the ground.

She couldn’t let him just die like this. There would be no one to blame but herself.

Sprig’s eyes were shut, but the sound of Joe’s caw unlatched them. He opened his mouth, but no sound left it. He reached his arm out, fear in his eyes. Sprig was mere seconds away from his death.

The ground was so close, they weren’t going to make it…

That was when Joe surprised her.

The sparrow suddenly swooped up away from the ground.

Marcy cried out. “Joe what are you doing-!”

She looked below frantically and saw…Sprig wasn’t there.

“Sprig?!” Marcy called out, looking around, confused where the pink frog disappeared to.

“Marcy!” a weak yet surprised voice cried from below her.

She looked down to see Sprig safely in Joe’s claws. Joe had extended his claws, grabbing Sprig at the last second.

“Joe Sparrow! You amazing, amazing steed!” Marcy cried, hugging Joe’s neck as they flew back up to the castle.

Marcy couldn’t help but grin for a moment. It was just like in the movies. The character was saved, and now was a moment of glory.

It wasn’t until the trio reached the window that reality hit her like a train.

The room was quiet, but some of the castle’s infrastructure was destroyed. Anne was laying on the floor passed out, and Andiras’s had bruises and scratches everywhere, crown removed. He was limping over to Anne, sword in hand. The rest of the group was several feet away, clearly in shock.

Marcy jumped off Joe and helped Sprig back inside. Everyone was still distracted. This was the perfect chance to snatch the box and get everyone to safety.

She nodded in determination before quickly sneaking over to the box. She took a moment to make sure attention was diverted away before grabbing the box from its pedestal.

The castle jerked and Marcy nearly lost her balance. She was amazed that she was able to stay up. But she needed to stay focused. She ran to the edge of the hall, as far away from Andrias as she could before focusing on the box.

Her hands trembled and sweat as she started the commands to activate a portal. The box was warm from its power, but she didn’t mind.

She felt a strong need to throw up as she worked. Opening a portal to Earth was easy.

Soon she opened the box and a blue glow appeared in front of her. The portal was open. However, that portal could send her friends anywhere. South America. Antarctica. The middle of the ocean. She needed to make sure the portal landed in a safe spot, close to home.

Creating the coordinates however was quite complicated. One wrong tap and she’d send everyone to the North Pole instead of America.

She closed the box so she could continue to insert commands.

“C’mon, c’mon. Please work!” she squeaked.

Everything disappeared and it was just her and the box. She got the coordinates to the continent of North America and was working on getting it to the area of California.

As soon as she got that she heard Anne and the Planter’s tired pants, snapping her back into reality. They were running over, and Andrias was fighting Sasha and Grime. Marcy knew those two couldn’t hold the king off for long. Anne and the rest of the family needed to get in the dimensional door.

“Hurry, into the portal everyone!” she cried, pointing to the energy driven doorway.

She wanted to gaze into its power. The colors. The strange substance of it. She wanted to observe it. Study it even. But now was not the time. She needed to focus.

She homed in on the box, sweat dripping down her neck. Her cloak and armor suddenly felt heavy and suffocating.

She calculated it finally to somewhere around LA if her memory served her right. Now she needed to make sure they landed right in LA, and not on some freeway where they could get run over. She kept taping, putting in commands. She was so close. Now she knew for sure they’d land in LA. She wasn’t entirely sure how to put them in an exact spot. She started to make sure they’d teleport safely on the ground. She just finished that when Anne’s voice broke her concentration.

“Marcy, hurry!”

Marcy heard the urgency in her voice, but Marcy was so close to getting the coordinates! All she needed was to get them off a freeway.

“I just need to-!”

Her voice was cut off.

Cut off by an unimaginable pain stemming from her chest.

She wanted to scream, cry, collapse. But she couldn’t. She was frozen. Frozen in monumental pain.

The world blurred, but she saw Anne and the Planter’s staring at her in absolute horror. First her face, and then down to her chest.

She brought her head down just slightly. It felt as if it was strapped in place. Yet she was able to move.

That’s when she saw it.

The end of a glowing yellow sword.

Andrias’s sword.

Going through her chest.

She was stabbed by the king of Amphibia.

“Now look what you made me do.” came Andrias’s muffled voice from behind her.

Finally her eyes became wet from tears.

The world was going in and out. Warm blood began to gurgle up into her mouth. She could barely think, her mind had gone almost completely blank. She began to experience tunnel vision. With each blink, it was harder to open again.

She looked back up at Anne’s wide eyes.

“I-I’m sorry.” Marcy choked, her voice scarily hoarse. Each letter brought another wave of pain through her entire body.

“For everything.”

At that moment she felt Andrias’s pull the sword out of her body. It felt like a chunk of her body was gone. She gasped as she sucked in air. This hurt even worse.

Her only support had vanished and the world began to turn. She felt herself sip out of consciousness.

She wasn’t sure, but she thought she heard Anne shout something.

‘Please stay safe,’ Marcy thought before slipping into the cold blackness that swallowed her whole.

Andrias

“Put back the box, or this twerp learns how to fly.” Andrias said.

Inside he was fuming. To think those little… worms , could take back the box. The thing that he worked his entire life to get back. The item that was in his birthright. That would bring greatness to civilization. That power was his. No creature, not even three from another world, could take it from him.

He would please his lord and make amends. No matter what it took. And that included killing a small, annoying, insignificant frog. Well, insignificant to him. However this was not true for the rest of the creatures in the room.

The human girl, Anne, had froze, staring at Sprig in horror.

“Anne, don’t!” the pink frog cried as he dangled over the castle’s edge in Andias’s hands.

A flame of anger ignited in him as he squeezed Sprig. He disliked this frog greatly. Not just from his inferior status, or his annoying voice. But he looked very familiar.

Andrias blinked and suddenly in his hand was Leif. She looked into his eyes, begging him to let her go. He blinked again and Sprig was back.

Sprig looked so similar to Leif, it scared Andrias. He had her eyes and color. Their personalities were similar to. They were both happy-go-lucky and adventurous, along with being very loyal.

However, Leif's loyalty did not last long.

No, Andrias did not like this frog. When Sprig first walked in he thought for a moment Leif had returned to haunt him. But it was just another farming frog.

Andrias had no problem teasing Sprig’s death. Not one bit.

“Sprig!” Anne cried. “Polly, do what he says.”

This was the exact response Andrias expected. Anne was so predictable. He was quite sure the stone of heart chose her, and for good reason. Her loved ones were more important than anything to her. She’d do anything to keep them safe.

This flaw would be her downfall though. To play smart and win you had to consider everyone expendable. If you form no bonds, those bonds can’t be used against you and tie you up.

The small pollywog put back the box, and the sweet melody of power returned to the castle. Andrias smiled.

Once again he was one step ahead of everyone. He was the most powerful newt in the universe. Nothing could stop him with the box in his clutches.

He had won.

“Okay dude, you have what you wanted. Now please, give him back. He’s my best friend!” Anne called to Andrias in desperation. “In this world, or any other world.”

“Anne…” Sprig replied, smiling.

A deep anger rose in Andrias.

These two had such a strong relationship. The two…worms.

He looked at Sprig. Flashbacks of Leif and her laugh. Her touch. Her strange dance she made up.

The pain of her loss.

It flooded through him.

For days he sat on his bed crying, raging.

Leif cost him everything.

His best friend.

Gone.

Thief.

Traitor.

He wanted that girl to feel the pain he felt. He wanted everyone to feel it. That incredible loss. He wanted to inflict it on the world.

Sprig had become Leif again, her eyes begging him.

He wanted to drop her.

Cut her loose.

She wanted Leif to pay.

For those who tried to stop him to hurt.

He looked back into Anne’s scared eyes, his face stony.

“That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love them the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate.”

And with that, Andrias released his right hand, releasing the frog into the open sky.

The room froze.

No words left anyone’s mouths.

No screams.

Just loss.

The group just stared, dumbfounded, eyes tearing.

The Andrias looked at Anne, and couldn’t help but smile smugly.

The human was on the floor, breathing hard as tears spilled.

It felt good to show someone that loss. To inflict it.

He wanted to feel like he got rid of Leif, but no matter how hard he tried, all he saw was Sprig. Not the one he wanted so desperately to get rid of. To forget.

But for now, he could simply enjoy the pain of the rebels. Especially Anne’s.

That was when he heard it.

A flicker of power, growing faster and faster. Andrias looked over to the box to see the blue gem blinking, letting out a blue aura. It created a trail floating…to the human.

The aura surrounded her before creating a dome around her.

The gem was powering up Anne.

“She’s still connected to the stone! But that's impossible…” Andrias muttered.

He didn’t understand. The ancient texts said that by powering up the gems, the heroes would give up their power. Loose connection to the stone. Yet somehow, Anne hung onto it.

He stared at the girl on the ground in fear. Her hair now glowed a radiant blue with leaves and branches littering it.

Andrias was frozen, unable to do anything. This was bad. He couldn’t do anything to stop it.

Finally Anne got up, eyes on the floor.

“Give him back.” she said, her voice layered in a way that put a shiver down his spine.

“Give. Him Back!” she screeched, exploding in a beam of light, destroying the robots around her.

Anne was nowhere in sight. Andrias looked around frantically, suddenly able to move.

“Where’d she go-!”

Anne suddenly appeared out of nowhere punching him squarely in the face.

Finally he saw her face. Her eyes were an icy blue that stared into his heart. Her face was full of anger. That wanted amends to be made. However, Andrias detected signs of pain. The loss he had caused.

Andrias felt his crown fly off of him as he heard the others gasp in shock.

Anne stole the box’s power. His power. That he was entitled to. And Andrias realized that now Anne had the power to stop him. To keep him from returning Amphibia to greatness. She was the one thing in between him and glory. She had to be stopped at any cost.

Enraged, he returned his balance, connecting his two hands into a giant fist. Using his entire body weight he slammed his fist down onto the ground where Anne was crouching. However he felt nothing but cold hard brick beneath his hands. When he brought them up, Andrias confirmed his suspicions. Anne was not there.

A single glowing orange leaf fell in front of him. He looked up to see Anne was on the ceiling looking down at him. She crouched down, a blue aura spawned, blazing around her.

Andrias stared at her emotionless eyes as he trembled in rage. His vision narrowed, focusing just on the glowing blue human.

With that, she jumped down, disappearing with a spark of energy.

“Fire!” Andrias cried to his robots, pointing to where Anne was.

She reappeared as the robots fired, yet she avoided the hundreds of lasers with speed and accuracy. She screamed a battle cry, fist rocketing right at him.

He put his arm out, spawning his shield just in time. Anne made contact, creating an explosion of blue around them. She pushed him down, but Andrias held his ground, shield not being broken. There was one good thing coming from his robotics that ran through his body.

Anne continued to push as Andrias struggled to stay up. His eyes widened as his shield began to crack and give way. He roared at her in anger. He would not let a 13 year old beat him. He was the mighty king of Amphibia! With the box, he was all powerful.

Unfortunately, his roar seems to have made Anne angrier. Her eyes narrowed in concentration and the branches in her hair grew. Finally she opened her hand, letting out a huge blast of energy, breaking the shield and sending Andrias flying.

He fell on his back, lights flickering throughout his vision. For a moment he felt disconnected from himself. Andrias could hardly think straight. Until everything came rushing back. He shook his head, trying to get the last of the disconnection off before staring at the human before him.

She was standing there, staring at him with a single tear coming out of her eye. This child, this child had beat him with barely a fight. She was the gem’s champion.

“Give him back.” she said again quietly, the tear rolling down her cheek.

Suddenly it seemed like she was losing balance, trying to stay conscious.

“Give him- back.”

With those last words Anne lost her blue glow and she fell onto the floor, out cold.

Hope wheeled through Andrias. The girl was down. She could only hold her powers for so long.

“It looks like she can’t control it.” Andrias said to himself, smiling.

He pulled out his sword, activating it as he got up. He felt his shoulder fritzing out, causing pain. He held it, but refused to show any weakness.

He slowly stomped over to the girl as her frog family rushed over in panic. His eyes narrowed. Once he had finished the girl, he would kill the family. Those frogs had caused too much trouble, and Andrias wanted all of them gone. He was considering keeping them in imprisonment, allowing them to stay in mourning of the pink one. However, after Anne’s show, he was done with these ‘Planters’. He wanted them gone so they would never get in his way again.

“Anne!”

Andrias froze. He knew that voice. That high-pitched irksome voice.

It was Sprig.

He looked to his left to see the small frog run over, calling Anne’s name again.

Impossible! That infuriating little frog was dead. Gone forever. Dropped out of a window never to be seen again. One of the local wildlife would pick up the body, and that would truly be the end of Sprig Planter.

The girl…

The voice hissed in his head. Right, the girl. That human needed to die. She was the one thing standing in between him and Earth. He would deal with Sprig later.

The family had been united, tears all around. It sickened Andrias. He wanted to destroy the family. Tear them apart. Wipe them off the face of the universe. He needed to keep his calm though, just like in Flipwart.

He walked up to the family, who looked up at him in fear.

“I’ll admit, even you surprised me. Somehow you still have the gift kid.” Andrias said, eyeing Anne.

“Which means I can’t let you live.”

Suddenly the castle jerked and the sound of power loss filled the castle. Andrias’s eyes widened in fear.

“What-?”

Andrias looked around to see none other than Marcy Wu on the other side of the hall holding the box. In front of her was a bright, colorful circle. A portal.

Immediately he forgot about Anne, Sprig, the Planters. He needed to stop Marcy and get back the box. He would not fail!

“No!” he cried, running to Marcy, sword in hand. He would do whatever it took to get that box back.

That’s when the blonde human and toad general ran in front of him, swords in hand. They were ready for a fight.

“Me and Grime will hold him. Just go!” Sasha cried to the others.

Andrias squeezed the sword hilt. This was not the time for this! He needed to get past these worms. It would not be hard though. They were small and insignificant. They would have no chance against the mighty king of Newtopia.

Andrias threw down his blade at Sasha, who easily dodged. He noticed Grime taking the distraction and ran at him, hopping up ready to strike with his hammer on Andrias’s left. Using his hand he pushed the toad general down and he fell with an ‘umph’. Sasha had tried to jump over his boot to make a blow, however her feeble legs did not allow her. He slashed his sword at her again, following with a punch to the ground where Sasha had leapt to. Sasha fell to the floor, rolling away before impact. Grime hit Andrias again in the ankle, but he threw the toad at the wall using his tail, down for the count. Sasha ran at Andrias again, but with her being his only focus he easily punched her, then threw her out of the way with his tail.

“The box!” he shouted, now able to reach Marcy and the dimensional door.

He couldn’t let one thousand years go to waste. He couldn’t lose the box again.

Yet again another individual whom he let in to close stabbed him in the back. The core was right. Friendships only last so long before they betray you. He never should have let Marcy get too close. Never should have let down those walls enough for her to squeeze through.

Flashbacks of Leif filled his mind. Of all the fond memories he had tried so hard to wipe away. Soon though they were replaced with Leif holding the box, running away. Destroying his world.

He was getting closer to her. He needed to stop Leif from getting the box. No matter what it took…

He rammed the sword into her chest, breathing heavily as he came to a stop.

Reality seeped back into his vision. There, where Leif had been, was Marcy. Sword driven into her back.

He had stabbed Marcy.

Immediately panic flooded through him. No! He did not mean to do this!

Andrias!

An angry voice hissed in him. What was he thinking? This girl betrayed him. Tried to destroy all of his hard work. He didn’t care about her. If he ever did, that compassion was gone now. He did what he needed to do to put the box back into his hands. If that meant stabbing Marcy, so be it.

“Now look what you made me do.” Andrias said, shifting the blame on Marcy.

The girl’s friends stared at her in an utter loss for words. For a moment, everything was still. Quiet.

Until Marcy attempted to speak.

“I-I’m sorry…” she said quietly.

Enough was enough. Andrias yanked the sword out of her tiny body as she finished.

“For everything…”

Marcy fell into a crumpled heap, the box falling to the floor. A white flash came from the portal and when it cleared, Anne and the frogs had vanished.

It was not good that the human got away. Despite her time limit on her powers, she still was a threat.

His eyes landed on the box.

It didn’t matter though.

Andrias had the box.

He had won.

Sprig

“Put back the box or this twerp learns how to fly.”

Sprig had been separated from the rest of the group, making him perfect for the taking when the rest was distracted. He was so surprised when a large blue hand closed around him, he couldn't even make a sound.

The view from Andrias's height was amazing. He could see the entire throne room. Everyone looked so small. No wonder Andrias didn't think much of them. From where he was, everyone looked like colorful flies.

Sprig snapped out of his trance when Andrias began to speak though. He realized how heavy this situation was. Finally, they had the box in their grasps. Polly held it above the pedestal with her tiny fingers, though her face was full of horror.

Andrias brought him out the window into the open red sky. He refused to look down so he focused on a familiar face from down below. Anne’s face was one of absolute loss. He knew Anne.

“Anne, don’t!”

The hand around Sprig closed in, squeezing him. He pressed his eyes shut, grunting in pain. He could barely breath as his lungs struggled to fill with air.

“Sprig! Polly, do what he says.”

Sprig opened his eyes to see Polly gently putting the box back in its place. The castle powered up and the clouds started moving down instead of up.

He looked down sadly, but there was nothing he could do on the matter. Though he tried not to think of it, he was terrified of the consequences of disobeying Andrias.

Andrias. Sprig had looked up at him, not just because of his height. He was his king, a king that had brought peace to Amphibia for a thousand years. However, once Sprig meant the old king, Sprig respected him even more. He was so kind and helpful. He was truly a bringer of peace.

But it was all lies.

He was a power hungry ruler that wanted to destroy worlds, including the one Anne came from. He couldn’t let that happen.

“Okay dude, you have what you want.” Anne’s voice projected up. Sprig refocused on her. “Now please, put him down. He’s my best friend. In this world, or any other world.”

Sprig felt his eyes water as a smile spread on his face. He wanted so bad to run up to her and give her the biggest hug ever. His heart grew at her kind words. She couldn’t say what he felt, and all he could muster out was ”Anne..”

For a moment, Sprig forgot about the harrowing danger. For a moment, it was just Spranne against the world.

“That’s the thing about friends isn’t it? The more you love them the more it hurts when they go. Allow me to demonstrate.”

It took a split second for Sprig’s brain to register what those words meant. And a split second for Andrias to open his hand, leaving Sprig defenseless to the merciless force of gravity.

He didn’t even see his family’s expression. It was just an endless sky and clouds.

Sprig couldn’t even think. He screamed as tears flew past his face. He squeezed his eyes shut as he fell hundred of miles to the ground. The speed hurt. The wind was harsh and cold against his slime coat.

It felt like he had been falling for hours until his throat hurt and his body acclimated enough where he could think, think about his life. Hop-pop. Polly. Anne. Even his crush, Ivy.

“You got it Hop-pop! I’ll defend this cart with my LIIIIFE!”

“You're the best sister I could ask for.”

“You're a hero! An ugly ugly ugly hero!”

“She didn’t just steal the shell, she stole my heart.”

“You… You mean it? I have to admit, most of my ideas were pretty terrible. I think we even caused permanent damage to the ecosystem.”

“Us? Are you kidding? We’re way too good of a team.”

“Spranne against the world!”

Sprig was so caught up in these memories he didn’t hear the flap of wings or see a small spec coming closer and closer until she heard the grunts of a familiar voice. He opened his eyes to see Marcy with the wind blowing through her cloak, desperately reaching out for him on Joe Sparrow’s back. He reached out, his eyes squinting from the wind. He didn’t dare look below him, but he could tell by Marcy’s urgency he didn’t have much time.

Suddenly Joe’s claws jumped in front of him, circling around his shoulders. Just like that he jerked upwards, the clouds slowly moving down.

“Sprig?!” Marcy’s frantic voice came from above.

“Marcy!” Sprig called weakly back up to her. She leaned over and Sprig saw her scared but soon relieved face.

Sprig smiled, tears spilling out of his eyes.

As Sprig was brought up into the sky, his hopes were lifted too. He was going to see Anne and his family again! This wasn’t the end.

When they reached the window, Marcy hopped off inside the castle, and helped Sprig in. He was still quite shaky from his fall. However his strength returned immediately when he saw Anne passed out on the floor with his family surrounding her.

“Anne!” he cried, running to her.

His eyes teared up again as his heart widened, wanting to embrace her.

Anne slowly got up and Sprig called her name again, embracing her. It felt good. More than good. Sprig thought he’d never touch, let alone hug his best friend again. The one that changed his life forever.

“Sprig? You’re…alive!” Anne said finally, wrapping her arms around him, joining in on the hug. “Oh thank goodness.”

And all was right in the world. Hop-pop and Polly followed suit and everyone was in one big embrace. Sprig wanted it to be like this forever. To keep hugging, enjoying his family’s presence. But all good things needed to come to an end.

He pulled away, giving an explanation to Anne.

“Marcy caught me just in time! Can you walk?”

Anne looked tired and weak. He didn’t know what happened, but she was hurt.

“Marcy…?” Anne asked, confused. Before she could say more, they were interrupted with thunderous steps coming to the group.

Sprig looked up and gulped. There was Andrias, shrouded in shadows with his sword providing a weak yet eerie glow. Something had happened to him though. The king was bruised and cut all over, and he was in pain. Despite that, Sprig couldn’t help but be absolutely terrified of the giant. In that moment he wanted to bolt out of the room before the newt could pick him up and take care of him for good. However, his attention was not on Sprig, but on Anne.

“I’ll admit, even you surprised me. Somehow you still got the gift kid.”

Sprig did not like these implications, though he had no idea what Andrias was talking about.

Then Andrias’s tone turned dark as he positioned to strike. “Which means I can’t let you live.”

Sprig realized Andrias was about to kill Anne when the floor jerked beneath him. He fell on his back but was able to catch himself with his arms. He grunted, not in pain, but simply in surprise. Sprig heard the familiar sound of the castle powering down. He looked out a window to see the clouds moving upwards. The castle was falling, which means the box must have been removed.

“What?” Andrias said in surprise looking away.

Marcy! Sprig realized. With the attention diverted away from her, she could grab the box. Sprig heard a strange noise. coming from the other side of the room that sounded powerful.

“No!” Andrias cried, running to the source of the noise.

He was quickly stopped though by a human and a toad running in front of him. Sasha held up her two haren swords with a face of anger while Grime held his hammer, powered up. The two were ready to battle the tyrant. Sprig looked at the duo in surprise.

“Me and Grime will hold him, just go!” Sasha called at the group, pointing her sword at the now visible portal.

Sprig couldn’t believe it. Sasha and Grime. The two that had wanted to kill Hop-pop and nearly killed him. They had lied and tricked them. They had started a toad rebellion. Now the two were now going to fight a battle they were sure to lose to save the Planters.

Anne nodded in determination, struggling to get up. Hop-pop helped her up as they speed walked. Sprig kept a close eye on his friend, still worried about her health.

The interdimensional door was breathtaking. It was filled with all the colors of the rainbow with sparks of lightning coming from it. It was powerful, and slightly scary as Sprig got closer to it. This was the thing that brought Anne to Amphibia, and he didn’t know how he felt about it. What Sprig did know was that the portal would bring him, his family, and Anne to safety. And with Marcy manning it, they were sure to end up somewhere safe.

“Quick, into the portal everyone! Hurry!” Marcy cried, getting out of the way for the group to climb in.

The doorway tickled as he got in, making him giggle slightly. It felt as if little bits of lightning were running across his slime coat. Sprig made sure not to put his head in though he was still nervous about the other side of the portal. Meanwhile the sounds of the battle continued, but over time it sounded more and more hopeless for the toad general and human lieutenant. Once he was situated he saw Grime and Marcy getting taken out, their bodies slamming against a brick wall.

“The box!” Andras cried, running at the portal.

His eyes were wide in anger, fear, and determination. His sword was in hand and he ran with such strength despite his numerous injuries. Marcy was in front of the portal, still fiddling with the music box.

“Marcy, hurry!” Anne called to her with great urgency to Sprig’s right.

“I just need to-”

Shing

Marcy froze, her skin pale and her pupils as tiny as gnats. Sprig’s eyes drifted down to the glowing sword which it’s end was in front of Marcy’s chest.

Andrias had just stabbed Marcy through the back.

Sprig's body went ice cold. Another person was being killed by Andrias. But this time, there was no one to save Marcy.

Sprig had never felt so helpless. Marcy saved him, gave him a second chance. And he couldn't do the same for her.

Two deaths.

One was a fake out. The other one, real.

“Now look what you made me do.” Andrias said from behind the silent Marcy.

Sprig wanted to scream and cry and attack Andrias and run away all at the same time. So many times had Andrias attempted to take a life. He made it seem so simple.

This newt wasn't a king. He didn't even deserve the title tyrant.

Andrias was a murderer.

After what seemed to be an eternity later, Marcy opened her mouth, eyes locked into Anne.

“I-I'm sorry. For everything…”

With that, the sword was pulled out of Marcy's body and she fell to the floor.

“Marcy!” Anne cried after Marcy as the world turned blinding white.

Sprig squeezed his eyes shut, unable to move beyond that. Then he felt a world form around him. Sounds became louder, a breeze blew, and a hard but slick surface formed below him. He groaned, slowly getting up and opening his eyes.

All around him were metallic boxes with windows. Everywhere was simply loud. With the rumbling of thunder despite clear skies and snail sounds but much, much louder. The air was thick and gross and made Sprig’s eyes sting. Beyond the metallic boxes was rectangular buildings, some towering high into the clouds.

“Oh my frog…” Sprig started.

“What is this place?” Hop-pop finished.

Sprig could hardly comprehend the world around him.

Finally Anne spoke up.

“Home.”

how uoehifgedbvpv so gud

Ahh!! This is really good I love the detail and the voice in the writing!

how do you write so amazingly? I love it!

Wow..The details and everything, it was as if I was truly there with sprig. The emotions felt so real..I hope you continue these! They’re turning out so goo ^^

Aaaaah I wish I could write like this—

Wow! So emotional and amazing! Please do more!

-PeachySketches- wrote:

Wow! So emotional and amazing! Please do more!

I'm sorry, but the fanfiction is officially finished But thank you so much for enjoying it!

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

how do you write so amazingly? I love it!

A /lot/ of practice. I've been writing for 9 years now! I've learned overtime how to write characters and create suspense. Trust me, the stories I wrote two years ago are terrible compared to thsi haha. And they were original pieces, and this is just fanfiction!

dragonbird99 wrote:

Aaaaah I wish I could write like this—

I sugest practicing! Fanfiction is a great place to start as you don't have to create characters or a world as much.
It takes a lot of time and practice to. It's taken me nine years to get to this point, so don't feel dicouraged if your first pieces don't turn out great. Just get to know the characters and let them do what they want to do

This is amazing!!!!

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

dragonbird99 wrote:

Aaaaah I wish I could write like this—

I sugest practicing! Fanfiction is a great place to start as you don't have to create characters or a world as much.
It takes a lot of time and practice to. It's taken me nine years to get to this point, so don't feel dicouraged if your first pieces don't turn out great. Just get to know the characters and let them do what they want to do

But did you make the rest?

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

how do you write so amazingly? I love it!

A /lot/ of practice. I've been writing for 9 years now! I've learned overtime how to write characters and create suspense. Trust me, the stories I wrote two years ago are terrible compared to thsi haha. And they were original pieces, and this is just fanfiction!

Wow that's along time and super cool to learn about you! But i was wondering, if can answer this, what are some good ways to pick names for character's in a book?

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

how do you write so amazingly? I love it!

A /lot/ of practice. I've been writing for 9 years now! I've learned overtime how to write characters and create suspense. Trust me, the stories I wrote two years ago are terrible compared to thsi haha. And they were original pieces, and this is just fanfiction!

Wow that's along time and super cool to learn about you! But i was wondering, if can answer this, what are some good ways to pick names for character's in a book?

Sorry for late reply, Scratch isn't telling me when there are new posts lol. I usually will think of a certain vibe I'd like the name to be like or a category, and loo up names with that vibe, or category. Sometimes I have to look through several websites, or combine names to get the one I like!

ESPEONDABIKER wrote:

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

dragonbird99 wrote:

Aaaaah I wish I could write like this—

I sugest practicing! Fanfiction is a great place to start as you don't have to create characters or a world as much.
It takes a lot of time and practice to. It's taken me nine years to get to this point, so don't feel dicouraged if your first pieces don't turn out great. Just get to know the characters and let them do what they want to do

But did you make the rest?

Wdym? I mean this is the entire series, and I did make all of it…?

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

MythicalBookWorm wrote:

AxolotlDrinkingBoba wrote:

how do you write so amazingly? I love it!

A /lot/ of practice. I've been writing for 9 years now! I've learned overtime how to write characters and create suspense. Trust me, the stories I wrote two years ago are terrible compared to thsi haha. And they were original pieces, and this is just fanfiction!

Wow that's along time and super cool to learn about you! But i was wondering, if can answer this, what are some good ways to pick names for character's in a book?

Sorry for late reply, Scratch isn't telling me when there are new posts lol. I usually will think of a certain vibe I'd like the name to be like or a category, and loo up names with that vibe, or category. Sometimes I have to look through several websites, or combine names to get the one I like!

No worries, it happens with me sometimes And wow! That's a good idea! Thanks for all the great advice and for writing this story, it was truly amazing and really pulled me on the first few words! Thank you again!