What a beautiful day it is, Toadstool said to himself as he walked down the road of Wartwood, cane in hand. Reaching over the small wooden fence to his right, he picked a single stalk of wheat and placed one end in his mouth. He took a deep breath and inflated his vocal sac before releasing a sigh. "Ah... Just breathe in that country air, Toadie. I can't believe I'm saying it, but this town's kinda growing on me," the mayor said.
"Okay, sir. Item one: some potholes need filling, but the money we have left is supposed to buy us that…" Toadie lowered his voice to a whisper. "...swanky new Jacuzzi."
"Hmm... You know what, Toadie?" Toadstool said, having a better idea of where the funds should go. "You go ahead and fill those holes."
This answer completely shocked the little frog, who dropped his clipboard. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Toadie jumped on his face. "Who are you, and what have you done with my beautiful Mayor?!" he yelled, his face crazed and worried.
"Get a hold of yourself, Toadie," Toadstool said, pulling the little frog off his face. "What the hell's gotten into you?"
"What's gotten into me? You haven't been yourself in a month!" Toadie exclaimed. "You're actually…caring for this town?"
"Well…" Toadstool began, looking away as he thought about his answer. "It's just, ever since we saved a couple of lives at Toad Tower, people have been seeing me a little differently. And, well, frog dang it, it's rubbing off on me."
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a rope snapping. A pair of frogs cried out, and the mayor and his assistant turned their heads. Two frogs were attempting to set up their stand, but one of the ropes snapped. The shop's fabric canopy would have fallen if the two hadn't grabbed onto the others, but they struggled to pull the canopy back up.
"Toadie, grab the other side!" Toadstool said. He ran over and helped out one frog while his assistant hopped to the other. Together, they pulled as hard as they could. Together, they pulled the canopy open.
When it was over, Toadstool sighed and wiped the sweat from his brow. A snap on his back made him yelp. Looking to his left, he saw that it was one of the two frogs he had helped. "Thanks, Mayor," he said.
"Good ol' Mayor," the lady frog said, shaking his hand. At the same time, the rest of the town emerged after witnessing their once-honorable mayor do something for the family.
"We didn't vote for him, but he turned out okay," commented Mrs. Croaker.
The more they cheered and praised him, the more Toadstool's heart grew. This was why he'd changed so much. He wasn't lying when he told Toadie about this change of heart from Toad Tower. Saving everyone from the crumbling fort and carrying them to safety stirred something within him. Instead of his greed and desire to indulge himself, Toadstool felt a need to help the community he governed. Having the love and respect of his citizens felt far more rewarding than having a Jacuzzi.
Just as Toadstool was about to thank everyone for their praises, a creature's growl approached them. Turning his head, the mayor saw that it was a large covered carriage being pulled by an alligator snapping turtle the size of a small car. Driven by two newt knights in full armor, the carriage was ornate and decorative, bearing the footprint of Amphibia on its curtains. And there were arrows shot into it.
Toadstool immediately knew that it was a royal carriage from Newtopia.
It pulled in front of the crowd and came to a stop. Everyone looked with curiosity. They hadn't seen a carriage like this, nor were they expecting to see one anytime soon. With the FLA still a major threat and holding total control of the valley, the frogs didn't think a newt from the king's court would dare come their way.
And yet, walking out of that carriage was a short and portly newt with purple skin who wore scholarly clothing and footprint-shaped marks on her cheeks.
"Mayor Toadstool, I presume," she asked, walking up to the wide-eyed mayor. "I am Jacinda, official emissary of Newtopia. We have come to discuss… "
She shot the toad a dark expression.
"...The events of Toad Tower."
Toadstool quickly moved the emissary and her escort to the city hollow, both to provide them privacy and because the last thing he needed was for Jacinda to be seen by anyone else. If the FLA saw her, they'd come back.
"Why, sure. I may have been to Toad Tower that day," Toadstool said to Jacinda, who had taken over his chair and placed her feet on it, relegating him to the same small stool that Toadie would use. His little assistant was hiding behind him, looking at Jacinda with big pleading eyes while his boss tried to talk his way out of their situation. "But I had nothing to do—"
"Enough prattle," said Jacinda, holding up her hand. "I didn't come all this way, risking my life coming into the valley, just to hear you prattling, so let's get right to... the point."
She pulled out a dagger, making Toadstool and Toadie whimper in fear. However, instead of attacking them, the guard to her left handed her an official-looking scroll, which she used the dagger to cut the seal. Stabbing the weapon into the desk, she cleared her throat and unrolled the document.
"By order of Newtopia," she said to Toadstool. "I hereby decree that Mayor Froderick Toadstool has been appointed the new Head Toad of Toad Tower."
Both the mayor and his assistant were left in complete shock as one guard played fanfare on a trumpet and the other popped a confetti popper over the two.
"I... I don't understand," Toadstool stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Me? I'm going to be…Head Toad?
Jacinda's expression remained stern as she continued, "Of course. With Captain Grime gone, we need someone we can trust against the FLA. They're becoming a more serious problem. One that's too large to ignore, and from what we've heard, you're the toad for the job."
The emissary clapped her hands, and the guards brought over a silvery-blue wooden chest with seastars at the bottom and a seashell lock. The two newts placed it down and opened it, revealing a pile of golden coins and gems housed inside.
"Frog in heaven," Toadstool gasped in shock and awe at the sight of so much money. It was more than he made in a year!
"Right... A lot of money," Jacinda said, popping up from behind Toadstool's right shoulder, furthering her attempts to sweeten the deal. "Imagine, weeks of dodging bandits to get it here safe and sound. For you, Toadstool. Anyway, this money is used to rebuild the Toad Tower. But who's to say that's all it's for, hmm?"
She pulled a copper coin from her sleeve, making Toadstool's eyes widen more than before. When the emissary placed the coin in his coat pocket, the now-former mayor giggled and blushed.
"So pack your bags," Jacinda said, getting off Toadstool and using her guard as a step stool. "We leave at sundown."
"Will do—wait, leave?" Toadstool asked, snapping out of his greed and looking at Jacinda with a puzzled expression. "As in leave Wartwood?"
"Uh, yeah," Jacinda said, as if it were obvious. "You didn't think we were gonna build the tower here, did you?"
For a moment, Toadstool was silent. He didn't know why he was. He should be jumping for joy and cheering. This was everything he'd ever wanted. He and Toadie even made a vision board. With Grime gone, Toadstool was finally going to leave this crummy town and rule the valley as he saw fit. Tax as high as he wanted, eat any luxury food he wanted, sleep with as many women and father as many bastards as he wanted, and he'd have the respect and admiration he longed for. It was everything he'd wanted…
…four months ago.
This was everything Toadstool would have wanted four months ago. But now, it wasn't. A month ago, something happened. A month ago, he'd saved his citizen from disaster, and it changed him. He no longer saw his citizens as a burden but as people who looked up to him. The toad took his responsibilities as mayor more seriously. The incident with the radical FLA showed that everyone wanted him to remain their mayor.
Chuckling a bit, Toadstool finally worked up the courage to ask, "Yeah, hypothetically, what would happen if I refused?" Toadie was shocked that he would ask that, while Jacinda was far less amused by the question.
"You'd find yourself rotting in one of the deepest, darkest dungeons in all of Amphibia," she told him in a deep, dark voice. Her voice then returned to normal. "Hypothetically."
Toadie quickly jumped in and yelled, "He accepts. He accepts!"
"Great. The job is yours. Pending an evaluation. Toodles." And with that, Jacinda left with her guards following behind her.
The moment the doors closed, however, Toadie looked at his boss with a mix of shock and anger. "Sir! What in frog hell's name are you doing? A gig like this is all you've wanted. Look at our vision board. Look at it!"
Toadie walked over to the board and yanked off the cover, pointing at it while furiously glaring at Toadstool.
Toadstool waved his hands to calm the little frog. "I know. I know it's crazy, but wouldn't you miss this place?" he asked him.
"We are not having this conversation," Toadie snapped. He then stormed past the mayor. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go pack all 800 pairs of your silk pajamas."
Toadie slammed the door behind him, leaving Toadstool alone with his thoughts. Walking to the window, he looked out to see his townspeople chattering and going about their lives, unaware of how much things were about to change. Pulling the coin out of his coat, new thoughts emerged for him. If Toadstool refused the position, he would be taken away and imprisoned. If he accepted it, Toadstool would be taken away and placed in a role that would force him to do more harm than good. He would become a target of the FLA, and if Filip were any example, they'd take their anger out on the village he came from and then go after him. And if he were imprisoned, Newtopia would simply merge the valley with another Toad Lord's province. Compared to them, Grime was merciful.
Toadstool didn't know what to do. He didn't want to be the new head of the tower, but he also didn't want to go to jail. He had to choose between two terrible options, and neither seemed to offer an escape. He knew that no matter what he did, someone would suffer. But perhaps there was someone to whom he could turn for help.
And, in fact, there were two.
At the Plantar house, Frank and Anne sat together on the couch, snuggling. Frank wrapped his arm around Anne as she leaned against him. They were both watching one of Anne's favorite shows. It was their day off, and they planned to spend it together, especially since no more weirdness or dangerous events were occurring. Frank and Anne could simply enjoy the peace and quiet of the moment in each other's arms, savoring the unadorned solace of being alone together with no one else around. The warmth of their embrace and the comfort of each other's presence made it clear that this was exactly where they wanted to be, free from any distractions or worries.
However, just as they were about to start their second episode, both of them heard someone knocking at the door.
"Wonder who that could be," asked Anne, pulling away from Frank.
Together, they opened the window behind the couch and looked out. To their shock, the couple saw Toadstool standing in front of their house. He was alone, looking rather nervous as he fiddled with his fingers.
"Whoa," Frank said when he saw the corrupt mayor. "Hey, you! Scram!"
"Yeah, beat it, Toadstool!" Anne joined her boyfriend.
Toadstool looked at him with a smile. "Oh, hey—" He didn't get to finish when Anne threw a cooking pan at his head, knocking the mayor to the ground, unconscious, with Xs on his eyes.
"Got him!" Anne said, ready to throw her ratchet next.
Frank, however, looked unsure and stopped her. "Uhh.. is he dead?" he asked his girlfriend.
"Nah," Anne said to him. "I didn't even hit him that hard."
"Dude, you hit him in the head with a metal pan," Frank said, becoming worried.
"Oh, right…"
The human couple looked back at the body of Toadstool. He wasn't moving. Both became concerned that Anne might have just killed him when a fly landed on his still face.
"Uh-oh," Anne said.
But then Toadstool's tongue shot out, catching the fly and pulling it into his mouth, eating it while unconscious.
"Phew!" Frank and Anne breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on. Let's bring him inside, you murderler," Frank said, walking to the door.
Setting him on the couch, Frank backed away from Toadstool. After the mayor was brought into the house and tied up, Frank and Anne brought over the others. They were confused by his arrival and even more perplexed about why he was tied up and unconscious until Frank and Anne explained that he had just shown up out of nowhere. Anne explained that he was tied up because they still didn't trust him after all he had done.
"So…how do we wake him up?" Sprig asked the two humans.
"Easy," Frank said, turning to Anne. "Anne, give me your sock."
"Uh, sure," Anne said, confused by what he'd planned. Nonetheless, she pulled the sock off her shoeless foot.
Pinching his nose, Frank took the sock and pressed it against Toadstool's nostril. The moment Toadstool breathed it in, he was jolted awake by its stinkiness. "GAAAAAH! AAAAAAAAH!"
"He's awake!" Marcy exclaimed as Frank returned Anne her sock. The Thai girl blushed with embarrassment as she accepted it and placed it back on her foot.
After being startled awake, Toadstool looked at everyone in the room. "Plantars and humans! I need your help!"
"Why would we help you, Mayor Toadstool?" Frank asked, looking suspiciously at him.
Toadstool sighed heavily before he began explaining, "Ramirez, have you ever worked your entire life to fulfill a dream, but when it finally comes true, you realize that maybe it wasn't your dream?"
Frank glanced at everyone, unsure of what to think of the toad's question. "Uh... is this about all the parking tickets we got?" Anne took a guess and asked, completely and utterly lost.
"We weren't even here for those days!" Hop Pop yelled.
"That has nothing to do with this! A royal emissary just arrived today and told me I've just been appointed the Head Toad of Toad Tower," Toadstool informed the frogs and humans. "All I have to do is leave this crummy town and never look back. It's everything I've ever wanted!"
"Uh, congratulations, I guess?" Sprig said, unsure if he should have. It shocked everyone in the house, considering the mayor's track record of being…well, himself.
Toadstool continued, "But now that I have it, I can't help but wonder if this is what I truly wanted. Why do I feel so down?"
The room fell silent as everyone pondered his unexpected revelation. Anne, realizing what the toad was feeling, smiled kindly at him. "Maybe you've come to love this crummy town more than you thought you would. I certainly relate," she said, untying the mayor.
Toadstool groaned and covered his face with his hands. "What am I gonna do?" he asked, shaking his head.
"Dude, if you don't want the position, just turn it down," Frank said, shrugging.
"Oh, yeah, he can't do that," Marcy said matter-of-factly, with one hand behind her back and her other pointing up a finger. "When you're appointed as a Head Toad, it's not a job offer, it's a royal command. I've read about this before. Toad mayors are only asked to become a Head Toad in the event the army stationed here is no longer active or can't choose its next head of the tower."
"How do they do that?" Polly asked.
"Trial by combat," Marcy said.
Polly pouted and crossed her arms. "Why couldn't I have been born a toad?"
Toadstool sighed heavily and leaned back in his seat. "I just wish there was a way out of this," he said.
"Well, why don't we just talk to this emissary?" Anne said, turning to her best friend. "Marcy, you're friends with the king. Maybe you can work out a deal to get Toadstool out of being Head Toad and out of jail."
"Well, I guess I can work out something with her," she said with a bashful smile.
"Great! Let's go," Anne said, grabbing Frank's hand. Together, they all walked to the door.
"Do you really think you can convince the emissary to lay off Toadstool?" Frank asked, opening the door. He and Anne left the house first, followed by the others.
"I don't know, but I'm sure I can come up with some…" Marcy stopped as they all came to a stop. The door closed behind them. They all looked ahead with expressions of shock. "Hi!"
Standing in front of them were FLA soldiers. They all wore the same chain mail and yellow shirts with the rebellion logo, just as Filip and his radical members did when they attacked Wartwood, but with nasal-style helmets. Each one was armed with swords the size of daggers in human hands and circular shields.
One of the FLA soldiers said, glaring at the toad and Marcy, "Mayor Toadstool, Marcy Wu, come with us now."
Frank and Anne shared a glance before glaring at the rebels. Together, they moved in front of their friend and mayor. "And why would they do that?" Frank asked, ready to reach for Hellcat's Claw.
"Because if they don't come now, we'll have to take them by force," said the frog in a threatening voice. His right hand moved to his sword's pommel. "Don't get involved, humans and Plantars. This doesn't concern you."
"Oh, I believe it does," Anne said in her threatening tone as she walked up to the frog. "You see, you don't just come to our house, tell our mayor and our best friend to come with you, and tell the rest of us to back off. That's not something I'm going to let happen."
"I'm sorry, Boonchuy, we have our orders, and we will carry them out," the frog said as his troops pulled their swords out just an inch, making it clear they were going to fight.
"Whoa, hold on," Sprig said, getting between the troops and Anne. "Why don't we just go with them?"
"Boy, have you lost your mind?" Hop Pop said, holding his granddaughter. "Don't you remember what happened last time with Filip and his group?"
The leader of the FLA's group started getting impatient. "If you wouldn't—"
"That's enough," said a new voice—a young woman's voice. The frogs split, parting two ways to allow the voice's owner to approach the family, humans, and the mayor.
That voice belonged to a very beautiful (by frog standards) female poison dart frog. Her hair was brownish-red and tied back, her eyes were brown, and there was an X-shaped scar under her left eye. Like her comrades, she wore chainmail and a yellow shirt with the FLA insignia in red, as all rebels did. However, she also had a red neckerchief around her neck and a wide-brimmed brown hat adorned with a red feather, giving her the appearance of a musketeer.
She wasn't armed with a shield or a broadsword like the men. Instead, a rapier was tucked into the loop of her brown leather belt.
"We didn't come here for a fight," she said with a southern accent.
"Whoa!" Marcy exclaimed, hands on her cheeks. "She looks so cool! Like a musketeer!"
"Come on, Marcy! Get it together," Frank yelled, throwing up his hands.
The dart frog approached Hop Pop with a smile on her face. "Hopediah Plantar, it's so good to meet you finally," she said, holding out her hand for a shake. "Sorry about the sudden intrusion, hon. I figured this wouldn't turn out so well, so I rushed all the way here. Truly, it's an honor."
"Uh, yes," Hop Pop said with uncertainty as he shook her hand. "Whether I feel the same or not depends on whom I'm speaking to."
"Why, Hopediah, you're talking to a lady," Toadstool said, trying to act suave with the woman in front of him. Walking up to her, he took a bow with a hand on his chest, an arm extended out, and a foot placed in front. "Pleasure to meet you, madame. I'm Frodrick Toadstool, mayor of the lovely town of Wartwood."
"My, hon, you're so formal," she said, looking impressed as Toadstool straightened up. "Didn't think I would be greeted with such manners."
"Only for the prettiest of maidens. And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" he asked with a small grin.
The dart frog bowed similarly to Toadstool, but she took her hat off and placed it over her heart when she did it.
"Call me Myra," she said, standing up straight and placing her hat back on. "Leader and founder of the Frog Liberation Alliance."
Toadstool turned completely white as he looked at Myra in sheer shock and fear. "Huh?" he squeaked out, unable to believe what he was hearing. This was her? The leader of the FLA? The rebellion that had been ongoing outside Wartwood for over three months? He'd only ever heard of her name once, and that was when Teshin killed Filip and his group under her orders. But now, after almost being murdered by their psycho, the mayor was standing directly in front of the woman who had started the very same movement.
"You?" Frank pointed at Myra. "You're the one who started the rebellion? The person who's the reason our friends almost got killed?"
Myra sighed and looked ashamed. "I understand your mistrust," she said. "But please understand that we're not your enemy. If you allow me to explain myself, I'm sure we can all come to a peaceful resolution."
Frank looked at the others. He didn't trust this woman, obviously, but she seemed genuine in her offer for peace. Anne nodded while Hop Pop and Polly shook their heads. Sprig and Marcy nodded, while Toadstool shook his head. This made him the tie-breaker.
"Alright." Frank relented. "But I've got my eye on you."
Opening the front door, Frank welcomed the FLA's founder into the house, while the others followed behind. Myra's soldiers didn't come inside and stood at the door, guarding the house. After closing the door, Frank stared at the dart frog as she faced them.
When she reached for her rapier, Frank instinctively went to grab Hellcat's Claw. Eyeing him, Myra slowly pulled out the sword and placed it on the table.
"See?" Myra said, raising her hands. "I have no other weapons on me."
"I highly doubt that," Frank said with mistrust. "If you're here for peace, you should have known you and the FLA aren't welcome here after what Filip tried to pull."
"Filip was nothing but a rogue who tainted the FLA's honor and mission with his vendetta," she insisted. "I'm fighting for the cause we all set for."
"And that's what," Anne asked. "Overthrow the government? Topple the monarchy?"
"To make the king abolish the cast system," Myra told Anne, instead. "I'm trying to fight for the rights and equal treatment of all frogs. Something that had been denied to us for over a thousand years, as you've seen for yourself, Hopediah. We've been beaten, put down, and told how small we were. And then you came along."
"But I wasn't trying to start a revolution!" Hop Pop exclaimed. "I just wanted to run for mayor and do good for the community."
"I know, and you have," Myra said, smiling. "When we learned about your campaign for mayor, it took the valley by storm. A frog that ran against a toad and won the votes in his own town! Until your win was crushed, taken by our toad mayors."
"I mean, it makes sense," Marcy said. "I mean, if you were going to make a caste system, you wouldn't want anyone at the bottom from getting any ideas of rising—"
Anne slapped her hand over her mouth. "Marcy, please don't start anything," she said nervously, looking at the rebel leader.
Myra's eyes narrowed. "Indeed, Marcy Wu. The king you serve did put that in place," she said, sitting down and crossing her arms. "But what Hop Pop did sparked something greater than anything the king could contain. Seeing a frog win the votes of his town made all of us realize something. All our lives, we were meant to believe we were powerless. But we did have the power together, and that's what Newtopia never wanted us to find out."
"Because you would then wield it," Frank said.
"Indeed. It was I who rallied the first members of the Frog Liberation Alliance, and when our toad mayor learned of our gatherings, he tried to stomp it out and have us all executed. But the spark of revolution had spread to all of us. We fought back and forced him out of the village. News would then spread from there, and more revolts started. And those who wanted to fight came to us. The toads sent out their armies, yes, they did, but honey, we showed them our might!"
"Yeah!" Polly cheered. Everyone looked at her. "What? It's inspirational. Makes me want to get up and fight."
"But you also forced a lot of toads and newts out of their homes," Sprig said, looking critically at the FLA's founder. "Were they a part of frog-kind's oppression?"
Sighing, Myra looked down in shame. "I admit, hon, these few months weren't the proudest of my life. But it was all for the greater good. If the king saw his mayors being forced out, it would have gotten his attention. We would have also gone after Grime if it hadn't been for you and Wartwood. But when it happened, it finally got the attention of Newtopia.
"Everyone from outside the valley was finally taking notice of the FLA and the revolution. We thought that now was the time to finally send a request for Andrias to talk. To finally give us the equality we wanted.
"But instead, he never answered us. All he did was put a bounty on Grime's head and tried to send in a few troops to hunt us down and enforce the law. And every time he did, we forced them back. That's when we began exiling toads and newts. I've had to push away friends and neighbors, believing it would make him come. But it was all for nothing. Everything we did to bring him to the negotiation table was met with indifference. To him, we were just children throwing a tantrum, instead of men, women, and children trying to do everything to have our voices heard."
For a moment, Frank, Anne, Marcy, the Plantars, and Toadstool looked at Myra with sympathy. It was true; she wasn't anything like Filip. While he wanted to kill anyone who wasn't a frog, this woman was only doing what she had to do for her people, for the frogs of Frog Valley to finally be heard and gain the equality they had long been denied.
"Okay, that's…that's a lot to take in, but what do I have to do with it?" Toadstool asked.
The leader shifted in her seat. "Let me ask you something, honey. Do you know why you were picked?" Myra asked.
Toadstool thought for a moment. "Because I'm a good mayor?"
"By whose standards, and when?" Frank asked.
"A valid argument, but there's something that makes him the right pick for the position," Myra said to the group. She looked at Toadstool. "It's the fact that you're the mayor whose town is where the rebellion started."
"Oh...yeah, that would be a factor," Toadstool said, looking down while rubbing the back of his head.
"But I don't get it," Anne said as Marcy pushed her hand away from her mouth. "If anything, Indy would make a better Head Toad. Why just Toadstool?"
"Actually, this is a really cool form of government the King came up with," Marcy said, smiling as she explained it to her friends. "In the event that a region's toad army is destroyed and no one is available to take the position as Head Toad, it would go to the most qualified mayor. That mayor would then be sent an army large enough to restore order to the region."
"Indeed," Myra said, before turning to Toadstool. "To put it simply, Toadstool, there are no more mayors in the valley. We've driven them all out. You are the only one that's left. Don't you see, Toadstool, this is why they want you as Head Toad. Newtopia intends to demonstrate to the rest of the kingdom that the situation in Frog Valley is under control. That's why you can't stay in Wartwood or this valley."
"Whoa, wait, you can't just make him leave," Sprig said, alarmed by that last comment.
"Yeah!" Polly said in agreement. "We don't like him, but he's still our mayor."
"I'm sorry, but the FLA can't allow another toad nor anyone from the king's court to take control of the South Tower. The moment someone does take it, the Toad Army will come back and retake the valley. We can handle them, but they'll take their vengeance on our people—all frogs. It'll be a massacre unlike anything Amphibia has witnessed since the Leviathan family took the throne. And it'll all be done under Andrias' order."
"Hey, Andrias isn't like that," Marcy told Myra, upset that she'd talk about her royal friend like that. "He's nice."
"Nice? Is that what you think, girl?" Myra asked rhetorically, as if hearing the most ridiculous thing in her life. "Are you just too naive, or do you look up at the sky while the grass rots around you? If he's so good, why has he done nothing to change the caste system that his family imposed on all of us? Is he so just when it was he who had the toads march into the valley and subjugate us? The people your friends claim as their friends! King Andrias might seem benevolent, but underneath it all, he's still his family's legacy. He's still a Leviathan."
Stubborn, Marcy said, "But he's nice."
"To whom, Marcy?" The rebel leader shot her a critical look. "Is he nice to you because he sees you as a friend, or as a tool?"
"Okay, hold on," Frank said before an argument could break out. "What about Marcy? What does any of this have to do with her?"
"When we learned that a friend of the king was in Wartwood, we knew we had to act," Myra told him. "For as long as we've tried, we've tried to keep this town out of the conflict. But we also knew that if we had her, his most trusted ally, we would have an edge to bring him to the negotiation tables."
"You're here to hold her as ransom?" Frank asked, glaring at the frog as he stood in front of Marcy. "I thought you just wanted to talk."
"And we are. Please, let me explain," Myra said to him. Standing up from the chair, she approached both humans. "Marcy, I've heard about you and your exploits, and I'm asking for your help. I've sent letter after letter to Andrias, trying to get him to come to a truce and end hostilities, and all have gone unanswered. I don't want this rebellion to go on forever, but I'm running out of options that don't lead to all-out war on the capital. Marcy, if Andrias is truly just as you believe him to be, then I need you to talk to him. Convince him. Please, do this for us."
In response to Myra's plea for help, Marcy looked down at the FLA leader with wide eyes. As far as she knew, the FLA and their movement were nothing like the movies or books she had read in her fantasies. The group was not merely an insurgent organization or a band of killers, as Andrias had described. These were individuals who were simply tired of being oppressed and held down for over a millennium. It was not like the Rebel Alliance from Star Wars fighting against the evil Empire. She knew the king was not cruel. He was her friend, and as her friend, he would listen to what she had to say.
"I…I can talk to him," Marcy told the rebel leader. "We're going back to Newtopia after we complete our quest. I'll talk to Andrias and convince him to come and see you, Myra. Andrias trusts me.
Myra nodded. "Thank you—"
"But!" Marcy interrupted her. "If you really want me to talk to him, then you can't force Toadstool out of Frog Valley."
Myra frowned at her, sighed, and turned away. She clearly wasn't anticipating that request or pleased with it.
"You know that I can't do that, Marcy," she declared solemnly. "If Toadstool has already accepted the position, then he can't be allowed to go to Toad Tower. If he wants to live, he'll leave."
Toadstool gulped the lump in his throat.
"Well, what if there was another way?" Anne asked. "Like, why not just convince the emissary that he's not right for the job? Back home, whenever Mom asked me to do chores, I'd do a really bad job so she wouldn't ask me anymore."
"You really think that'll work?" Frank asked, unconvinced that a plan like that would succeed in the first place.
Toadstool, on the other hand, said, "I think your girlfriend might be onto something, Ramirez! I've just gotta convince them I'm not the right toad for the job."
Myra raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of this plan. She knew that Toadstool was a fool and desperate, having heard that the Boonchuy girl devised some absurd plans. However, the goal wasn't bad. Not only would it keep Toadstool out of the tower and the dungeons, but it would also leave Newtopia with no one else to put in charge. Still, doubts lingered in her mind.
"And what if they decide to make another toad head of the tower," she asked, voicing the first of her concerns before the next one. "What if they decide a bad, unfit leader is an acceptable one?"
"Then I guess you'll have to capture the emissary and send them back," Frank said, crossing his arms.
"Indeed, I can," Myra said, standing up. "I could always just save us the trouble and do that."
"But it would bring Wartwood straight into the rebellion," Toadstool said.
"That's another thing."
"Look, we all want the same thing," Marcy said, walking around the room. "Toadstool staying as mayor, and the Toad Army staying out of the valley. Of course, we go and get the emissary and force her back out, but what would that accomplish? Just another reason for the king not to compromise. Let's just first try our way and see if we can't get Toadstool out of this by being the worst candidate possible."
Myra sighed and nodded. "Very well, but understand that one way or another, no one was going to be taking that tower," she said, picking up her rapier from the table.
The humans, Plantars, and the mayor watched with caution as the FLA's founder opened the door and departed. Sprig hopped onto the couch and observed from the window as the soldiers left with their leader.
"Man," the boy frog said, shaking his head.
"Yeah, we sure started something," Hop Pop said.
"I can't believe this is happening," Frank said in frustration, taking off his hat and sitting down on the couch. He turned to Anne and Marcy, who were whispering to each other. "Do you two even have any ideas for what to do with Toadstool?"
"Well, I've come up with three ways that this can go," Anne said to him. "Number one, make the Mayor look like a coward. Number two, make him look incompetent."
"What's the third option?" asked Toadstool.
"Still working out the kinks," Marcy said, waving him off. "Any questions?"
"Kind of," Sprig said.
"Several," added Polly.
"I lost the plot," Frank said.
"Will this clear up the parking tickets?" asked Hop Pop.
That's when Polly asked the humans, "Hey, shouldn't we get Frobo in on this?"
"No can do. Rivet said he wanted to spend the day studying Frobo with Indy's help," Anne told the family.
"Wonder how that's going," Frank said, neither one of them hearing the explosion from the direction of the swamp.
"Don't worry. We can do this," Anne said with determination. "All it takes is teamwork and coordination."
Frank wanted to say it also took a lot of luck. Something always goes wrong somehow. But no matter what happened, he was going to help Anne see her plan through, hoping her optimism was enough to carry them through.
For the plan to succeed, they needed to place Jacinda in a position where she recognized that Toadstool wasn't the right man for the job. The initial part of the plan was to demonstrate that he was a coward, which is not something a Toad Tower head should be.
"This is our farmers' market. It ain't much, but it's our pride and joy," Toadstool said, walking beside Jacinda and Marcy as they strolled through the market. Her guards trailed behind them, spears in hand.
Marcy claimed that, as a member of Newtopia's royal court and the king's friend, she should accompany them. This was because Marcy was certain she could further convince Jacinda that Toadstool wasn't the right man for the job.
As Andrias's most trusted friend and ally, Jacinda was more than happy to have the intelligent girl come along.
Together, they walked past the Plantar vegetable stand. Both Hop Pop and Polly were there, with the tadpole perched on her grandfather's head. They wore the biggest grins imaginable.
Suddenly, Sprig and Anne appeared out of nowhere, their heads covered with cloaks and armed with the girl's racket and a wooden spoon.
"Give me all your coppers, old frog," yelled Sprig, acting like a robber.
"And make it snappy," said Anne, also acting.
Hop Pop and Polly gasped in faux shock and cried out for their mayor. "Mayor Toadstool, help," said the old frog.
Marcy and Toadstool glanced at each other and nodded. "No can do, random farmer, for I am but a lowly coward," Toadstool said feigningly as he tiptoed to another stand to hide behind.
"I guess I'll just hand over all my hard-earned coppers," Hop Pop said, sighing in defeat as he surrendered his sack of money.
Marcy crossed her arms and observed the scene with disappointment. "Acting like a coward isn't what the king wants from a Tower Head," she said to Jacinda. "Looks like there will be no one for the South Tower."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cane was thrown at the two pretending to be bandits. It struck Anne in the head before hitting Sprig in the head, too, bouncing off his head and returning to Mrs. Croaker's hand.
"Anne and Sprig?" she asked, looking at the two kids in confusion. "Why in tarnation are you robbing your own stand?"
Jacinda's eyes narrowed with suspicion as she looked at Toadstool. Seeing her gaze, Toadstool nervously chuckled. "I can explain," he began, attempting to clarify, but he was interrupted when the woman held up her hand.
"No need. I get it," she said.
"You do," asked Marcy.
"You distracted the robbers long enough for the muscle to show up," Jacinda said, looking at the mayor with an impressed smile. "You're truly Head Toad material."
Watching the event from his hiding place, a barrel, Frank face-palmed. "Well, that didn't work," he said.
"Don't worry. We still got the second option," Anne told him, all while she and Sprig were put in shackles and taken away by the constables.
Up next was incompetence. For this step, Toadstool led them outside of the town over to the fence that bordered Wartwood from the outside world. "And here's the fence I had built to keep those burrowing moles from getting into Wartwood," he said with pride.
"Fence? But they burrow, right?" asked Jacinda.
"What's your point?"
At the same time, Frank, Anne, and the Plantars rode into town on the backs of giant flies. Each held a shepherd's cane with bells at the end. The five of them ran them close to the ground, attracting a patch of moles that mistook them for prey.
"Come on, kids. Herd those moles," Hop Pop said, before bringing his fly to a stop just a few meters from the fence. The others followed suit and watched the mole dig its way into the town.
Looking up, Frank noticed that the mayor, Marcy, Jacinda, and her guards had already moved on.
"I'm just saying a fence might not keep them out," the emissary commented.
Toadstool placed a hand on his chest and said, "And I'm say…"
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted when a giant mole burst out of the ground, shrieking. As the other moles began to emerge, everyone started screaming and running for their lives. Jacinda and her guards quickly got onto the roof of a house.
Marcy and Toadstool fistbumped before quickly getting back to their act. Starting with Marcy pointing accusingly at the mayor. "How dare you allow these moles into your town by not building the proper defense!" she yelled at him. "You are not Head Toad material!"
"Oh Gods, you're right!" Toadstool gasped, quickly climbing to the top of a stack of barrels on a wheelcart. "I really thought that bad idea would work. I should just stay a lowly mayor..."
Suddenly, he lost his balance and fell on the other end of the cart, sending the barrels flying into the air.
From where they sat on their flies, Frank, Anne, and the Plantars watched in shock as the barrels fell back to earth. They hit each mole perfectly on the head, causing all of them to dig their way out of the town and back into the forest.
With the threat gone and their plan ruined once more, Marcy had her jaw hanging in shock, while Toadstool joined her with a sore back. Jacinda jumped down, even more impressed by what she saw.
"Incredible. What a show of strength," she said, pointing at the fat toad. "Truly, we've made the right choice."
Toadstool chuckled nervously but secretly panicked. Nothing was going according to plan. He turned to Marcy and whispered, "Do you have any other ideas?"
"Just one," she said with determination. "Our last hope."
As Mayor Toadstool continues to tour with Jacinda, Anne prepares for her third attempt.
"Okay, Frank, this is our last chance," Anne said after explaining the plan to her boyfriend. "It's all or nothing to help Mayor Toadstool not be the new Toad Tower Head!"
It may have been their last hope, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Standing next to Anne, Frank wore a costume that slightly resembled Godzilla but with diamond frills. The costume's jaw opened to reveal his face.
"I look ridiculous," Frank said with a deadpan look. Of all the embarrassing things he's done before arriving in Amphibia, this one easily tops the rest.
"Whatcha talkin' bout, Babe? You don't look ridiculous, she looks ridiculous," Anne said, pointing to Polly.
The little tadpole wore a butterfly outfit and was held by a string attached to a pole that the Sprig held.
"Awww... you look adorable," Hop Pop said, fawning over his little one.
"Not helping, Hop Pop," Polly grumbled.
"I must say, Toadstool, today's proving you to be the best choice for the job," Jacinda said, walking along with Toadstool. "It's as though fate is pushing you in the direction."
"Heh, heh, heh, yeah... fate." Toadstool laughed nervously, hoping the last attempt would prove his incompetence once and for all. But truthfully, he didn't know if this plan was going to work. It was flat-out crazy, but what choice did he have?
Seeing them approach, Anne put her plans into motion. She started by pushing Frank into the center of the road.
"OH NO!" she shouted, startling the Mayor, Marcy, and the Newtopian official while pretending to panic. "MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING WARTWOOD! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"
On Frank's cue, he acted as the monster with the driest expression. "Roar... Groowwwrrrr..." he said in a monotonic voice, flailing his arms and stomping his feet on the ground.
Polly then swung left to right in front of the Hispanic boy, with Sprig mimicking the motions, yelling gibberish words.
"Roar..." He stomped his feet and flailed his arms again. Polly came back, yelling the same gibberish words. "Roar—"
"AMBUSH!" Ivy sprang out of nowhere with a stick, landing on the back of the costumed boy and began pummeling, unaware it was Frank. "Take this, you monster! And that, and that, and this one too!
"OW! OOWWWW! OOOWWWW!" Frank yelled in pain as the frog girl continued to hit him with the stick.
Anne, Marcy, Toadstool, and the newts watch as the Thai girl's third plan fumbles significantly. "Uh..." was all Anne could say.
"That's enough, that's enough!" After being hit a couple of times, Frank pushed Ivy, shouting and pulling the head from the costume.
"Frank," Ivy asked.
"Motherfucker! " Frank yelled in pain, holding his head. "What the hell, Ivy!? That hurt!"
"Why are you dressed like a monster?"
"We were making a plan!"
As they argued, upon hearing the name of the boy, Jacinda's eyes widened. "Frank? Now, why does that name sound familiar?" she pondered.
From her vantage point, Jacinda observed as Sprig and Anne assisted Frank in removing his costume. When she saw him completely, she gasped in horror.
"You!" she yelled, pointing at him.
This left the group confused and worried, making them look at each other before turning back to the emissary.
"Me?" Frank asked.
"You're the murderer of Tartarus! Guards, arrest him!"
Before Frank could react, the newt guards pushed Anne and Sprig out of their way. They seized both of his arms, restraining him as he shouted and struggled to break free.
"Hey! ¡Dejadme ir, bastardos de mediana edad!" Frank shouted in Spanish.
"Wait," Marcy said, before it fell on deaf ears.
"Well done, Toadstool," Jacinda said, turning to Toadstool. "You taught your citizens to sniff out fugitives and expose them. You are definitely gonna be great as the Tower's Head."
"What do we do about the fugitive?" asked one of the guards.
"You're going to let him go!" Anne yelled, pulling out her racket.
Jacinda turned towards the human girl. "Oh, and why would I do that?" she asked with a condescending voice. "He's killed a toad lieutenant, a ranking officer in the Toad Army, and had gone on unpunished for long enough. He needs to pay."
"Frank was only defending himself and the Plantar farm," Anne said, pointing to Hop Pop. "He was going to kill Hop Pop and Polly if Frank didn't step in."
"Hop Pop?" Jacinda asked, looking at the old frog. "As in..Hopediah Plantar? The frog that inspired the rebellion in the first place?"
"Uh…"
"Yes, they are!" The gathering crowd gasped and turned to see who had just revealed the old frog. It was none other than Toadie, standing next to a cart filled with suitcases.
"Toadie, you fucker!" Frank yelled at the small frog. He was struck in the head by the end of a guard's spear.
"Arrest the frog!" Jacinda ordered.
In a flash, Hop Pop was in shackles like Frank, much to Marcy's shock. "No! Everyone, please, stop!" Marcy exclaimed as the situation got far out of hand.
"Toadie, what is the meaning of this?" Toadstool asked, looking at his assistant with a hurt look.
"I'm sorry, sir, but I had to. I'm not letting you go back on everything we've been working towards," Toadie said, looking resolute. "We're all packed and ready to go."
"But—"
Jacinda walked up behind Toadie and patted him on the head. "You've got a competent assistant here, Mayor," she said. "Too bad he's about to be out of a job."
Toadie pushed her hand away and looked back at her. "Excuse me?"
"Did you think you were going to be assistant to the Head Toad?" she asked, chuckling. "Adorable. But no. I, Jacinda, will be Toadstool's deputy at Toad Tower."
Toadie screamed in horror, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening. He had worked so hard to support Toadstool, only to be betrayed by the very system that had placed his beloved mayor in this position. He felt a profound sense of loss and despair as he realized that everything he had worked for was gone. He couldn't handle it and fainted.
Toadstool gasped and caught him. "Toadie!"
"Alright, that's it!" Marcy said, marching up to Jacinda, who didn't look too bothered. "As Chief Ranger of the Newtopian Night Guard, I'm ordering you to release Frank and Hop Pop and return to Newtopia."
Jacinda looked at the human before letting out a short laugh. "Oh, that's so adorable," she said, wiping a tear. "You really think that you have any authority over me?"
"Considering that I work directly for King Andrias, yes," Marcy confirmed, crossing her arms.
"Yes, you're right," Jacinda said, snapping her fingers. More guards rushed out of her carriage. How they all managed to fit inside will remain a mystery, but soon, the guards surrounded Marcy.
"Hey!" Anne yelled, ready to attack the newts when two guards stepped in front of her and crossed their spears.
"Did you really think I would let anyone get in the way of this?" Jacinda questioned Marcy in a threatening voice.
"What's your deal, lady!?" Polly yelled.
"Yeah, what's your beef with Marcy?" Sprig asked.
"Oh, I've got no beef," she said to the frog kids, "other than she's getting in the way of the biggest promotion possible. It's one thing to get a Head Toad back in the tower. But to bring the two who started the rebellion to justice? I'll become Head Emissary!"
"That's not gonna happen."
Everyone gasped and turned their heads. Riding into the town on the back of a grasshopper was Myra. Then, appearing from seemingly everywhere—from behind each house and shop around Wartwood—came the troops the leader brought with her. There was no formation or any kind of disciplined positioning. The frogs merely emerged, pulled out their swords, and held up their shields in front of them.
"The FLA!" Jacinda gasped, shocked. The newts, caught off guard, turned their weapons on the rebels.
"Sorry for the interruption, Plantars, but I knew I had to step in," Myra said, dismounting her grasshopper and petting its head.
"Honestly, you couldn't have come at a better time," Anne said, pulling out her racket while glaring at Jacinda.
Turning to the emissary, Myra hadn't yet drawn her rapier.
"This madness ends now, Jacinda," she said to the newt. "Leave this town or else."
Somehow able to regain her confidence, the little newt laughed. "Hahaha! You really think I'm going to listen to you, Myra? You're failed!" she exclaimed, gesturing to Toadstool. "Mayor Toadstool is now in command of Toad Tower! If you kill either of us, it'll be an act of war!"
"What's he talking about?" asked Mrs. Croaker as the other frogs around her murmured to each other.
Myra looked saddened as she looked at Toadstool. "Is this true, Toadstool?"
"Ha! Like he has a choice," Jacinda said, walking over and slapping Toadstool's back. "Isn't that right, Head Toad?"
Toadstool gulped and looked around. Everyone was staring at him, waiting for him to say something, just as they always did when they needed help. He was their mayor; they always turned to him. Toadstool had let them down in the past.
But he wasn't going to fail them again.
"Jacinda, I believe that there's a very important thing you failed to overlook," Toadstool said, putting his arms around his back and smiling down at Jacinda. "I'm a liar."
This threw Jacinda off guard. "Huh?"
"I lie about a lot of things, just like how you've lied to me about why I was being picked," Toadstool said to the confused newt. "I've lied about where taxes are going. I've lied about how much we can hold off on repairs. I've even lied to myself about my weight. But I will not lie about being in a position I didn't say I'd accepted! I'm sorry, Jacinda, but I'm Wartwood's mayor, and I'll continue to be its mayor, because I kindly refuse the offer."
"Then you understand the penalty, right?" Jacinda asked, narrowing her eyes at him in a threatening manner.
"That I do," Mayor Toadstool said.
"And it's why he'll keep his position as mayor of Wartwood," Myra said, walking over to the toad with an impressed smile, "under the protection of the FLA."
"That's right—huh?"
"WHAT!?" Jacinda screamed, her eyes bulging out.
"Whoa," Frank said, shocked by this turn of events. Even the other villagers, FLA soldiers, and newt guards looked surprised.
"That's right, handsome. If you truly didn't accept the position, then as far as I'm concerned, you don't have to leave the valley," Myra said, smiling up at the toad before looking at Marcy. "Can I trust you'll keep your end of the bargain?" she asked.
"Already have a strongly worded and convincing message," Marcy said, pulling out the scroll message. "I'm sure that as soon as Andrias gets it and sees that the FLA wants peace and equality, he'll surely come to negotiate."
"I…I…I…" Jacinda couldn't form a sentence as she backed away. This wasn't happening. But it was, and it was happening so fast. Not only was the last mayor of Frog Valley joining the FLA, but it all occurred under her watch.
"And as for you," Marcy said, walking up to the emissary. "Release Frank and Hop Pop. You're going to leave the valley and return to the capital."
"What? You can't tell me what to do!" Jacinda argued.
"You want to argue with me then?" Myra asked, drawing her rapier.
Polly had an open-mouthed grin with sparkling eyes as she said, "I like her!"
The rebel leader's threat was enough to get Jacinda to back off. "Let the fugitives go," she told her guards.
The newts released Frank and Hop Pop, and Anne ran over to hug her boyfriend, relieved that he wasn't taken or hurt. "So, wait, we didn't have to do all those things," Frank asked after the girl let him go. "What was the whole point of this?"
"I guess the lesson is that threatening people is the best way to resolve a problem," Anne said. "Even in politics."
"Is that really the lesson we're going with?"
"I guess it is."
The extra newt guards walked back into the carriage, with Jacinda following behind them. She stopped and pointed at Myra, Marcy, and Toadstool. "You think you've won? You have no idea what's coming your way," she said in a threatening tone. "The King will come, and I can guarantee you it's not to talk about peace!"
"Then we'll be waiting," Myra says with a confident smirk.
Jacinda glared at all of them before closing the carriage. The alligator turtle took down the road, pulling the carriage with it.
"Make sure they leave the valley," Myra took two frogs. The rebels nodded and mounted their grasshoppers. They took off after the carriage.
"Well, that went well," said Marcy, dusting off her hands with a proud look on her face.
"Are you kidding me? This is terrible!" Toadstool yelled, grabbing his head. Someone cleared their throat behind him. Toadstool turned around and saw Myra looking at him.
"I have to admit, hon, you impressed," she said with a smile.
"I did?" Toadstool asked.
"What do you call him?" asked Toadie.
"You actually stood up for yourself and your town," she told the toad. "You had the chance to take the tower, and you're still turning it down to stay as a mayor. That's honestly impressive.
Toadstool blushed slightly at the compliment. "So…I guess I just pulled the town into the middle of the rebellion, huh?" he asked with a somber expression.
"It might seem like it, but that's only because it'll ensure you and your town's protection," Myra said, waving him off. "We're not asking for you to join the fighting, only that you show us support."
The rest of the townsfolk gathered, with Mrs. Croaker saying, "I think we can agree to that."
Toadstool looked at them in confusion. "Huh, really? I thought…"
"Ah, shove off, you big galoot. We knew you were just looking out for the town," she said. "You may be a corrupt, no-good, money-grabbing louse...But you're our money-grabbing louse."
Hearing this, Toadstool's eyes began to tear up. For most of his long life, he had only cared for himself, but seeing everyone smile at him and witnessing the good he had done for his people filled him with a pride that was previously unknown to him.
"I don't know what to say," he said.
"Then don't say anything, hon," said Marcy as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just know that you have people who need you, and just be there for them."
The frogs of Wartwood and the FLA nodded and voiced their agreement with Marcy's wise words. Toadstool, letting the girl's words sink in, smiled and nodded. That's right; he had people who needed him as their mayor. And he would be there for them. Always.
However, it wouldn't be only Toadstool who would take Marcy's words to heart.
"So, guys, I've been thinking about this for a while, and there's something we need to do before we go to the Third Temple," Anne said to the others after gathering them in the living room, the morning after the FLA left Wartwood.
The events after Jacinda left were uneventful. All that happened was Myra telling Toadstool and Marcy that they would be back to check on the village and waiting for Andrias's response.
Marcy sent the message via a carrier bee. It wasn't clear when they would receive a response, but she mentioned they would likely get one when they returned to Newtopia. That night, Anne couldn't sleep. Her mind was occupied with thoughts of the people who needed her. Her friends and family were in Amphibia. They had been in this world for four and a half months. The way home was only half complete.
There were four temples for each of the four who came to this world. Anne had two of her friends back. If they were going to recharge the stones and go home, they would need each other, meaning that they needed to find the last lost friend.
And there lay their problem: Sasha. They had to find her.
Anne understood that bringing this up would cause problems, which is why she was hesitant to speak about it, especially with Frank. She loved him as the boy she cherished, but Anne still cared for the blonde girl despite everything that had happened. Sasha was her and Marcy's best friend, and they needed to find her to bring her home. However, Frank still hated her, and Anne didn't blame him.
But Anne knew that there was still goodness in Sasha. She had to believe that there was.
"We need to—"
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Interrupted, Anne and the others turned to it.
Frank walked toward it and opened the door, expecting to see one of their neighbors come to tell them something important, like something was eating their vegetables or that Bessie got out and they were bringing her back. Maybe it could have been the mayor coming to thank the family and friends for their help in keeping his position in Wartwood and his head. For a moment, he even believed that the FLA had returned.
None of those people were on the other side, and Frank deeply wished they were. Instead, two people Frank never expected to see again—or wanted to, if he had a choice--stood there.
"Hello," Sasha said, nervously standing next to Grime, "Sasha and Grime here."