It had been three days since Swamp Shiro fell and Sasha was already at the end of her rope. In that time she had reinforced Wartwood's walls, trained and armed every frog she possibly could, and sent out scouting parties to keep track of the U.S. Army's advancements into the Valley.
Sufficed to say, she was exhausted. However, she couldn't stop now. The resistance had, at most, a day before the human army arrived at Wartwood's doorstep and Sasha couldn't afford for them to be ill-prepared.
The blonde physically jumped when a clawed hand stopped her from running back into the Plantar's home to grab more bricks for the outer wall. Sasha quickly drew her sword and pointed it at her assailant only to see Grime standing there with a concerned look on his face.
Sasha put her sword away. "Jesus, Grime, don't scare me like that!"
The toad crossed his arms. "Lieutenant, when was the last time you slept? The bags under your eyes are enormous."
"Whaaat? No they're not!" Sasha tried to say only for Grime to raise an eyebrow in response. "Okay, fine. The last time I slept was, let's see...um...two days ago, I think, when I took a quick nap in between training."
Grime smacked his forehead. "You need to rest, Sasha. You won't be able to fight in the upcoming battle if you're half asleep the whole time!"
"I know, I know." Sasha sighed. "But there's so much to do and even then it still probably won't be enough to hold them off."
Grime nodded sympathetically. "You're doing everything you can, but let some of us help. We're all in this together and that means we all have to do our part."
Sasha laughed. "Wow, Grimsey, since when did you get all sentimental?"
Grime waved her off. "Yeah yeah, just go get some rest. I'll make sure Beatrix and the rest of the toads finish up the wall before sundown."
"Thanks, you always know how to...wait, do you see that?" Sasha said as she squinted at something high up in the sky.
Grime followed her line of sight, spotting a black dot hovering above the Plantar's home. He lashed his tongue out at the object, destroying it and sending its remains plummeting to the ground.
"Was that a drone?!" Sasha asked incredulously.
Grime peered down at the now-destroyed chunk of metal. "Seems like it."
"Damn it!" Sasha shouted as she kicked the downed drone in frustration. "That means they've scoped out this place from top to bottom! They'll know where all our defenses are located, not to mention the entrance to our underground base!"
"Well, that's not good."
"Ya think?!!" Sasha deadpanned.
She began to pace back and forth as Grime watched. "Okay, so a sneak attack is out of the question. We can't hold out in a siege either, not that that would've worked anyway. Maybe we could escape on the kill-a-moths and Joe, but there are way too many people to carry, and where the hell would we go?"
"Sasha."
"Just because they know our positions doesn't mean we still can't win. It'll be hard and there'll probably be a lot of casualties, but maybe..."
"Sasha!"
"What?!" The blonde yelled, stopping her pacing.
"Do we have a backup plan?" Grime asked. "One that hopefully won't get us all killed?!"
"If worst comes to worst, I guess we could try to use the Music Box and escape." Sasha explained tentatively.
Grime raised an eyebrow. "Do you even know how it works?"
Sasha shrugged. "No, but it can't be too hard, right? I mean, there wasn't really much time to figure it out when we briefly took over Newtopia."
"But where would we go?" Grime questioned. "Not Earth, that's for sure."
Sasha let her body sag a little. "I don't know, Grime, but anywhere's got to be better than here."
"COMMANDER!!!"
Sasha immediately straightened up when a familiar voice was heard coming toward them. She watched as none other than One-eyed Wally ran up to them looking panicked.
"Wally, what's going on?" Sasha asked when the frog finally reached them.
Wally threw his hands around wildly as he spoke. "The human army, t-they're almost here. The scouting parties we sent just barely managed to sneak away undetected."
Sasha exchanged a glance with Grime before the two of them rushed off in opposite directions. Grime ran towards Wartwood while Sasha ducked into the Plantar's home to gather the rest of the army from the basement.
"So much for getting some sleep." Sasha muttered under her breath.
~~~
One hour later and the entire Amphibian Army was gathered in the center of town, many looking extremely nervous for the battle ahead. "I wanna go home..." Sasha overheard one of the newts say to another.
"I think they might need some sort of motivation." Grime said, nudging Sasha's shoulder as they walked past. "Most of them look like they'll flee at the first sign of danger."
"I can't really blame them." Sasha responded. "If I were them, I'd be scared shitless. Hell, I am scared shitless but I see what you mean."
Sasha gave the other leaders of the resistance a quick nod before climbing to the top of the town statue. She cleared her throat.
"LISTEN UP!" Sasha called out to her soldiers, their attention immediately being drawn to the Commander. "The battle that will decide the future of the resistance is upon us. We formed this army to stop Andrias, but today we face a different foe, one with weapons most of you have never seen before."
Sasha sighed as she looked down at her troops. "I know this isn't going to be easy. With the massacre at Newtopia, Anne's capture, and the catastrophe at Swamp Shiro, I understand if you want to give up. I understand if you want to lay down your swords and surrender."
"Should we?" Someone in the crowd yelled out.
Sasha closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them again. "No! During my time here, I have grown to see Amphibia as my home, even more so than Earth ever was. I refuse to let it be destroyed." She looked at Grime. "Amphibia has made me into a person I can be proud of. If that means that I have to go against my own kind in order to protect it, I'll do so without hesitation!"
Sasha jumped down from the statue, the army making a pathway for her as she walked. "We will hold the wall for as long as possible. If they break through, retreat to our defenses at Stumpy's Diner or Grub & Go. If they take those, retreat back to the Plantar's basement."
"And if they reach us there?" A newt nearby asked.
Sasha pointed to a familiar old frog and a pair of newts. "I have entrusted Mrs. Croaker, Olivia, and Yunan to guard the Music Box. If we reach a point where it seems we can't win, then we'll use it to escape."
The blonde drew one of her swords and pointed it in the air. "Now then...PREPARE FOR BATTLE!!!"
A collective 'yes ma'am' was heard before the entire army hurried off to do their select duties. Sasha sheathed her sword as she let out a heavy sigh. She felt Grime place a hand on her shoulder. "That was great, Lieutenant, but do you really think we have a chance at winning?"
Sasha turned to look at him, her eye bags more pronounced than ever by the setting sun. "Honestly, not really. A part of me feels like I'm just leading us all to our deaths, but giving up without a fight doesn't feel right either."
Grime gave Sasha's shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. "Then I suppose we better not die." The toad said before running off towards the outer wall.
Sasha ran a hand through her hair. How the fuck did she end up in this situation? She'd only just turned 14 and here she was leading a goddamn army against the U.S. Military in another dimension! That's not to mention that one of her friends was possessed by a hive mind and the other was captured by a government agent in a purple suit. She was supposed to be starting high school right now, not risking her life in a war!
Sasha shook her head, trying to keep her mind focused on the present. She'd have time to really think about the absurdity of this whole situation after everything was settled. As long as I don't die. Her mind helpfully supplied.
Sasha was just about to start making her way to the outer wall and assist with any last-minute reinforcements when she heard it: a familiar low buzz that was getting louder by the second.
"Metal birds incoming!" Soggy Joe shouted from his position on the wall. "Everyone take cover!"
Sasha quickly ran into one of the makeshift bunkers they had dug out in preparation. After the utter failure at Swamp Shiro and knowing the kind of firepower they were up against, Sasha had taken every precaution she could think of to ensure they would be ready to deal with this sort of attack.
BRRRRRRRRRRRRR
The ground shook as the bomber planes dropped their loads, undoubtedly destroying the buildings that used to store their weapon supplies. Sasha thanked whatever frog god was out there that they had spotted the drone beforehand. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known to move their supplies elsewhere.
As the shaking stopped and the planes turned around, Sasha carefully exited the bunker to assess the damage. Sure enough, Loggle and Felicia's shops were completely demolished. The blonde couldn't help but feel guilty over their destruction, but she managed to shake it off and return to the outer wall.
"Alright everyone, that was just the beginning." Sasha yelled out as the resistance ran back to their positions. "The main assault is still yet to come!"
She turned her attention to Ivy and Maddie. "You two, activate you-know-what. Magic is probably the only advantage we have over them so let's make it count, yeah?"
The two frogs nodded before running off into the forest. Sasha laughed internally as she watched them go. How did she forget to add magic to the list of things that didn't make sense in her new life?!
"Commander! Tanks and soldiers on the horizon!" A toad soldier shouted. "Do we launch the catapults?"
"Negative!" Sasha called back. "Wait for my signal!"
"But—!"
"That's an order!" Sasha yelled, her voice not wavering in the slightest.
The toad immediately shut his mouth, albeit reluctantly. Sasha rubbed her eyes in frustration while Beatrix struggled to contain her laughter at her own soldier's embarrassment.
Suddenly a red beam of light shot up into the air, causing the clouds above to darken and cover up the sun. Sasha turned to see Ivy and Maddie running back from the forest. Maddie, in particular, had a devilish grin plastered onto her face.
"He's on his way." The frog witch said proudly as she and Ivy joined up with their parents atop the wall. Sasha gave them a quick nod before turning her attention back to the sky where their trump card was set to appear.
"Commander, they've crossed the river!" The same toad soldier yelled out again. "Are you sure we shouldn't—?"
"Hold. Your. Positions." Sasha ordered. "We don't want to hit our special guest."
Grime peered back at her from his position on the wall with a look of confusion. "Special guest?"
Sasha merely smiled and gestured to the sky. Grime looked up and just like clockwork, the resistance's secret weapon materialized right in front of the U.S. Military.
Chicka-lisk the Stormbringer had arrived.