A Frog's Way Home (The Calamity Girls Book 3)

The Beginning of the End

Flashback to 2 years ago

Anne, Sasha, Marcy, and I were having a sleepover one night. Marcy had us watch War of the Warlocks. Again. To be honest, I didn't mind the movie and was always fine with watching it. Anne and Sasha, not so much. "I know what you're thinking. "The resistance stands no chance against the Lich King's undead horde."" Marcy said. "Totally." Anne replied, pretending to understand. "But little do they know, the whole battle is just a distraction so that our heroes could sneak into the castle and destroy the crystal crown of Tantamore." Marcy explains. "Whoa! Spoiler alert!" Sasha exclaimed. "Sorry, sorry." Marcy apologized. "It's just such a good movie and I get carried away." "MarMar, I'm joking." Sasha chuckled. "I don't actually care." "Phew." Marcy sighed. "At least I didn't ruin the second twist where it turns out..." "Pillow fight!" I shouted, tossing pillows at all the girls. All of us laughed so hard. "Guys, here comes my favorite part!" Marcy gasped at the tv. "Whoa, really?" I asked. "Anne? Sasha?" Marcy asked, looking behind me to see the girls fast asleep. "Oh, you guys fell asleep, again." "Hey, their loss." I said as Marcy placed a blanket over Anne and Sasha. "They're missing out on a great movie." "What would I do without you?" Marcy asked. "You'll never defeat us, Lich King." I quoted. "Not while we have the power of friendship." Marcy added, finishing the movie to the last second.

Present Day

Before we could head to the castle, we had to explain the plan to the resistance. "Alright, is everyone clear on the plan?" Anne asked. "Tritonio, Beatrix, and Croaker will lead a direct assault on the castle." "With the king's attention drawn, Anne, Rowena, and I will infiltrate the castle, rescue Marcy, and steal the source of Andrias' power, the music box." Sasha added. "Suit up and move out, people!" I ordered. "Today, we give evil a big fat wedgie!" "That doesn't sound right." Rosalina said from the audience. "I wrote that line." Polly explains. "Oh, really? Couldn't tell." Hop Pop replied. "This is so exciting! Andrias isn't gonna know what hit him!" Sprig exclaimed. "Anyone need to use the bathroom before this make or break mission?" Anne asked. "I'm serious, guys. This is your last chance." "That means you, Hop Pop." I added.

We took to the skies and left the valley, basically going into war. "We need to talk about Marcy." Sasha said. "You were thinking about her, too, huh?" Anne asked. "She got us stuck here on purpose, Anne." Sasha replied. "I know she was freaking out about moving, but it's still super messed up." "We've all made mistakes, Sasha." Anne explained. "And besides, maybe we're partially to blame." "Exqueeze me?" Sasha asked. "Remember the movie she used to make us watch, War of the Warlocks, and how you and Anne would always fall asleep?" I asked. "It was a three hour movie." Sasha replied. "It wasn't just that movie, we ignored all her interests. We might've ignored her needs, too." Anne confessed. "Maybe that's why she stuck around with Rowena for so long. Maybe that's why she went behind our back for this crazy plan." "All I'm saying is, if we save Marcy, can we really save this friendship?" Sasha asked. "I don't know. But we have to try." Anne replied. "Besides, it worked between us, didn't it?" I wondered.

Before we knew it, the whole rebellion was outside of Newtopia to stop the invasion. "People of Amphibia, are we gonna sit here and let the past steal our future?!" Mrs Croaker asked. "No!" The rebels responded as they began charging at an army of robots and mind controlled creatures. Since Andrias was distracted, the rest of us arrived at the castle. Grime, Frobo, Rosalina, and the Plantars were rocking out to a playlist on Sasha's phone. "Stealth mission. Hello?" Sasha whispered. "Right, sorry." Grime apologized. "Alright. We get in, get the music box, save Marcy." I explained. "Got it?" "Got it." They replied, sneaking into the castle.

We were successful in sneaking past some robots in the halls. "Okay, so, let's say you're right and we've been taking Marcy for granted." Sasha whispered. "That doesn't change what she's done." "It's not about what she did, Sash." Anne explains. "It's about why she did it." "So, I'm just supposed to forgive her like it's easy?" Sasha asked. "It's not easy. Forgiveness is hard, and it can take time." I replied. "But believe us, it's worth it. I mean, just look at what you, Anne, and I have now." "You're right, of course you are." Sasha sniffles. "Now, let's save that lovable little nerd so we can make things right with her." "That's what we're talking about." Anne said. "Now c'mon, the throne room is just up ahead."

As we got up to the throne room, we were suddenly stopped by two familiar faces wearing spore collars. "Going." Lady Olivia said. "Somewhere?" General Yunan asked. "Lady Olivia, Yunan, it's us!" Sprig exclaimed. "You're wasting your breath, boy. Look!" Hop Pop warned, showing the collars. Before Yunan could use her blades to slice up Hop Pop, Grime blocked her with the warhammer, but Lady Olivia took down Grime. Sasha shoved Olivia and Yunan back. The newts were dodging our every move. "They're too in sync!" Polly exclaimed. "We can't land a hit!" Rosalina gasped. "They're not the only ones who're in sync." Anne said. "Sasha, Rowena, remember that Super Dance Fusion routine we always used to do?" "How could I forget?" Sasha asked. "You taught me everything you knew." I added. "Hit it, Grime." Grime played a song from Sasha's phone. As the song played, we used the dance against Lady Olivia and Yunan until the collars were broken. "What happened?" Lady Olivia asked. "Where are we?" Yunan wondered. "No time to explain!" Anne replied. "We're here for the music box." "And Marcy." Sasha added. "No, wait!" Lady Olivia begged. "Marcy has changed." Yunan explains. "She's no longer the girl you knew." "Neither are we." I said. "No, you don't understand!" Lady Olivia warned.

Walking into the throne room, we saw the music box on a platform. "I don't see Marcy." I explained. "First thing's first, get the box." Sasha said. "I can't believe it. It's over. We've won." Anne smiled, trying to grab the music box, but it suddenly disappeared? "Wait, what?" All of a sudden, some thick wires wrapped around us and the others. "Holy frog abuse!" I shouted. Then, some dramatic lights came on, revealing a figure wearing a black axolotl inspired suit and mask. Marcy? No. It couldn't be. Could it? "Hello, girls." Marcy greeted in a creepy tone. I knew something was wrong. This wasn't the same Marcy I've always known. "Nice of you to fall for our trap." "Marcy?" I asked. "What are you wearing? What's going on?" "We're not Marcy. Not anymore." She replied. "We are a collection of Amphibia's greatest minds uploaded into a unified consciousness." "What have you done with Marcy?!" Anne snapped. "She's up here with us." replied Dark Marcy, or Darcy. "It's how we recognized your little ruse. War of the Warlocks? Very cute." "Give us our friend, or I'll rip that helmet off and take her back!" Sasha threatened. "Your friend? Don't be silly." Darcy asked. "You're not friends. Not anymore. And examining Marcy's memories, it's doubtful you ever were." "Sasha, don't listen to this, thing." Anne said to Sasha, who was feeling guilty about how she treated her all these years. "Let go of Marcy now, you big bully!" I yelled. "Ah, the famous Anne and Rowena." Darcy said. "Dumber than a bag of rocks, and yet somehow this rebellion's last hope. Which reminds me..." Darcy takes us to the castle balcony. "Frogs, toads, and newts of the resistance. Your leaders have been captured. Your rebellion is over!" King Andrias came back to the castle as soon as the rebellion retreated from battle. "Everything is ready, my lord." King Andrias said. "The rebellion is in shambles and Earth is ripe for the taking." "Then all that's left is for us to do what you could not." Darcy replied. "Kill Anne and Rowena. It's been risky enough using the box up until now. We don't know what will happen as long as those two hold a piece of it's power." "I don't believe it. They're as clueless about the stones as we are." Anne gasped. "You monster!" Rosalina cried. "I won't let you murder my little sister and her girlfriend!" "Don't worry. There's a good chance you're next." Darcy chuckled, drawing their flaming sword, about to kill me and Anne. "Let's make this quick." "Wait!" Anne shouted. "Amusing. You wish to beg?" Darcy asked. "Just a quick question." Anne replied. "Are you sure this'll return the stone's power to the box?" "Yeah. What if killing the both of us somehow extinguishes the box's power altogether?" I asked. "Don't be ridiculous." King Andrias replied. "You think the core hasn't considered..." "SHUT UP, ANDRIAS!" Darcy snapped, closing their eyes to think. "Unprecedented. We cannot reach a consensus. Therefore, we must confirm that the energy can be safely extracted before killing them." "Wait, did we seriously just outsmart you?" Anne asked. "I think we did!" I exclaimed. "I'd give you a high five, except we're kinda tied up." "You only bought enough time to watch your planet fall. We look forward to dissecting you two, alive." Darcy said. "Guards, have the rest of them fitted for collars immediately. Andrias. Portal. Now. It's time." "No! You keep your hands away from them!" I snapped as the robots took our friends away. King Andrias created a portal to Earth. We were too late. We lost.