Amphibia: Embrace The Fall

Beyond These Snowy Gates

The first thing Sasha noted about the Arctic was just how goddamn cold it was. Like seriously! Why would anyone choose to live here?!

Every soldier in the joint Amphibian Army had been outfitted with winter gear to prevent them from freezing, but that didn't mean they were warm.

Sasha shivered. "How the hell has Anne lived here for so long? It's fucking freezing!"

"It's most likely because of her powers." Marcy answered, too focused on writing in her journal to even notice the cold. "Given their fiery nature and the fact she's always in her Calamity Form, Anne probably can't even feel the cold while she's here."

Sasha opened her mouth to speak, but Marcy cut her off. "No, we can't activate our powers just so we can be warm. Remember what Valeriana said? The Second Temple lets Anne use less energy but if we tried to do that, we'd tire ourselves out before the battle even begins."

Sasha shut her mouth in defeat, deciding to just tough it out for the time being. She looked over at the leaders of the Frog Army.

Hop Pop drove Bessie alongside Mrs. Croaker's ladybug. "So...what was it like...ya know...being revived?"

Mrs. Croaker shrugged. "Like waking up from a nap. It was quite a surprise to learn that it'd been over two months."

"Do you remember...dying?" Hop Pop asked hesitatingly.

Mrs. Croaker was silent for a moment before replying. "I remember seeing you, your grandson, and a sword sticking out of my chest."

Hop Pop nervously chuckled. "Well uh, it's good to have you back."

"Thank Maddie." Mrs. Croaker smiled as she motioned to the witch sitting next to her on the ladybug. "I wouldn't even be here without her."

"Thanks, Mrs. Croaker!" Maddie smiled back before her expression dimmed slightly. "Sadly, I couldn't revive all the other frogs. Doing something like that would require a level of magic beyond anything I've ever seen before, not to mention the amount of time needed for each resurrection."

"It's okay, Maddie." Sprig said from his seat next to Hop Pop. "Maybe in the future, you can teach some of us how to do magic so it doesn't take as long."

Maddie laughed. "I already promised my sisters I'd teach them when they're older, but I'd be happy to teach you as well, Sprig!"

Sprig nodded back. "Sounds good to me!"

"HEADS UP EVERYBODY!" Grime yelled from the very front of the army. "WE'RE APPROACHING A VILLAGE! BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ANY SIGNS OF THE BLUE FLAME!"

Sasha nudged Marcy. "The Blue Flame?"

"It's the name the locals here gave Anne." Marcy replied. "When I was in the Core, she used to brag to Darcy about how the frogs worshiped her like a god."

Sasha scratched her head as the army began trickling into the village. "Huh, that's interesting..."

Marcy simply shrugged in response.

Suddenly the entire army stopped as Andrias held his hand up. "That's strange..."

"What's up big guy?" Marcy asked as she looked away from her journal.

Andrias looked around at the village. "There's no one here."

Grime narrowed his eyes as he noted multiple destroyed buildings and a whole lot of dried blood on the walls, but there were no bodies to be seen. "Perhaps the villagers had to retreat after an attack."

"You think it was Anne?" Sasha questioned as she walked up to her commander.

Grime looked to be lost in thought. "Possibly, but it just wouldn't make sense. Based on the reports, most of the frogs here saw Anne as a god, their savior. Why would she attack them?"