Embrace The Fall One Shots

by Matic17

Summary:

Short stories set during the events of my Embrace The Fall AU.

Chapter 1: The Invasion of Wartwood
Chapter 2: The Birth of Darcy
Chapter 3: A Fight for Freedom
Chapter 4: Aftermath [NEW]
Chapter 5: An Argument Among Gods

Notes:

As promised at the end of Part 3, here is the Embrace The Fall One Shot Collection. Updates for this will be fairly infrequent as it’s mainly a way for me to expand the Embrace The Fall AU and improve my writing capabilities while I plan out my next fic idea.

Chapter 1: The Invasion of Wartwood

Summary:

Sasha and the Toad Army conquer Wartwood

Notes:

Takes place soon after Part 1: Chapter 2 “The Red Queen”

Originally posted on 10/3/2022

Mrs. Croaker was not in a good mood. The past few weeks had to have been some of the worst days in her entire life.

The Plantars were supposed to have come back from Newtopia by now after saying goodbye to the humans. Normally, Mrs. Croaker would have just shrugged it off and continued on with her day, but the castle in the sky seemed to indicate that something had gone horribly wrong.

But that wasn’t all…

Mrs. Croaker had read the newspaper. Frogs across the Valley were being thrown out of their homes by the Toad Army. Those that resisted were killed on the spot.

It was monstrous behavior, even for a culture as brutal as the Toad’s. Something had to have changed in order for them to begin acting so violently.

Mrs. Croaker was snapped out of her thoughts by One-Eyed Wally. The teal frog stormed through the market, yelling at the top of his lungs.

“THE TOADS ARE COMING!!!”

Everyone in the market gasped as Wally kept on running, continuing to shout out a warning to anyone he saw.

Mrs. Croaker abandoned her shopping list and marched back to her home. She had some very important things to grab. 

Wartwood would not go down without a fight!

 

---

 

Sasha grinned as the walls of the annoying frog village came into view. She motioned for Bufo and Beatrix to begin the assault while she checked in with Grime and Aldo.

Sasha approached the two older toads who appeared to be arguing with one another.

“This has gone too far, Aldo!” Grime yelled in the Toad Lord’s face. “Killing these frogs only makes it more likely that a rebellion will form later down the line.”

“This is not up for debate.” Also replied calmly. “Captain Waybright has done wonders for Toad Society. I trust her judgment.”

Sasha coughed into her hand. “Ahem.”

Grime and Aldo immediately turned and saluted their commander. Sasha rolled her eyes. “At ease.”

She looked at Aldo. “Are the birds ready?”

The old toad nodded. “They await your command.”

Sasha smiled. “Good. Maybe these frogs will put up more of a fight so I can finally use them.”

“Commander?” Grime decided to speak up. “Don’t you think all of this is going a little overboard? We already rule over the frogs, why do we need to drive them out of their homes?”

Sasha groaned in annoyance. “Because Grimsey, you toads shouldn’t have to live in a damn tower.” She looked towards the mountain pass where the floating castle was visible in the sky. “And as soon as we take over the Valley, I can finally go kick that stupid king’s ass.”

“If it’s Andrias you’re worried about, maybe we could work with the frogs in order to—“ Grime began to say before Sasha cut him off.

“Just drop it, Grime.” Sasha hissed. “Remember who’s in charge here.”

Grime closed his mouth and nodded as Sasha unsheathed her swords. “Aldo, you take me to the herons. Grime, you take the rest of the army and help Beatrix and Bufo in the frontal assault. Got it?”

Both toads saluted her while Sasha basked in her verbal victory. This was how it should be. How it should’ve been with Anne and Marcy. 

Sasha was in complete control.

 

---

 

Loggle worked as fast as he could to clear his shop of all things valuable. Even though he wasn’t a frog, he knew he wouldn’t be spared by the Toad Army. Either he got out now or not at all.

A knock on his door snapped him out of his panicked state. Loggle cleared his throat. “Who………is it?”

A familiar elderly voice spoke. “It’s Sadie. Come out here, Leopold, it’s urgent.”

Loggle cautiously opened the door to his shop and nearly slammed it shut again when he saw the massive crowd of amphibians standing just outside. “What’s going on?”

Mrs. Croaker handed him a rusty sword. “This town isn’t going down without a fight.” She looked back at the crowd behind her. “Isn’t that right?!”

“No!” The crowd answered in unison.

Loggle looked at the sword Mrs. Croaker gave him. “I don’t even know………how to use this.”

“Just swing it at their heads.” Stumpy replied. “Always works for me.”

The half-frog, half-toad took off his spatula hands and replaced them with a hammer and a mace. Loggle looked at Mrs. Croaker and Stumpy in disbelief. “Not all of us are fighters, you know?!”

“But you all could be.” Mrs. Croaker countered. “I’ve seen your statue, Leopold. I know you want to be strong.”

Loggle sighed in defeat. “Okay, I’ll fight, but it’ll be a losing battle.”

“Probably.” Mrs. Croaker conceded. “But at least we’ll die trying.”

 

---

 

Grime stood atop the bridge just outside the walls of Wartwood. Bufo and Beatrix had led their armies around the sides of the frog village, surrounding the town and leaving no room for escape. All three Toad Lords waited for their commander to give the signal.

Grime looked back at his own army and grimaced. He still couldn’t comprehend why his former Lieutenant was so hell-bent on getting rid of these frogs. Sure, they were annoying, but that wasn’t enough of a reason to kill them.

Grime sighed in defeat. There was nothing he could do to stop this unless he committed treason against his own kind. He would need to raise some kind of Frog Army and storm Toad Tower if he wanted this madness to end. What were the odds of something like that happening?

 

SCREECH

 

The sound of one of the herons overhead broke Grime out of his thoughts. That was the signal.

Grime pulled out Barrel’s Warhammer and charged through the gates of Wartwood, his army following closely behind. He slowed to a halt when he noticed a large crowd of armed amphibians ready to defend their home.

Grime stared at them in disbelief. Did these frogs seriously think they could stand up to the Toad Army? This was just plain suicide! 

Grime powered up Barrel’s Warhammer and sighed. He was really hoping for an easy victory today.

 

---

 

Wally raised his sword just in time to block an attack from a nearby toad. He kicked the toad away and dodged out of the way right before a different toad could cut his head off. It was clear that the small army Mrs. Croaker had amassed was being overrun.

Wally dodged the swing of a toad’s sword and ran in the direction of the old frog, hoping that she would have a plan. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her struggling to hold back Captain Grime.

“MRS. CROAKER!!!” Wally shouted.

Just then, another toad punched Grime away. It was Mayor Toadstool. Wally stared at him in shock. Most of Wartwood had assumed he would simply sit back and watch the town be taken, but here he was, fighting to save them.

Wally ran over to Mrs. Croaker while Toadstool picked up a fallen battle axe and prepared to hold off Grime. The toad looked over his shoulder at the two of them. “This better have earned y’all votes for the next election!”

Toadstool rushed toward Grime just as Toadie ran up to Wally and Mrs. Croaker. “Has anyone seen the Mayor? I saw him run into the battle and now…” The small frog trailed off when he noticed the mayor duking it out with Grime.

Toadie opened his mouth to comment on Toadstool’s lack of fighting ability, but a toad soldier cut him off as they tried to bring their sword down on Toadie’s head. Thankfully, Mrs. Croaker blocked the attack while Wally knocked the toad out with his accordion.

“Come on, you frogs, we need to get out of ‘ere!” Wally said as he tried to pull the two of them away.

Mrs. Croaker stood firm. “No. This is our town and I won’t let it be run by some dry-skinned brutes.” She gestured to the knocked-out toad on the ground. “Just look at the idiots they have for soldiers.”

 

SCREECH

 

The sound of a bird flying overhead interrupted their argument. Everyone looked up in horror at the two herons flying above them with none other than Sasha Waybright riding on one of their backs.

The monstrous birds crashed to the ground, crushing two buildings in the process. Sasha smirked as she peered down at the frogs below. “What’s up, frogs? Guess who’s back~!”

 

---

 

Mrs. Croaker froze at the sight of the birds who had taken so many lives all those years ago. It seemed like only yesterday that she would buy a loaf of bread from Mrs. Flour or greet Mr. Sundew on her way to the market. Frog, watching the Plantar couple play with their children near the fountain used to be one of her favorite pastimes.

Mrs. Croaker sealed away the memories as she went to glare at the creature riding one of the herons. A small part of the old frog knew that Sasha couldn’t be trusted even after Anne said she had changed.

Sasha caught Toadie’s eye. “Sup butler frog! Like what you see?”

Toadie seemed to be at a loss for words. Mrs. Croaker stepped forward and pointed her sword at the human girl. “This is our town, you can’t have it!”

“Oh?” Sasha asked innocently as scratched the back of the heron she was riding. “And why’s that?”

“Because…” Mrs. Croaker began. “We don’t accept, let alone respect, outsiders like you.”

Sasha’s eyes twitched in annoyance. “If that’s how you wanna play this, fine. I’ll do it your way.” She pointed at Mrs. Croaker. “Kill.”

Both herons immediately snapped their beaks at the old frog, just barely missing their target as Wally pulled Mrs. Croaker out of the way.

Mrs. Croaker, Wally, and Toadie all ran towards the town statue with Toadstool bringing up the rear after losing his axe in the scuffle with Grime.

Mrs. Croaker spotted Loggle fighting alongside Stumpy and Felicia Sundew against an even larger group of toads. 

“Fall back!” Mrs. Croaker called out to the group as she and the others continued to evade Sasha's herons.

The other three amphibians abandoned the fight against the toads and started to run alongside Mrs. Croaker and the rest of her group.

“Do you have a plan?” Felicia asked hopefully.

Mrs. Croaker shook her head. “We need somewhere to lay low and come up with one.”

“I know…………someplace we can hide.” Loggle exclaimed as they all took cover behind the town statue.

Mrs. Croaker turned to the axolotl. “Where?”

“Underneath the Plantar’s house. They have a system of tunnels down there.” Loggle replied. “We can hide there and come up with a plan to………take back Wartwood.”

Mrs. Croaker nodded before turning to the rest of the group. “Felicia, Wally, Stumpy, you three find as many Wartwood citizens as you can and lead them to the Plantar’s house. Loggle, Toadstool, Toadie, and I will make sure the tunnels are safe.”

Every amphibian in the group nodded before taking off to do their respective jobs. Mrs. Croaker nearly yelled out in surprise when Toadstool threw herself, Loggle, and Toadie onto his back like he had done at Toad Tower. The toad immediately took off running toward the Plantar home.

“We’re almost there, sir!” Toadie exclaimed as Toadstool weaved through the battle happening all around them. “Keep running!”

Mrs. Croaker looked behind them and was relieved to see that the herons had lost interest in them, but now they were on the hunt for other frogs to feast on.

“Faster!” Mrs. Croaker ordered as Toadstool reached the edge of town.

 

---

 

Sasha’s grin widened as she watched the Citizens of Wartwood run for their lives. Although some frogs were dead on the ground, most had seemingly decided to run after it became clear that this was a losing battle. 

As soon as the last of the frogs were gone, Sasha dismounted from her heron and marched over to Beatrix, Bufo, Aldo, and Grime.

She slowly clapped her hands. “Well done. This town actually resisted somewhat, but you guys still destroyed them.” Sasha patted Grime’s head. “Even you, Grimsey.”

“Shouldn’t we go after those frogs?” Beatrix asked. “What if they try to rebel against us?”

Sasha laughed. “Are you serious right now?! Those frogs don’t stand a chance against us, let alone the herons. They’d have to be idiots to even think of trying.”

The blonde turned and started walking toward the town square. “Now come on you guys, we’ve got some plundering to do.”

Wartwood had fallen, but little did Sasha know, the war had only just begun.

Notes:

Just a heads up, a lot of these are gonna be set during Part 1. There’s a bunch of things I kind of skimmed over in that part that I want to flesh out here.

I expect most of these to be between 1000-3000 words in length and the time between updates will vary. I could update twice in one week or one time in three weeks. Updates will probably be less frequent once I start the next series I’m currently in the middle of planning for.

If you have any one shot suggestions, leave them in the comments. If I like the idea, I might end up doing it later.

Chapter 2: The Birth of Darcy

Summary:

Marcy is assimilated into the Core (aka, this fic’s version of Olivia & Yunan)

Notes:

Takes place sometime before Part 1: Chapter 3 “The Hive Mind”

Originally posted on 11/9/2022

“Behold, our ultimate creation.” Andrias stated proudly as Marcy was forcefully strapped into the black throne. “A collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds, preserved for all eternity.”

“What are you doing, Andrias?!” Olivia yelled up at the colossal newt.

“Stop it you maniac!” Yunan shouted.

Andrias ignored them, instead choosing to elaborate more on the creation of his master. “Studying the moss men improved our medical technology, but it wasn’t until we met the shadow fish that we truly learned to conquer death, and thus the Core was born.”

Marcy struggled against her restraints. “Let me go!”

“I wish I could, but my lord craves a host.” Andrias replied nonchalantly. “And it wanted the best, the smartest, the only one who could beat me at Flipwart.”

Marcy gasped as she began to realize that everything up until this point had been a test. A test to see if she was worthy of being the Core’s host.

Andrias grinned at her look of shock. “Honestly, Marcy, I like you. Always have. I begged the Core to consider an alternative host but…alas.”

All of a sudden, small metal tubes sprang out from the throne, attaching themselves to Marcy’s body. She looked around in panic. “What? What is this?!”

Marcy looked up, her panic increasing tenfold when she noticed a dark helmet being lowered onto her head. Both Olivia and Yunan reached their hands out in some vain attempt to save her, but it was too late.

Despite his earlier gravitas, Andrias couldn’t bring himself to watch as the helmet was forced onto Marcy’s head. 

All was quiet for a moment and then it hit. Unimaginable pain, unlike anything Marcy had ever felt before, surged throughout her body. She screamed as her consciousness was pushed aside to make room for something else, something unnatural.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the pain disappeared and everything went black.

 

---

 

“I did it for us.”

“The day we left, your birthday, they told me my dad got a new job out of state! They were making me move away! They were gonna tear us apart!”

“I-I found the box, I had no idea it would actually work but it did! A-and it sent us to a place where we’d never have to grow apart, where the three of us could be friends forever together!”

“But look at how much fun we’ve had! Look at how much you’ve both grown! Look at Sprig! I gave you this, I gave you everything!”

“I just didn’t want to be alone.”

“Didn’t want to be alone.”

“Be alone.”

“Alone.”

“Alone.”

“Alone.”

“Not alone.”

“I did it for us.”

“Do it for us.”

“Let us help you.”

“Let us help you never be alone.”

“No one will ever tear us apart.”

“We will give you everything.”

 

---

 

Marcy slowly opened her eyes only to see a bright light shining onto her face. She groaned as she sat up and rubbed her eyes before taking the time to look around.

Marcy’s jaw dropped at the scene in front of her. She was in her personal fantasy world, the one she dreamt of almost every night since she was a kid. It was literally a dream come true!

However, Marcy wasn’t so enamored by the world that the sound of large footsteps behind her went unnoticed. She whipped her head around only to be met with the face of…Andrias?

No, not Andrias. This newt was older, much older if Marcy had to guess. She took a few steps back when the Andrias-like newt reached out his hand toward her.

The newt stopped and pulled his hand back when he noticed Marcy’s fearful expression. “There's no need to be afraid here, Wit.”

Marcy looked up at him, trying to find the newt’s eyes underneath his massive eyebrows. “Who…who are you?”

“I am Aldrich.” The newt supplied, placing a hand over his chest. “I am here to welcome you to the Core.”

Marcy placed a hand on her forehead. The Core? Something about that name seemed so familiar but she couldn’t remember where she had heard it from.

“What exactly is the Core?” Marcy finally asked after a few seconds of silence.

Aldrich smiled. “The Core is a collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds uploaded into a unified consciousness. You, my dear, have just joined our ranks.”

“Behold, our ultimate creation. A collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds, preserved for all eternity.”

Marcy nearly fell over in shock as the memories of what happened to her came rushing back. Her lip quivered as she looked back up at Aldrich. “Y-you took over my body.”

“We did, but as I said, there’s no need to be afraid.” Aldrich said, taking a step closer to the human and kneeling down on one knee. “This is a golden opportunity for you, Wit. Let us help you.”

“H-help me?”

“Of course!” Aldrich laughed. “What’s the one thing you’ve always wanted?”

“To go on a real-life fantasy adventure with my friends.” Marcy replied as her fear slowly shifted into curiosity.

“Did you get that wish while you were in Amphibia?”

Marcy looked away. “Kinda…I sorta had to force them into it though…”

Aldrich nodded sympathetically. “What if I told you there was a way to make the world whatever you wanted? What if there was a way for you and your friends to never be apart again?”

“Is there?!” Marcy asked, her hope rising.

“There is.” Aldrich replied. “We plan to invade your home world, Earth, in the coming months and we want your help.”

“Invade Earth?!” Marcy questioned. “How would that keep Sasha and Anne from being torn away from me?!”

Aldrich sighed. “Listen, Wit, your world is a mess. We plan to fix that by creating a global government on Earth like we have here in Amphibia.”

Aldrich placed one of his ginormous hands on Marcy’s shoulder. “We will stop wars, ensure world peace, end poverty, and most of all, keep you, Strength, and Heart together forever. Now how does that sound?”

“That sounds amazing!” Marcy exclaimed before her excitement seemed to dim. “But how exactly am I supposed to help?”

“We need your expertise in human technology.” Aldrich answered. “The people of your world won’t give up their power without a fight and we’d like to keep the violence to a minimum.”

Marcy’s face lit up. “I can do that, I’ve read all sorts of things on military technology back home!”

“Splendid!” Aldrich laughed, clapping his hands together. “Come, let us join the others in the inner sanctum. There is much to be done.”

Aldrich snapped his fingers and a door appeared in front of the two. Marcy peered up at Aldrich curiously as they approached. “Hey, Aldrich, there is one more thing I have to ask.”

“Yes?” Aldrich said, raising one of his massive eyebrows.

“Why exactly do you call me Wit?”

Aldrich stopped walking as he stared down at the human. “Have you ever heard of the Olm Prophecy?”

 

---

 

Andrias walked towards the throne where both Marcy and the Core had collapsed following the procedure. “The time has finally come for the Core to lead us to our destiny. But what destiny, you ask? Well, I suppose I should just let it speak for itself…”

Andrias stepped to the side as Marcy’s body unnaturally came back to life. Both Olivia and Yunan watched on in horror as ten glowing orange eyes opened and the newly created being opened its mouth to speak.

“Why hello there.”

Notes:

I know there wasn’t a lot of Embrace The Fall specific content in here, but I think it’s important to establish exactly why Marcy was working with the Core up until halfway through Part 2.

While this is something I could have included in the main series, I think it works best as a one shot since it really is just the episode “Olivia & Yunan” with an extra couple of scenes included in the middle of it.

Chapter 3: A Fight for Freedom

Summary:

The Freedom Frogs try and fail to take down Anne

Notes:

Takes place during Part 1: Chapter 10 “A Merciless God”

Warning: Original Character Deaths, Blood/Gore

Originally posted on 10/8/2022

“This is it.” Worburt stated confidently. “Today’s the day we take back our freedom!”

The blue, middle-aged frog turned to his top three generals. “Prepare our forces. That monster won’t know what hit her!”

“Um, sir?” One of the generals, Janet, decided to speak up. “Don’t you think we should wait until we have more information? We still don’t know the full extent of the Blue’s Flame’s powers.”

“Bah!” One of the few toad soldiers in the Freedom Frogs, Grog, interjected before Worburt could respond. “That creature’s nothin’ compared to the things I’ve fought! Don’t be such a snowflake.”

“Alright, calm down you two!” Worburt said, stepping in between the frog and the toad. “We all want the same thing, remember?”

Worburt sighed as he turned to Janet. “I get where you’re coming from, but we can’t afford to wait any longer. The amphibians of the Arctic are beginning to lose their will to fight and it only gets worse each day that that monster rules over us.”

Janet stepped back and nodded as Worburt continued. “We move out in one hour. Make sure the catapults are ready.”

Both Janet and Grog left to do as they were told, but the third and final general, an old frog named Flinck, stayed behind. Worburt looked at him curiously. “Is something wrong?”

Flinck stayed quiet for a moment before putting his hand on Worburt’s shoulder. “I got word this morning that the Blue Flame killed one of our spearmen.”

Worburt grimaced. “Who was it?”

“A young lad named Torondo. According to the rest of his team, he saw that monster flying across the sky and flung his spear at her. As expected, she dodged it and snapped his neck without a second thought.”

Worburt’s eyes flicked with sadness for a few seconds but seemed to harden soon after. “Thank you for telling me. His death will not be forgotten.”

Flinck gave a brief nod of acknowledgment before walking off to help with the preparations.

Worburt sighed as he returned to the war room and sat in the commander’s seat. Who would’ve thought leading a resistance movement would be this exhausting? Both physically and emotionally.

He pushed those thoughts away as he looked over the plan one last time. A small group of about 20 frogs would stay behind to guard the underground base while the remaining army would storm the Blue Flame’s tower. 

They would use the catapults to hopefully bring down the tower and maybe even kill the Blue Flame in the process, but that seemed unlikely. The more likely outcome would be that she would fly off the tower before it collapsed and fight the Freedom Frogs head-on. It was a gamble, but since they outnumbered the Blue Flame one hundred to one, there was a reasonable chance they could take her down.

Worburt looked up at the sound of a knock on the war room door. He pushed the plans to the side. “Come in!”

The door opened and a timid-looking Janet walked inside. Worburt raised an eyebrow. “Do you need something?”

“Um…well, I didn’t want to say anything earlier with everyone else present, but I think Grog might be a traitor.”

Worburt narrowed his eyes. “What makes you say that?”

Janet shuffled her feet nervously. “I may or may not have been intercepting his messages into and out of the base.”

“And why would you do that?”

Janet stared at Worburt in disbelief. “Because he’s a toad for frog’s sake! You can’t trust anything those brutes say!”

Worburt sighed. “Just because he’s a toad, doesn’t mean he’s a traitor.”

“No, wait! You don’t understand, take a look at this!” Janet stuck a paper into Worburt’s hands.

The Commander of the Freedom Frogs glanced down at what appeared to be a letter from Captain Grime addressed to Grog. He looked back up at Janet. “Did you read it?”

“No, but it’s from Captain Grime, so it can’t be good, right?! From what I heard, he’s been working with the Red Queen in taking over Frog Valley!”

Worburt stared at the paper in his hands for several seconds before opening a drawer, placing the letter inside, and shoving it closed.

“What are you—?”

Worburt put his hand up. “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I will deal with Grog after today’s battle.”

“But…”

“Fighting amongst ourselves won’t help us regain our freedom.” Worburt interrupted. “I will deal with it later, okay?”

Janet nodded hesitantly and walked out of the room with a look of dejection. Worburt sighed. He had known about Grog’s back-and-forth messages with Grime for weeks.

He also knew that Grog was not a traitor, like Janet suspected, because Grime was a traitor himself. He and the toad had been conspiring against the humans for a while now and frequently traded information regarding their movements. Worburt had brought Grog in as a middleman since he used to serve under Grime in the Southern Toad Army.

The blue frog shook his head. He’d have to somehow explain the situation to Janet later. He wasn’t lying when he said that they shouldn’t be fighting amongst themselves. Doing that would only serve to benefit the Blue Flame during the upcoming battle.

A horn from elsewhere in the underground base rang out. Worburt quickly got up, grabbed his sword, and made his way out of the war room. 

It was time to go.

 

---

 

Janet was beyond frustrated with the Commander. Why did he brush off her concerns like that? Was he a traitor too? Janet shook her head at the thought. Worburt had lost his family to the Blue Flame, of course he wasn’t a traitor.

The pink frog sighed as she and the rest of the Freedom Frogs marched across the Amphibian Arctic. Worburt probably had his reasons for sweeping Grog’s actions under the rug. Maybe he wanted to get some information from the toad before confronting him. Yeah, that had to be it!

Janet looked up just in time to see the Blue Flame’s tower come into view. It was honestly a little nerve-racking to be storming such an imposing structure, but the human needed to be stopped before she caused any more harm.

Worburt held up his hand, signaling for their small army to halt. He turned to Janet and nodded. She returned the nod and looked to the frogs manning the catapult.

Phase One was a go.

Janet pointed at their target and yelled to her subordinates. “FIRE!!!”

One of the frogs pulled a lever, sending a massive boulder flying through the sky toward the tower.

 

SMASH

 

The boulder crashed into the base of the ancient building, however, it wasn’t enough to bring it down. 

“Again!” Janet ordered as she ran over to help the crew load in another boulder. Little did she know, that would be a fatal mistake.

 

---

 

Grog was beyond excited for a face-off against the Blue Flame. On one hand, he wanted to take back his home and help his fellow Amphibians regain their freedom. On the other hand, he simply hoped the blue-haired monster would be fun to fight.

As soon as the first boulder plowed into the tower, Grog charged forward with the rest of his squadron following closely behind. The anticipation for an epic battle like this one was exhilarating.

Suddenly, a blinding blue light from atop the tower caused Grog to shield his eyes and slow his charge. 

“What in Barrel’s name is that?!” He yelled.

His question would soon be answered as a beam of pure blue energy shot out from the top of the tower.

 

BOOM

 

Grog watched on in horror as the catapult he and the other toads had built over the past few weeks was completely vaporized along with all the frogs manning it. It took a few moments for it to dawn on him that Janet was among that group.

Grog turned back around just in time to see the Blue Flame lower herself to the ground in front of them. The human girl smirked as she took note of their shocked expressions. “What’s wrong? Can’t handle the heat?!”

“AAAAUUUGGGGHHHHH” Grog shouted in rage as he resumed the charge, the rest of the Freedom Frogs doing the same. The Blue Flame simply cracked her knuckles and punched the incoming amphibians into the sky. 

Grog’s rage only grew when he heard the ribs of his fellow soldiers break from the force of the punches.

Grog lunged forward with his sword, aiming right for the monster’s heart. However, his rusty sword shattered as soon as it met the Blue Flame’s flesh. She laughed. “God, you guys are pathetic.”

The blue-haired girl grabbed both of Grog’s arms and tore them off his body. The toad screamed in agony as an obscene amount of blood flowed out onto the snowy landscape.

The false god watched with intense satisfaction as the light in Grog’s eyes slowly died out. Her grin widened when his screaming finally stopped and his body grew still.

 

---

 

“No. No. NO!”

Worburt cried out as both Janet and Grog’s lives were stolen by the blue-haired monster in front of him. This was NOT how today was supposed to go!

Flinck tried to pull Worburt away from the carnage, but the Commander was frozen in place. How did it come to this? What did they ever do to deserve this?!

Just a few months ago, they were living in peace. Just a few months ago he had a wife and a kid he loved beyond words. Now he had nothing and it was all because of her.

Flinck slapped Worburt in the face, finally snapping the frog out of his thoughts. “Come on, sir! We need to get out of here!”

Worburt met his general’s eyes and slowly nodded. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled out to the remaining Freedom Frogs that were still trying and failing to take down the Blue Flame. “ALL TROOPS! FALL BACK!!!”

Every surviving soldier immediately halted their attack and started to run toward the rendezvous point. Surprisingly, the Blue Flame didn’t give chase. Instead, she just watched her enemies escape as if she hadn't killed dozens of them.

Worburt took one last look back at the Blue Flame’s tower as both he and Flinck ran to safety. The last thing he saw before escaping down the side of the mountain was the false god staring down at Grog’s body with a bored expression on her face.

This was no battle. This was a massacre.

Notes:

I don’t know why, but Evil Anne is so much fun to write. It’s probably why the chapters at the end of Part 2 and the ones in the second half of Part 3 are my favorites.

Chapter 4: Aftermath

Summary:

The people of L.A. rebuild following Anne and Darcy’s failed invasion of Earth

Notes:

Takes place during and after Part 2: Chapter 12 “All Out” and Part 2: Chapter 13: “The Price”

Originally posted on 2/28/2023

Mrs. Boonchuy knelt down next to Jenny as they held what remained of Mr. X in their arms. She rubbed circles on their back but didn’t say anything. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what there was to say.

How could Anne have done this? How was her baby girl the cause of all this death and destruction? Mrs. Boonchuy closed her eyes. Those blue powers had to have done something to her! There was no way Anne would do this otherwise.

“Hey, honey, you might wanna take a look at this!” Mr. Boonchuy called over from a short distance away.

Mrs. Boonchuy squeezed Jenny’s shoulder gently before making her way over to her husband. “What’s wrong?”

Mr. Boonchuy pointed into the sky with a worried look on his face. “Anne’s losing the fight.”

Mrs. Boonchuy looked at where he was pointing. She gasped when she saw Anne be punched straight through a skyscraper. She turned back to her husband. “They aren’t going to kill her, are they?”

“I don’t know.” Mr. Boonchuy said, shaking his head. “It’s not like they have any reason not to.”

“But they can’t!” Mrs. Boonchuy exclaimed. “Anne’s still our daughter! We can help her change! W-We can turn her back into who she was!”

 

BOOM

 

The ground shook as Anne was sent tumbling to the ground by one of the mech suits while the other fired a barrage of weird-looking missiles after her. Mrs. Boonchuy took a step towards where she’d seen Anne fall but Mr. Boonchuy held her back.

“We need to stop them!” Mrs. Boonchuy yelled as she pushed her husband’s hand off of her.

Mr. Boonchuy grabbed her waist. “We can’t! They’re several dozen blocks away. We wouldn’t make it in time!”

“But—” Mrs. Boonchuy began to say before a blue streak of light blasted off from where Anne landed, both mech suits chasing after it.

Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy watched as the blue light smashed into the side of the flying castle. She looked at her husband in shock. “Was that Anne?!”

Mr. Boonchuy glanced at her before refocusing his attention back on the sky. “Probably…but why’d she go back into the castle?”

“Maybe she’s had a change of heart and is going to stop the invasion?” Mrs. Boonchuy said hopefully.

Mr. Boonchuy lowered his head in doubt. “I wouldn’t be so optimistic. She killed X, remember?”

 

FLASH

 

Suddenly, a blinding light exploded out of the flying fortress, dousing the entirety of Los Angeles in white light. Mrs. Boonchuy instinctively reached out for Mr. Boonchuy’s hand as gravity itself seemed to disappear.

However, just as quickly as it started, the white light died out, causing everything to fall back to the ground. Mrs. Boonchuy held her head in pain as she reoriented herself. “What just happened?”

Mr. Boonchuy groaned, rubbing his back as he sat up. “I don’t know. Maybe it was some kind of new weapon or…”

Mr. Boonchuy trailed off as he looked up into the sky, seeing no flying castle in sight. “Huh?”

“It’s gone…” Mrs. Boonchuy said in disbelief. “Where did it…? How did that…?” She trailed off when she heard the sound of metal slamming into the ground. The Thai woman turned only to see thousands of frobots falling out of the sky.

“We won.” Mr. Boonchuy breathed out. “The invasion, it’s over.”

Mrs. Boonchuy looked out across the battlefield L.A. had unwittingly become. “But what about Anne?”

 

---

 

1 Week Later

 

Dr. Jan sighed as she walked through the cracked streets of her home city. While repairs were underway, it was slow going since many people still worried the invaders could come back at any moment. 

It might’ve been an irrational fear, sure, but who could blame them? Thousands of lives had already been taken. No amount of reassurances by the government could keep people from taking quick glances up at the sky every now and then, just waiting for another giant spaceship to appear out of thin air.

That day had been a nightmare for everyone involved. No one wanted to think about what might have happened if those mysterious mech suits hadn’t shown up. Dr. Jan paused when she saw the headline in one of the newspaper stands.

ANNE BOONCHUY, SUSPECTED MASTERMIND BEHIND L.A. INVASION, STILL AT LARGE. WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN.

Dr. Jan read the headline over and over again before mentally slapping herself in order to get her body to move past the stand. She was not about to cry out in anger while in public.

 

Anne.

 

The thirteenth-year-old girl so determined to help her friends that she didn’t sleep for 3 days straight.

 

Anne.

 

The person who’d do anything to save her little frog family.

 

Anne.

 

The monster that had used her powers to kill thousands of innocent people and then laugh about it.

 

Dr. Jan closed her eyes in an attempt to calm herself. Thinking about the past wasn’t going to do her any good now.

After a moment, the curator opened her eyes and continued walking. She was meeting with Terri, Ally, and Jess today to find out if they could utilize some of the broken frobot parts. She doubted they’d get much out of it, but it was worth looking into.

Dr. Jan froze once again when she came across a dry puddle of blood on the pavement. After a few moments of staring at it, she shook her head. 

Just keep walking, Jan, just keep walking.

The memory of people being flung into the sky before dropping to their deaths was not something she wanted to relive anytime soon. The fact that Anne had managed to control her powers to such a degree was both fascinating and terrifying at the same time.

Could she use her powers on something larger? What would happen if she tried to use them on something as big as the Moon? Was that even possible?!

Dr. Jan made a mental note to theorize about the implications of that later. She looked up as she approached the F.B.I. Office, still standing even after all the chaos from the previous week. Dr. Jan took a deep breath and walked inside. She scanned her guest badge at the front desk and made her way to the elevator. The laboratory Terri had been given by Mr. X was on the very bottom floor of the facility.

Dr. Jan waved as the elevator doors opened. “Hey, Terri!”

Terri looked up from her workstation. “Oh, hey Dr. Jan. Are Ally and Jess with you?”

“No, but they should be here soon enough.” Dr. Jan replied, walking over to inspect one of the salvaged frobots.

Terri nodded. “Good. Their research on Polly’s Frobo might help us understand more about what we’re looking at here.”

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as they worked on disassembling the broken frobot parts. After a few minutes of work, Dr. Jan cleared her throat. “So…have you made any progress on building a new portal machine.”

Terri sighed. “No, but after Mr. X’s…passing…the F.B.I. has quadrupled my funding for the project.”

Dr. Jan cringed slightly at the mention of the late F.B.I. Agent. While she hadn’t really liked the guy all that much, she wouldn’t wish what happened to him on her worst enemy. 

Dr. Jan opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the sound of the elevator doors opening. She turned to see Ally and Jess walk into the laboratory, each holding a bunch of mechanical equipment. “Hey, girls.” She greeted.

Ally set her stuff on a table before she turned and waved slightly with her hand. “Sup, Dr. Jan. Good to see you, Terri.”

“Same to you.” Terri replied. “So, what do you got for me?”

Jess took out a destroyed frobot head from her bag. “We’ve gone through and tested the processing power these robots possess and let me tell you, these things are insanely complex.”

“We even found traces of holographic technology within their eyes!” Ally exclaimed. “It’s amazing what these things are capable of.”

“I wouldn’t necessarily call it amazing.” Dr. Jan countered. “Don’t forget, those robots killed just as many people as Anne.”

Ally and Jess deflated slightly at the mention of their (former) friend. Ally cleared her throat. “Right, sorry. What I’m trying to say is that there is untapped potential that we may be able to use in our own technology and cybernetics.”

“That’s really impressive, you guys.” Terri congratulated. “I’m sure the people upstairs will be glad to hear the good news.”

“Yeah…” Jess sighed. “It just sucks that this sort of breakthrough came at the expense of so much destruction.”

“I know what you mean.” Dr. Jan agreed, setting the frobot head off to the side. “Have any of you heard from the Boonchuys since the invasion? I’ve been trying to contact them, but all I ever get these days is voicemail.”

They all shook their heads. Terri leaned back against their workbench. “I’m sure they just want to be left alone for a while. Seeing your own daughter act like that must be hard to wrap your mind around.”

Dr. Jan nodded sadly. “I just hope they’re doing okay. Every time I drive past their home, there always seems to be people rioting outside, blaming them for what Anne did.”

“It is what it is.” Terri sighed. “Let’s just hope we can move on from this. The world is violent enough as is.”

Ally and Jess both let out a half-hearted chuckle. Jess reached out and grabbed a few cans of soda from her bag, handing one to each person in the room. “Truer words have never been said.” She held up her soda. “To Mr. X, the martyr of L.A.”

The other occupants of the room each held up their can. “To Mr. X.”

Notes:

Guess who finally decided to update this fic again...

I don’t really know why I wrote this, just sorta had the itch to do a one-shot after working on a bunch of other things.

Chapter 5: An Argument Among Gods

Summary:

Anne Prime and the Guardian argue over Anne’s punishment

Notes:

Takes place right before Part 3: Chapter 9 “Say Our Goodbyes”

Originally posted on 10/23/2022

“ANNE BOONCHUY!!! YOUR TIME HAS COME TO BE JUDGED!”

Anne Prime watched as the Guardian stomped their paw on the ground, using the Powers of Calamity to transport the alternate versions of herself, Sasha, and Marcy into the cosmic plane. 

Anne Prime’s mission to save the alternate version of herself was finally complete. Amphibia-4318 had been saved and now there was only one thing left to do.

“So…what exactly is your plan here?”

The Guardian eyed Anne Prime curiously. “My plan?”

“You know…” Anne Prime continued. “How exactly are you gonna make this version of me pay for what she’s done?”

“What do you think I’m going to do?” The Guardian countered.

“Stop dodging the question, dude!” Anne Prime huffed in annoyance. “Just tell me what your plan is because I feel like you’re not gonna be very fair.”

The Guardian rolled their eyes. “If you must know, I’m going to banish that girl to Dimension X, where she will be unable to cause any more harm.”

“Excuse me!” Anne Prime shouted. “You’d be forcing her to say goodbye to everyone and everything she’s ever cared about for the rest of her life! That’s way too harsh of a punishment!”

“Really?” The Guardian replied. “Because the way I see it, that’s letting her off easy.”

Anne Prime used her own cosmic abilities to teleport directly in front of the Guardian. “You have got to be kidding me with this!”

The Guardian tilted their head. “How so?”

“You weren’t there! You didn’t see the remorse this Anne felt over what she did!” Anne Prime took a step back and tried to regain her composure. “Even the evil half of her soul felt guilty. That has to count for something, right?!”

“And it does.” The Guardian said, leaping from the table to the top of Anne Prime’s head. “It’s for that same reason that I’m not taking her life.”

Anne Prime immediately grabbed the Guardian by the scruff and held them in front of her face, forcing the god to make direct eye contact with her. “You will not kill anyone under any circumstances. I don’t care what they did, I will not use these powers to take another person’s life and neither should you!”

The Guardian placed their paw on Anne Prime’s face, launching their pupil straight into the wall. “Do not tell me what to do.”

Anne Prime scowled at the Guardian as she reoriented herself. “You’re training me to be the next Guardian. Shouldn’t I at least have some say in what decisions are made?”

The Guardian returned Anne Prime’s stare as though she were a nuisance. “I gave you these powers and I can take them away. Did you forget that?!”

“Of course not!” Anne Prime yelled. “But if you would just listen to me for two seconds—!”

The Guardian waved their paw and the wall of the cottage turned into a one-way mirror, revealing the three unconscious humans on the other side of the island. “Look at her. That version of you is a murderer, a serial killer, an unforgivable monster! Are you seriously trying to defend her actions?!”

“They weren’t entirely her fault and you know that!” The Guardian’s pupil retorted. “Her soul was literally split in half and then the Blue Calamity Stone, which YOU created by the way, influenced her decisions!”

The Guardian bowed their head in acknowledgement. “That may be true, but her actions were her own. Were they not?”

“Yes, but—!” Anne Prime tried to say.

“My decision is final!” The Guardian interrupted. “That girl is being banished to Dimension X and nothing you say will convince me otherwise. Do you understand?”

Anne Prime continued to stare at the Guardian for several long moments before nodding.

“Good. I can sense that they’ve already woken up so let’s get this over with, shall we?”

“Alright fine, you win. You’re the boss.” Anne Prime sighed before muttering under her breath. “…for now.”

The Guardian’s tail waved in satisfaction as they went to open the door. They raised their paw and the entrance to the cottage opened, revealing three laughing girls on the edge of the floating island.

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy all paused and stared at the doorway with various looks of confusion.

The Guardian stared back at the three humans for a few seconds before turning and walking back inside.

Anne Prime looked at the three girls nervously. “You guys should probably come in. I wouldn’t keep Domino 3 waiting if I were you.”

Notes:

Special thanks to Fazar for the suggestion. It was a great idea and I think it turned out pretty good.

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 4 of Embrace The Fall