Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Anne was only a teenager when the Newts first took over Earth. It was her 13th birthday when they came. She didn’t even get to enjoy her teen years. As Sasha had said, they were gonna be the best years of her life! But they weren’t. All because of King Andrias. She hated him. She had no clue if her friends were safe. She had seen her father get taken at her birthday party. Sasha and Marcy hadn’t come as Marcy wanted to hang out with Sasha, and Sasha didn’t want to attend her childish party. Anne’s mom had hidden Anne and her cat under a bunch of blankets in a closet and locked the door from the outside. She had promised Anne that she would come back. But eventually, Anne just broke out of the closet, when she felt like she was gonna starve.

She had no clue how long she’d been in the closet, but it had to have been a few days at least. That was all the time it took for her home town of LA to turn into a ghost town. It was quiet. The roads were covered with trash. And the walls of some buildings were cracked. As if they’d been blown up by bombs or a car had crashed into them. She had gone to the store, seeing the glass doors shattered, and holes in the floor. It was safe to say no one was in the store. She needed food, and though she didn’t have money, she didn’t really see anyone who could stop her. So, she took what she needed, a few days worth of canned food, and hid it in her backpack. She pushed the broken door frame out of her way as she walked out of the story.

She made a spear out of some long metal pipe she found in a alleyway. She used the side of a crashed car to sharpen it to a dangerous point. Her cat, Domino, had followed her. She was Anne’s only friend in this post-apocalyptic world. Anne had also stolen some cat food. She had originally taken shelter in her own house, but realized all too soon that her house was too far for any scavenging in the city for supplies. She had decided to stay in one of the destroy- but vacant- apartments in the city nearby two stores with tons of food and water. She had wandered the city every day for a few hours looking for anyone else who could have survived. But it seemed like everyone was either taken or they left. She had no clue what happened to the captive humans and she didn’t really want to find out. She missed her parents, and she missed her friends. But her parents were gone… And her friends were nowhere to be seen.

“Well, Domino,” Anne sighed, as she sat down at the dinner table. Her cat sitting on said table looking at her, cutely. “Looks like this is it for a while…” Anne looked at the photo of her friends, labelled ‘BFF Forever’. She smiled, her cat tilted its head, seemingly asking a question. “Don’t worry girls, I will find you too. Assuming you’re still out there.”

Anne spent the next few months living in that apartment. Stealing food for her and her cat. She had been living just fine. But she realized the preserved food in both stores was running out and obviously the frozen stuff had gone bad not long after the backup power generator went out for each store. Which meant she needed to pack up and move to a better spot for scavenging. She packed up her remaining food and water, grabbed her spear, and put Domino in a side pocket in her backpack. The brown haired girl took a breath, before she stepped outside the building. She walked through the abandoned streets. She had looked through different stores, but all had been empty. Clearly raided while she had been hiding out, which meant there WERE people left in the city, but she’d seen enough zombie survival TV shows to know that could end badly for her. People in this kind of scenario will do anything to keep what they have. She did not want to fight.

Anne walked around the city, but eventually ran out of stores and her phone wasn’t working due to the downed power-lines. Meaning she couldn’t use google maps to find another store to raid. She decided to leave her city for the first time in her life. She left the city boarders. It was nothing but open road for MILES. She rested every night in a sleeping bag she stole from a camping store, when she had first moved into that old apartment building. She always made sure Domino was leashed down at night to avoid her running off and getting hurt or worse. Anne walked until she found a farming town. It started raining just as she found it. It was old, rustic, and populated by… talking bipedal frogs!?

Anne quickly hid. Those frogs were similar to the newts that invaded LA?! Was this why the humans had been taken? To make room for these… these… MONSTERS!? She growled angrily, as she wanted to beat those frogs for taking her family away, for separating her from her friends! She took out her spear, but froze as she saw a blue frog looking at her terrified-

“M-m-m…” It muttered. “MONSTER!!!”

“HEY! I’M NOT A-” Anne was cut off by the frog.

“IT’S GONNA EAT ME!!!” He ran off, as he continued to scream. “I THOUGHT THE KING TOOK CARE OF THESE BEASTS!?”

Anne could facepalm. Now that she was calmed down, she realized taking her anger out on these poor creatures would be wrong. They didn’t invade her world. They clearly believed this world wasn’t populated by her kind anymore. Which meant the king was the only one who knew where her loved ones were. But she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know where the king lived. She needed to find someone who did. If only she knew someone who could help her...

Chapter Text

Sasha and Marcy had been hanging out at the old park when the sky first became a battleground. Marcy had tried calling her parents, but the phone lines were one of the first things to get destroyed in the battle. Sasha acted quickly, trying to contact Anne but getting no service for her phone. Sasha grabbed Marcy’s hand and took the other girl to a safe place. They avoided the robots that grabbed humans who were running around in a panic. They avoided police who seemed to be trying to control the crowd, but were failing to do so. They avoided other people around them. Marcy wanted to go back home. All  the chaos was over stimulating her. Maybe with this attack her parents won’t be tempted to leave their home and her friends after all. Not like they could move peacefully with all the chaos. But Sasha didn’t allow Marcy to leave. Pointing out their parents were probably already captured and that they needed to find Anne. Marcy had suggested Anne might be taken to, but Sasha insisted Anne could handle herself. Marcy wasn’t so sure. They camped out in a shopping mall for a few days before the streets were cleared for good. No one was going out during the day without being captured. Most people raided the stores in the mall at night, since the robots seemed to need lights, as their eyes acted as flashlights and didn’t seem to rely on heat signatures. Which was good for them.

Marcy had set up a little camp ground in the video game store they were staying in with camp supplies from an outdoors store on the other side of the mall. They never left their campsite unattended. Marcy made sure everything was secure, while Sasha got them supplies and weapons. Marcy didn’t think she could handle stabbing a person- even if it WAS for her and her friend’s survival. But Sasha gladly stabbed through a person who tried to threaten them. Marcy had nearly thrown up, but Sasha just threw the body outside the mall as a warning to anyone who wanted to steal their stuff. After about a week later, the Amphibians started taking over the shops. Marcy had been terrified and had- luckily- convinced Sasha to abandon their camp, take what they needed, and LEAVE. It hadn’t been easy to get out. The newt-like creatures had easily seen and alerted the robots of two ‘beasts’ that had gotten inside the mall. The robots tried to capture them, but Sasha had taken her store-stolen sword and stabbed right through the two machines. They had escaped, but had no clue where to go. The next morning they realized that the Amphibians were in control of the two girls’ home town and had made themselves at home in the city. So they simply left. Leaving heading south. There was supposed to be a farming town nearby. Marcy was very excited to visit a farming community. Even if it was populated by newts- they could at least take shelter in the woods nearby.

Or at least that HAD been the plan, until the two girls were taken captive by giant toads. They had been locked in a jail cell in the small town in between LA and the small farming town. It was controlled by a toad army. Apparently, they were there to capture any rogue humans. Or at least that was what Marcy had gathered from the guards’ annoyed grumbling. Marcy had quickly realized not all the toads were bad or evil. Most were just following orders. Order from WHO? A toad called ‘Captain Grime’. The two girls had yet to meet this Grime and Marcy was scared of what he’ll do to them when they finally DO meet him. Sasha wasn’t worried. But Marcy was. The toads were pretty scared of him. That was why Marcy was scared of him. She wasn’t that scared of the other toads. I mean, Percy and Braddock were nice at the very least. She was just worried about Anne.

“THERE’S… IN THE WOODS… BEAST!!!”

That was the first thing Wally said, as he came running out of their new town. Sprig rolled his eyes. Why he had to leave his family’s home for over 1000 years and move to a completely new world was beyond him. The king said the lands in Amphibia were drying up and the farmers were better off moving to this new planet with newer, more fresh and fertile land. Hop Pop hadn’t noticed any change in the soil, but as soon as he heard the bugs there were all smaller than a pumpkin seed, he was quick to move. Hop Pop was a well-liked figure in Wartwood, so when he joined in on the massive move, everyone else happily did so as well. They even found a farming community abandoned by the creatures that the king got rid of for their own safety. Well… it seemed he didn’t get ALL those creatures…

“Now calm down, Wally…” The mayor crossed his arms. “Just tell us what you saw.”

“I-it was horrifying! I-it tried to eat me!?” Wally gathered seemingly random objects off the ground. “I-i-it had long thin dangly limbs! A g-giant head! Claws and f-fangs! And a weird f-face bump in the middle of it’s head!” The townspeople started muttering, worried for their safety. The mayor adjusted his coat and tie, before speaking-

“We better catch this beast and turn it over to King Andrias before it hurts somebody!” The mayor smiled at the cheering townsfolk. “Because to Mayor Toadstool, your safety is my number one priority!” The crowd left. And Sprig smirked-

“Polly! I just got a great idea!”

“Oh boy… Here we go again…”

“I will catch that beast and the town will consider me a hero!”

Chapter Text

Anne awoke to voices. She was worried, there was no way anyone found her. She had taken shelter in an old shed out in the forest. Probably used to store farming equipment given there were hoes and pitchforks all over the place. She had waited two days to make sure this old, run down, broken shed wasn’t being used by the invading frogs. No one came for the tools or to put new tools in the shed. The ones in there were rusted from the open hole in the roof, where rainwater had flown in. She sat up quickly, listening to the voices. She didn’t recognize them, but they sounded angry-

“Check that cave! Leave no stone unturned!!!” Anne grabbed her spear, and got ready to run. It was those frog-creatures, it had to be. “THAT BEAST MUST BE FOUND AND CAPTURED! WE MUST TURN IT OVER TO ANDRIAS!!!” Wait… wasn’t that the name that blue frog-thing shouted about getting rid of humans? So, they served this king. The monster who took away her family and friends. She picked up her backpack with Domino safely tucked inside a pocket. The frog people were close. She waited for them to get closer.

“There!” A different voice called out. “Let’s take a look in that shed!!!”

Anne’s eyes widened, no other chance. She could stay and question them, but she had no clue how many were out there. She was athletic for sure, but could she fight an army? What was that joke passed around school again? Rather fight 1 giant frog, or a 1000 little ones? Something like that. She would rather choose neither, but now the choice was made for her. She burst out of the shed, scaring the frog people in the process, and ran through the woods. She heard them following her, she’d have to lose them. She unfortunately found that carrying her backpack and pet cat slowed her down. But Domino can’t survive on her own! She’d have to keep her safe. She ran towards the town, maybe someone was there who could keep Domino safe.

When she reached the town, she couldn’t read any of the signs. They had all been changed to another language. But she saw a sign that she recognized as a vet clinic. She hid in an alleyway, after losing the crowd hunting her. She placed her backpack down at the door and banged loudly, she should be knocking, but she was panicking. Hopefully there frog was inside and would take Domino in. Anne ran back to the alleyway and waited. A few minutes later, a green frog with brown hair opened the door, she wore a vet’s uniform. She seemed shocked at Domino’s presence.

“Oh you poor thing! Did your owner leave you here alone?!” Anne looked down at her hand, where she held Domino’s collar and ID tag. She couldn’t risk this frog finding out Domino belonged to a human. It would risk her beloved pet’s life! “Come now, I’ll adopt you, little one.”

Anne smiled. Domino was safe. She could leave and find another place to stay. Anne snuck out of the town and back to the forest. She needed to find a place the frogs wouldn’t find her. She walked until she became exhausted. She hadn’t slept all night, too worried for Domino’s safety. She noticed a cave. It wasn’t the most secure place to live, but it was better than out in the open, exposed to any wild animals or the weather. She decided to sleep. She needed to be ready to fight and walking aimlessly while too tired to think, wasn’t the best idea in her opinion. Especially since she’s being hunted. She got some sticks and moss and built a makeshift bed. She had read somewhere sleeping on the ground is a good way to freeze yourself to death. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was out.

Sprig had been looking for the beast from sunup to sundown for two days now. Not a single sign of it. But apparently the village mob had seen it. Well, no one really saw it, it moved too fast for anyone to catch a good look at it. But it at least proved that Wally wasn’t just stirring up trouble for no reason again. There really WAS a beast out here and Sprig still had a chance to find it. He came across a cave and heard what sounded like snores. She peaked in from the side of the entrance and saw it. It was odd. The creature was odd, but the place he found it in was odd too. He saw what looked to be a campfire that’d been put out and a bed made of sticks and moss. Someone must have been camping here and the beast found the campsite. Wait… did the beast… EAT… the camper?! Sprig- against his better judgment- quietly got closer. He didn’t see any blood on the cave walls nor on the beast’s paws or mouth. Sprig sighed, quietly. The camper probably left for firewood and ran off when they saw the beast in their bed. Maybe this beast eats plants! Sprig noticed the beast shift in its slumber. He thought about slaying the beast, but the mayor said King Andrias wanted these creatures alive. He took some strong vines and tied the beast’s front and back legs together, then tied a vine around its jaw, covering its mouth. Sprig didn’t want it calling out for a mate or pack with a loud growl or screech. The beast awoke with a start. It tried growling, but it was muffled and unintelligible. Sprig smiled. He actually caught the beast! He would be hailed as a hero, but then… He looked into the creature’s eyes. He didn’t see rage or hate or even bloodlust, all he saw was fear. He thought for a second, there was a high likelihood King Andrias would kill this creature, who seemed to be minding its own business, and it WAS native to this world. They had just taken over it. This poor creature’s pack might have been taken from them. He sighed. He couldn’t turn the beast over to the town. Then, Sprig heard a voice-

“SPRIG!?” It was Hop Pop. “YOU CAUGHT THE MONSTER!!!” The beast tried growling and getting out of the ropes. It was unsuccessful. Hop Pop walked over to stand next to Sprig. “Good work, boy. The reward for this creature’s capture will set us up for life!”

“Hop Pop! Wait! Are we sure turning it over to King Andrias is a good idea?”

“What do you mean, Sprig?” Polly stated, revealing she’d been on top of Hop Pop’s head the whole time.

“It's just scared, it hasn’t harmed anyone?! It’s been hiding. What if it just misses its pack?”

“That is a good point,” Hop Pop admitted. “What do you want to do with it then?”

“Can we keep it?”

Chapter Text

Marcy was crying, as soon as they’d been captured, they’d been forced to wear these weird shock collars. She could feel a small pulse, not enough to cause any real pain, but just enough to mess with her voice. The pulse coming from the collar sent vibrations through their necks, which caused sound waves to interfere with the sound waves that their vocal cords made. For some reason, they could still understand each other, but from what they gathered from the talking Toads’ conversations their voices came off as animalistic. Maybe they hear at a different frequency than humans? Oh she wished she had her journal to take notes on these creatures. Sasha was grossed out by the fact that they were forced to eat bugs. Marcy was just glad they also had plants to eat.

“What are we gonna do, Sash?” Marcy asked Sasha.

“I’ll think of something,” Sasha huffed. “For now, we just wait. Who knows maybe these monsters will find Anne and we’ll all be together again.”

“Maybe…”

Marcy wasn’t so sure about that. After all, they hadn’t found her in all the time they’d been in the city and these monsters were stationed outside LA. If Anne was still hiding out, she’d likely be in the city somewhere. Assuming she wasn’t dead or captured. Marcy really hoped Anne was ok. She wondered what Anne was doing right now.

Anne sat, tied up, while the frog things argued.

“Sprig, we can’t just bring a wild animal home with us!”

“But, what if the townsfolk catch it!?”

“Then, it’s the King’s problem.”

“But what if the King kills it!”

“I-” The frog called- Hop Pop- froze. Almost as if he hadn’t thought about that. “Fine, but it has to wear the collar Andrias gave us to contain these beasts.” Anne bristled. A COLLAR!? No way! Hop Pop pulled out a black collar and Anne tried, once again, to break out of the vibes. Damn it, these vines are strong! He put the collar on Anne and locked it in place. Anne growled. Sprig spoke up-

“Hey, easy! We’re gonna keep you safe!” Anne felt a weird pulsing on her neck. She tried to speak to him-

“Hey! I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!!!”

“Hey, easy, calm down!”

Anne realized that they couldn’t understand her. Did this collar prevent them from understanding her? Did they know it would do that? No, probably not considering they thought she was an animal before and the collar was made by the king, so they likely didn’t know. Anne sighed, as she stood up. She needed that key, but she couldn’t grab it now. She’d have to wait until these frogs were asleep.

“Oh! Wow, I didn’t know it would be bipedal…” Anne had to resist rolling her eyes. “But see! It’s harmless!”

“Still, Sprig be careful, it’s calm now. But we don’t know how it will react to a new environment.”

Anne could adapt! She’d been doing it for a few months now. Ever since her world was taken over! But she guessed they couldn’t have known that. Sprig was right about one thing, she did lose her family and friends or pack- as he called it. She missed them, she held back tears. She didn’t have time to cry right now.

“Come on, girl,” Sprig gestured for her to follow him. Wait a second…

“How’d you know it was a girl, Sprig?” The pollywog asked.

“I don’t know, she just looks like a girl.”

“Fine,” Hop Pop sighed.

“Can I name her!” Polly asked, excitedly, as they walked back to- what Anne assumed- was their house, under the cover of night. Clearly they were farmers.

“No way, Polly!” Sprig shouted, annoyed. “You wouldn’t pick a good name anyway!”

“Yes I would!” Polly shouted back, as they entered the home.

Anne looked around. It was a little small, but not a bad home by any means. There was a yellow couch under a window next to a wooden coat rack. There was an open doorway, which she looked in and found a kitchen. She saw a staircase which led upstairs. She also saw a door, which probably either led to another room or a closet. And a hatch when most likely led to a basement. Anne looked at Sprig, she was a little annoyed he tied her up, but she couldn’t blame him for being scared, from the looks of things he was a child and the king had everyone convinced that humans were dangerous creatures.

“Sprig, remember that you have to train the creature, ok?” Anne’s head quickly turned to look at Hop Pop. “And you and Polly need to think of a name you both agree on for it.”

“I’m on it, Hop Pop!” Sprig did a childish salute and turned to Anne. “Come on girl!”

“Wait for me!” Polly hopped after them.

Andrias was worried. He had invaded Earth a few months earlier than planned due to the supposed prophecy. He wasn’t going to risk ANYONE fulfilling it and destroying what his ancestors built. The core was pleased with his success, especially since they were months ahead of schedule, but the core still needed a host. And none of the humans they’d found fit what the core was looking for. And that was because the core was looking for a specific human, a human unlike any other. One smart, strategic, and someone who could get into the zone of a fight. There was only one possible human, one being who could ever fit that description. And despite being way ahead of schedule, there was one problem with Andrias’s plan. The stones have yet to choose their champions. The stones were magical, almost to a point where they had a mind of their own. They were Amphibia’s greatest treasure. There were three stones, the blue stone of heart, the green stone of wit, and the red stone of strength. The core knew the only true candidate for their host would be the champion of the green stone. The champion of wit! They were the only possible choice. But just who are they and where are they now?

Chapter Text

“So?” Polly started, as the two frog children and Anne sat in the basement. Anne had learned all their names by now, Hop Pop, Sprig, and Polly. “What do you wanna name her?”

Anne was curious about that too. She had managed to stop them from taking her clothes. Acting cold as the frog boy- Sprig- tried to take them off. He muttered something beforehand along the lines of ‘Who would force an animal to wear clothes?’ He then assumed she found coverings as a way to keep warm in the wild, since she didn’t have ‘fur’ on her body.

“What about Sky or Sapphire?”

“No way, that’s lame!!” Polly laughed. “She should be named Spike or Killer!”

“NO! Those are evil names!” Sprig huffed at- what Anne had come to learn was- his little sister. “What about Luna?”

“LAME!” Polly huffed.

“Fine,” Sprig conceded. “We need a name that’s cool in your opinion, but nice in my opinion.”

“What about… Hmmm,” Polly hummed, looking like she was thinking a little too hard about this. “Azura?”

“That sounds cool!” Sprig agreed. “Do you like that name? Azura?!” Anne smiled. Azura was the name of a fictional character from a book series Marcy used to read growing up. “I’ll take that as a yes!”

“Sprig,” Polly deadpanned. “She can’t understand us, Azura’s an animal.”

“I know that!” Sprig sighed. “Just let me have this!”

“Fine,” Polly groaned. “Call me when you teach her a cool trick or two.”

“You’re not gonna help me?” Sprig asked, as Polly went up the stairs to the first floor hatch.

“Nope,” Polly snarked. “This was YOUR idea. Besides, Hop Pop said it was YOUR job to train her.”

“Fine. Go play with your toys!”

“They’re not toys! They’re my army!” Polly shouted, as she hopped up stairs to her room with a huff. Anne watched her go.

“Well, Azura! Time for you to learn some tricks!” Anne gave him a deadpan look. “Don’t look at me like that! It will be fun!” Anne sighed. Fine, she’d play along. “Ok! Stand up!” Anne stood up. “Sit.” Anne sat down. “Roll over!” Anne rolled on her back, bored, wondering if this is what it feels like to be a dog. “Good girl! Here’s a treat.” Anne looked at it, it looked like a donut without a hole in the center and it was glazed over in a sweet smelling glaze. It smelled delicious! She took it in her hands and took a small bite, before eating the whole thing. “You like it? Ok, you can get more if you do more tricks, ok?” Anne nodded excitedly. This continued for a while. With Sprig ‘teaching’ Anne different tricks, and Anne getting a treat in response. They stopped when he ran out of treats to give her. Hop Pop opened the door, looking scared. He sighed in relief.

“Hey, Hop Pop!” Sprig said, before realizing the panic in his grandfather’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Polly said that she left you alone with the beast?” Anne gave him an annoyed look. “And I was worried about you being alone with it!”

“She’s a good girl, Hop Pop!” Sprig said. “She would never hurt me!” Well, that depends on if he tries to hurt her, but so far he hasn't, so for now she’ll play along. Hop Pop glanced at Sprig then at Anne, then he sighed-

“Fine,” Hop Pop looked mainly at Sprig, but couldn’t stop taking worried glances at Anne. “Did you come up with a name for it yet?”

“YES!” Sprig said, excitedly. “Me and Polly agreed on Azura!”

“Very well,” Hop Pop crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. “Did you train it?”

“She knows many tricks!”

“Sprig, boy, I mean did you house train it?” Anne blushed. Sprig replied awkwardly-

“I… didn’t think about that… I guess I got a little excited.”

“Well, get on with it.”

“But I don’t have anymore of the treats you gave me to train her with!”

“We can’t use all of them up at once, they’re expensive, Sprig! Train it without the treats. Just use this when it doesn’t obey,” Hop Pop tossed Sprig a spray bottle. Sprig nodded.

“Ok, Hop Pop,” The pink frog sighed, clearly not happy with having to use the bottle. “Can I at least show you what I taught her, before you go?” Anne’s blush got worse. It was one thing to indulge a child’s little games, it was another to perform for an audience. Even if that audience is only one other person.

“Very well,” Hop Pop gave Sprig a gentle smile.

“Ok, Azura!” Sprig stood up. “Sit!” Anne hesitated, before sitting upright. “Good girl! Ok, lay down.” Anne rolled her eyes, but did as he said. “Stand!” Again, she did as the little frog boy said. Hop Pop hummed.

“I’m impressed Sprig, good work. Now, continue on with the actual training, while I go fix dinner.”

“Come on, Azura!” Sprig hopped up the stairs to the back door, with Anne following him. “Let’s continue outside!”

Anne sighed. No avoiding it, but at least she was safe here. These frogs didn’t want to hurt her or turn her over to the king. She’ll just stay here a little longer, grab some supplies, and leave while these frogs are asleep. She’ll find her friends and parents. Get Domino back. And they’ll find a place where the frogs, newts, and whatever else is out there, won’t hurt or hunt them ever again.

Sasha had thought deeply about these toad-like monsters. The way that the lead Toad ran things would have been easy to exploit, had she been able to properly communicate with these creatures. For now, she had settled with silently acting like she enjoyed their small talk, like a therapy dog listens to a patient. It wasn’t much, but it got her and Marcy better treatment from most of the toads. Key word though, most. Captain Grime still acted like she and Marcy were just beasts, waiting for the right moment to eat them all. It was more annoying than anything else. Even though, he very clearly terrified Marcy, Sasha decided she would have to convince Grime that they weren’t beasts, if they wanted to find Anne. But how could she do that?

“GRIME!!! WE GOT A PROBLEM!!!” Sasha looked out the cell window, bears. Likely from the nearby forest. That might work…