Far from the Wartwood Group, Sasha and her group had been on the move, sticking to the shadows and only going into towns for supplies, wearing cloaks to hide their faces. For this town, Damien and Sasha had entered was no doubt the superior town in comparison to Wartwood. Unlike the other three towns, Swamp Shiro sat at the edge of the Valley, serving as a fine trading post. Rather than dirt roads, it had cobblestone roads and more well-built buildings and houses made of stone and logs. The marketplace sold a large variety of items.
"Okay, remember the list." Damien told his companion. "Just the usual stuff and some gear maintenance supplies."
"Right, got it." Sasha replied with a thumbs up.
"And keep your hood up at all times." Damien added. "You never know if news of the Southern Toad Tower falling has reached this town."
Sasha nodded, following her fellow lieutenant before splitting up, the blonde girl passing by several market stands before stopping at a weapon's stand, the vendor being a newt with green skin and a yellow underbelly and dark-green hair held in a bun, and blue eyes, and she was dressed as a blacksmith.
Looking up from her work, she took notice of Sasha before smiling.
"Welcome!" She greeted with a smile. "Name's Adrianne. What can I do for you?"
"I need the stuff on this list." Sasha answered, holding out the list.
Taking the slip of paper, Adrianne nodded. "Shouldn't be a problem. Just one moment."
As the newt moved around the stand to get the items on the list, Sasha turned her head to look about, taking note of the hot forge behind the stand and a smelter.
"Do you work the stand by yourself?" She asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately." Adrianne sighed. "Ever since my idiot son ran off, it was just me and my sister."
"Your son?" Sasha repeated with a raised brow.
"That boy, always dreaming of being a master swordnewt like out great grandfather before us." Adrianne explained. "I love him to death, but I swear, Kaemon's gonna get himself killed."
Sasha felt her eyes go wide at this. "Wait, the Demon of the Four Sword is your son?!"
"Yes, in fact." Adrianne said. "Why so shocked? Did you happen to meet him?"
Sasha struggled to give an answer, not wanting to tell the mother how she had recently tried to get her son killed, but eventually she gave one.
"We…met, a few weeks ago." Sasha lied. "I saw him save a caravan from some bandits. He's skilled with using four swords at once."
Adrianne looked at her for a moment, Sasha silently praying that she took her lie before the newt chuckled.
"That sounds just like Kaemon." She said. "Always wanting to protect those in need."
Sasha sighed in relief, as the newt continued. "Ever since his friend died, Kaemon got it in his head to chase that dream, wanting to become the best swordnewt in Amphibia. I still remember how he retrieved my old odachi from a group of bandits."
"You never thought about getting it yourself?" Sasha inquired with a raised brow.
"At one point, but I injured my leg during the raids, and it hadn't healed yet." Adrianne told her, patting her left leg. "From what Kaemon said, he just grabbed two swords, marched into their hideout one day after some training, and came home with a few cuts and bruises…and my old sword slung over his shoulder."
"Wow. He sounded like no ordinary kid." Sasha said.
"Yeah, he always had an interest in this kinda thing, but that's what worries me." Adrianne sighed. "Almost every morning, he'd get up to train with swords, and sometimes brings home giants beasts for dinner. I mean, it puts food on the table, but I never really approved of it." She then sighed. "One day, we had an argument, and then he just up and left without a word."
Sasha sympathized with the female newt's pain. Having an argument over a loved one's dream is something that happened quite a lot in her world.
Little did she know that one of her friends was going through a similar dilemma.
"Maybe, next time I see him, I'll let him know how much you miss him." She suggested. "Maybe encourage him to at least visit?"
Adrianne looked up to her and smiled. "I'd appreciate that, young lady." She said before holding up the gear maintenance supplies. "Anyways, here's the stuff you wanted."
"Thanks!" Sasha smiled, taking the supplies and paying for it before leaving, aiming to meet up with Damien, when something caught her eye. "Huh?"
Walking to the center of town, she approached a notice board where other amphibians were gathered, the blonde pushing through the crowd to get a closer look and seeing a sheet of parchment nailed to the board.
Looking to test your might?
Looking to become rich and famous?
Then sign up and test your luck at the Swamp Shiro Arena!
Face the arena champion and become the talk of the town!
That was what the parchment said, and looking over at the rather large colosseum-like building where various townsfolk, both spectators and combatants, lined up, Sasha felt a tang of intrigue raising within.
'Looks interesting.' Sasha thought to herself, wanting to check it out.
"Hey, Sasha!"
She turned and saw Damien waving, calling her over. Giving the arena one last look, the blonde returned with her friend before the two proceeded to leave town.
Outside of town, the human, toads, and newt set up camp in the woods, Braddock and Percy sitting around a fire while Grime watched Sasha and Damien spar, the blonde swinging her heron sword, trying to get the upper hand, but Damien was much quicker, not to mention more agile with his moves. When Sasha tried another swing, Damien flipped back and swung a leg up, knocking the sword from her hand and making a swiping motion with his tail, sending a powerful gust of wind that sent her flying, tumbling to the ground.
Groaning, Sasha made to pull herself up, looking up to see Damien standing over her, offering a helping hand. She took it and allowed the newt to pull her up before dusting her up, the blonde blushing at how close he was, those feelings she was developing resurfacing.
"You're getting a better handle on those powers more and more by the day, Damien." Grime declared as he approached. "Still, I can't quite understand where they came from."
"I bet it's this amulet." Damien said, touching the amulet around his neck. "I only ever did those stunts after I put on this thing."
"I bet this holds the answer!" Percy declared, holding up a book before reading from it. "According to this, there were salamanders that were capable of great feats of magic. And according to legend, they created the amulets to serve the current Royal Family."
"But how was that possible?" Damien asked.
"No idea, but after a revolt of a rogue frog, the salamanders went into hiding." Percy said. "Where they are now, nobody knows. But some claim to have seen some wondering Amphibia, but nobodies managed to talk to them in a long time."
As he went on, Sasha was lost in thought. She was feeling bitter about her own weakness. Sure, Damien and Grime had trained her and she felt that she was getting stronger, at first. But ever since losing to Anne at Toad Tower, she began feeling inadequate, as though her current training routine wasn't enough. And the beatdown she received at the hands of Shadow in his True Dark form made her realize just how far behind she was, the gap only widening further.
And yet, no matter how much she trained, she felt like she was no closer to closing that gap. Far from it, in fact.
"At any rate, we should rest." The captain said. "The sun will be setting soon, and we need to rest well before we begin the trek to the Northern Tower."
As night fell, the group fell asleep. Percy and Braddock sleeping soundly together near the campfire, Grime laid propped against a tree, snoring rather loudly, while Damien snoozed in his spot in the tree branches. The only one who wasn't sleeping soundly asleep was Sasha, the blonde laying awake and staring up at the dark sky, her mind racing and the images of the events replaying in her head and showed no sign of ceasing, constantly reminding her of how weak she was.
Reminding her of the monster that stared her down.
Unable to sleep, the girl made up her mind. She got up from her sleeping bag and put on her armor, strapped her sword and knife to her waist and made her way back into town, seeing that the arena's lights were still on, surprisingly. Determined, she began to walk, before accidentally bumping into someone, a newt with light yellow skin and an orange underbelly and short, dirty blonde hair and was dressed like a mailman, none other than John Hopman.
"Oops, my bad." Sasha quickly apologized.
"Ah, no big deal!" John said with a cheery laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I was so focused on delivering the last few items, I wasn't looking where I was going."
Watching the newt leave, Sasha turned and resumed her way to the arena and entered, the inside looking like the lobby and reception area, various combatants scattered about; some standing and talking amongst themselves and others were training or showing off their muscles.
Seeing the reception desk, Sasha walked up, the frog behind the counter not even looking up.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm looking to sign up." Sasha said. "Saw the paper on the notice board."
"Saw that, eh?" The newt replied in a monotone voice.
"Yeah, and I'm looking to throw down!" Sasha declared as she presented a slip of paper with her name on it. "So, let me at that champion already!"
Finally, the receptionist looked up, taking note of Sasha's frame as if judging her.
"Aren't you a little young to be-"
"Just sign me up already!" Sasha snapped.
Shrugging, the newt took the slip of paper. "Your funeral." She then pulled a button with the number eight on it. "Here's your number. The entrance is over there. Good luck."
Confident, the blonde took the button before marching over and waited, looking around to see several other amphibians waiting in line.
"Number Eight, you're up next." The intercom went off.
Sasha looked at her button before getting ready to head in, before a muscular toad stopped her.
"Your turn, huh?" He inquired.
Sasha looked at him with a raised brow. "Yeah, why?"
Looking from side to side, the toad leaned in. "If he offers a handshake, don't accept it. That's how he gets you."
Sasha seemed confused by this, but the toad walked away before she could question it further. Shrugging it off, the blonde turned her focus to the large door as it was pulled upward, allowing her to enter the arena.
Back at the camp, Damien snored softly in his spot on the tree, unaware of the absence of his friend. He started to unconsciously lean to the side before falling out of the tree and landing with a thud. Groaning in pain, he pushed himself up and rubbed the side of his head.
"Welp, last time I'm sleeping on tree branches."
Looking up, his eyes widened when he saw that Sasha was nowhere to be seen. Panicking, he quickly got up and went right over to his captain before giving a swift kick to his side.
"Wha-?!" Grime sputtered, shaking his head to wake up before looking up to see Damien standing over him. "Lieutenant? What is the meaning of-!"
"It's an emergency, Grime!" Damien stated. "Sasha's gone missing!"
"What-?!" Grime said before getting up. "What could she have gone?!"
"I don't know, where else could she have gone?!" Damien said, before looking back to town. "Maybe back to town."
"Wouldn't hurt to check." Grime said, before looking back at the sleeping forms of Percy and Braddock. "Leave them to sleep a while longer."
The two went back to town, looking around desperately for their friend, but no luck, until they came across Adrianne, who was closing down her stand.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" Damien called, gaining her attention. "Have you seen a skinny blonde girl come through here?"
Adrianne thought for a moment before it hit her. "Oh yeah, the girl that had visited my stand. "Yeah, I last saw her going to that arena earlier."
Looking in the direction of the arena, Grime raised a brow. "Now why would she go there?" He asked.
"Normally, I'm all for a midnight fight, but now isn't the best time." Damien frowned.
"I assume you two are friends of hers?" Adrianne said. "Then I suggest you hurry. The arena champion is a known cheat and she'll likely end up dead, I fear."
Both male newt and toad shared looks of fear before making a mad dash towards the arena, hoping they weren't too late.
Meanwhile, Sasha had already entered the arena, her eyes wide with shock at the sight of blood splatter and corpse's that littered the arena floor. While slightly taken aback, this did little to faze her, her confidence quickly returning before she stepped forward.
"Man, I was worried I wouldn't make it on time."
Looking up, she was surprised to see none other than the town mail newt, John Hopman at the center of the carnage, still dressed in his mail man attire, his mail carrying bag looped over his shoulder.
"Yeah, had to take care of some customers that filed complaints." The newt went on, Sasha still quite surprised to speak up. "My apologies. So much to do and so little help." He said before politely bowing. "You know, I can't stand these people and their nonsense complaints. They think they can just say anything. It's crazy." He then sighed. "But anyway, I'm here. That's the important thing, right? I take it that you're number eight?"
Sasha blinked once, twice, three times, still unable to believe that such a polite mail man was the champion of this blood-soaked arena. Yet, at the same time, something inside her head was warning her to be wary.
"Hold on, you're the arena champion? You?" She asked in disbelief.
"Not me. Well…actually, it is me." John said with a slight chuckle.
"Well…didn't expect that." Sasha admitted.
"Right, never mind that. We've got a job to do." The newt said. "But first I need some time to get ready."
"Alright, shouldn't be a problem." Sasha said. "Don't mind me, just pretend I'm not even here."
"Actually, would you mind turning the other way?" John requested. "I need some privacy, so do you mind turning away for a second?"
"A second?" Sasha raised a brow.
"Yeah, just a split second." The newt said before bowing. "I don't think it's too much to ask, do you?"
"Then we can get started?" Sasha asked.
"That's correct." John nodded.
Scoffing, Sasha turned away, and just in time to see Damien and Grime run up to the gate.
"Sasha, what the hell are you doing?!" Grime demanded. "Sneaking off like that!"
"Guys, what're you-!"
But just as the blonde was about to ask, she felt that same sensation in the back of her mind, screaming about incoming danger, before she heard what sounded like a canon going off. On instinct, she leaned to the side to dodge twin laser beams that shot past her head, hitting the gate, making Damien and Grime back up in surprise.
Turning back, she saw that the newt had completely changed clothes; gone was the mail man outfit, replaced with an outfit that resembled a superhero, an all-black bodysuit with red highlights, complete with a red and black cape, along with white gloves and boots, along with a crotch-hugging belt around his waist.
"Oh, damnit!" He cursed before straightening himself up. "Sorry about that, didn't mean to scare you. Something's wrong with me today."
Sasha, on the other hand, gritted her teeth before drawing her sword. 'If it wasn't for that sixth sense, I'd be dead.'
"Well, I won't let my guard down this time!" She yelled before charging forward, only to stop when the costumed newt held a hand up.
"Before we start, mind if I ask you something?" He asked.
Sasha raised a brow with suspicion, but decided to humor him. "What is it, Mr. Cosplay?"
"Why are you here?" He asked. "You might not be an amphibian, but I could tell that you're pretty young; thirteen, if I'm not mistaken." He stood straight with his hands on his hips. "So, why're you wasting your time here?"
"How is that any of your business?" Sasha retorted.
"Everyone has their reason for fighting." John shrugged. "I'm curious what yours is."
"Well, if you insist." Sasha scoffed. "I'm here because I intend to get stronger, and kicking your butt will help me reach another step to putting down a certain best friend stealing mangy mutt."
Back with the group on the road, things were quiet when Shadow suddenly sneezed.
"Oh." He coughed before quickly taking a swig from his water bottle.
"You okay?" Valor asked.
"Yeah, but I feel like someone was talking about me." Shadow replied. "And I sense it to be very ill will."
"Well, can't argue with that." John said. "Well, guess we should get started."
Sasha braced herself, but her confusion increased when the newt reached an open hand out.
"What? You wanna shake hands?" She asked.
"We're both fighters on the battlefield." He nodded. "It's a sign of good sportsmanship, that we respect each other before and after the fight."
Relaxing her stance, Sasha accepted and gripped his hand.
"Good luck."
"Same to you."
Once again, Sasha felt those same alarm bells going off in her head, screaming of imminent danger, but she didn't see any-
"Ruin Spark."
Upon hearing something power up, Sasha immediately snatched her hand away before a spark of lightning shot from his hand, Sasha getting back a reasonable distance.
"I had a feeling something was wrong." She said as the lightning died down. "I wasn't sure what, but it's clear as day now! No wonder that one toad warned me against accepting your 'handshake'."
The newt stared back at her blankly before suddenly breaking into uncontrollable laughter.
"Amazing! Some idiots actually fall for the oldest trick in the book!" He bellowed, his laughter continuing. "Man, this is the best! You really crack me up!" He almost keeled over. "Seriously, I think I might die of laughter!" Soon his laughter finally died down, his face ridden with sadistic intent. "Well, no matter! You'll die like all the others, against the might of Ruinman!"
"Sasha, get outta there!" Damien called. "It's clear this guy is sick in the head!"
"No way!" Sasha denied. "This is my chance to improve myself! I won't fall behind again!"
Once again, the events of Toad Tower repeated in her mind, from Anne refusing to obey, her losing the fight, and finally the beatdown she received at the hands of the Wolf.
"I need to do this." She said. "I can't afford to be weak, not again. If I'm gonna stand a chance against the Black Wolf, I need to find my strength."
Grime could here the determination in her voice. "Damien, let her do this. If things get hairy, only then will we intervene."
Damien looked at his captain before nodding.
"You here that, nerd?" Sasha called, facing the costumed newt and raising her sword. "I'm gonna wreck your day!"
John Hopman, or Ruinman as he called himself, shook his head with a chuckle before pointing at her.
"You're as good as dead."
Stop Hanging DJs from No More Heroes
With determination, Sasha darted forward, ducking to the left to avoid the twin laser beams from the sides of his head, the blonde rushing in with her sword and swinging, the newt barely able to dodge in time before slamming a fist into the ground, creating a shockwave that pushed her back.
He then brought his hands together, he then fired a fireball projectile from the mechanism in his gauntlets, but with a swing of her sword as though it were a baseball bat, Sasha sent the projectile back at him, lighting his cape on fire a bit.
Ripping his burning cape off, Ruinman the pressed a button on his glove, which turned on the machines around the area, and at the same time, several crates and cameras littered about were suspended in the air, while the newt posed as though he was about to take off flying before he was suspended high in the air himself. Out of melee range, he fired another fireball, Sasha rolling out of the way as the projectile hit one of the machines, causing one of the crates to crash into the ground. Confused, Sasha squinted her eyes before seeing that they were suspended by wires. Thin wires, but very strong ones.
Formulating a plan, Sasha ran around the area, dodging one fireball after another, all the while slashing at the machines causing other objects to fall. She finally destroyed the last machine, causing Ruinman to fall on his face.
As the newt got up, Sasha ran up from behind and wrapped her arms around his waist before lifting him over her head, slamming him headfirst into the ground with a sick thud. Getting up with a broken nose, Ruinman readied his final weapon, his belt lighting up before firing a powerful beam of energy toward Sasha. Undetered, Sasha raised her sword high, her eyes and sword glowing a bright pink color before she brought her weapon down, cutting through the beam as though it was nothing, much to the newts shock.
Music stop
"How is this possible?!" Ruinman said in terror. "Nobody's ever-"
Sasha dashed forward with surprising speed, standing before the newt in costume, making him yelp in surprise before falling on his butt, her sword pointed at his neck.
"So, gonna give up yet?" She asked confidently.
"Yeah, I give!" He squealed in fear. "Just don't kill me!"
Smirking, Sasha turned and made to leave, but the newt grinned viciously before getting up, his hands sparking with electricity.
Grime and Damien saw this and as soon as the gate was lifted, both were about to run in to intercept…
…but it happened so fast.
"RUIN—"
Slash!
In less than a second, Sasha had already turned and swung her sword downward, her eyes and blade glowing a bright pink color, her eyes filled with rage, and her sword dripping with blood.
As for Ruinman himself? He stood frozen before he split in half, both half's falling to the ground with blood spewing from the openings.
The pink glow died down, Sasha getting her breathing under control before realizing what had happened. Looking down at the bloody mess and the blood on her sword, she felt her breathing hitched. Ever since she agreed to the captain's terms, she had only killed large insects, and a giant heron, all part of her tests to prove herself.
This was the first time she had spilled the blood of a person.
Her hands grew numb before her sword slipped from her grip, her knees growing weak before collapsing, a hand over her mouth in shock at the act she had committed.
Grime and Damien looked at each other, the newt looking worried while the toad seemed to have some empathy on his face before the two moved to Sasha's side, helping her to her feet before helping her walk out of the arena, keeping the other arena-goers at an arm's length, all wanting to congratulate the blonde, but Sasha didn't want to deal with them.
Right now, she wanted out.
Far from the scene, a rather strong looking toad carrying a hammer watched, a look of intrigue on his face, before he disappeared into the shadows.
Back at camp, the blonde sat in front of the campfire, hugging her knees against her chest and staring at the flickering flame, the recent event on playback in her mind. Back home, she had trouble with bullies always giving her and her friends trouble, so she took lessons in kick boxing in order to defend herself. The same case stuck with her for the longest time since getting trapped in Amphibia, taking lessons from her teachers, again, to defend herself.
But then that moment happened, when Grime had shot Shadow. The moment where the toad would order her to take a life. In hindsight, Sasha was glad that she could avoid taking the life of another, never imagining a scenario where she would be forced to. On the other hand, however, she still wanted to get her friend back from the boy that turned her against her.
And now, with this very moment where she did the act, taking the life of another, she was left rattled, unsure of herself, of anything.
"Can't sleep?"
She looked up to see Grime standing over her, a bit of sympathy on his face.
"I…was never in a situation like that." Sasha said, turning back to the fire. "Taking a life and living with it."
"It's never easy." Grime admitted, sitting next to her. "That guilty feeling will always haunt you, no matter the context."
"You've killed before, right?" She asked her captain. "How do you live with that?"
Grime considered it for a moment before speaking, "It was a long time ago, when I was still a gladiator. I was in my 30's, married with children, when I was then recruited for the army. I was out on patrol with a squad when a group of cannibal toads ambushed us, led by a monster called the Butcher." He stared into the fire, recalling the event. "He was a massive toad, bigger than Charon, wielding a cleaver the size of an ax, hewing limbs and leaving a bloody carnage of my comrades." He then pointed at his scarred eye. "I lost my eye to that beast, trying to escape. I was ashamed of my failure, so I trained. And after so much time training and preparing, I hunted down the beast and slayed him, taking his head and cleaver as trophies, redeeming myself in the eyes of my fellow toads."
"And the guilt?" Sasha inquired.
"There was no guilt for killing the Butcher." Grime retorted. "When I saw that thing, I didn't see a fellow toad, didn't consider the events that led it to that point. Only a monster that needed to die, so no one else would suffer the same fate." He looked over to Sasha. "The more you think of your enemy as a monster to destroy, the easier it is to sleep at night. You can do the same with that Ruinman fool; a monster in newt's clothing, toying with his prey for amusement."
Sasha thought over his words before looking back at the fire, her mind going back to the newt in question. The more she thought of it, the more the guilty feeling faded. Eventually, the feeling of guilt was no longer there.
"Better?" Grime asked.
"Yeah." Sasha nodded. "I feel so much lighter now."
"Good." Grime then got up. "I recommend getting some rest. We have a lot of walking before we reach the Northern Tower."
Watching her captain return to his cot, Sasha thought back, Shadow appearing in her mind. Taking the words to heart, she changed the image of the boy, until a monstrous werewolf stood in his place.
"Just you wait, Black Wolf." She said bitterly. "The next time we meet, I won't be afraid anymore. Next time, I'll put you down."
Above the tree line, a large bird watched with a careful eye. This was no ordinary bird, however, being a few sizes bigger than the average bird, having a longer neck and a curved beak with a black tip. This was what looked like a baby roc.
The bird of prey stared at the camp before flying away, perhaps returning to its master.