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Anne couldn’t sleep. Which was a shame, because she was exhausted after trying and failing to be a rebellion commander. But the small, lichen-covered cave was far too cramped, and the transition from Earth meant the Plantars were snoring louder than ever. So she decided to get out of the stuffy cave and stretch her legs.
She wandered through the tunnels aimlessly, admiring what she could of the rebellion base in the dark. It was impressive, to say the least; she recognized Loggle’s craftsmanship and saw hints of everyone’s decorating style amidst the necessary protective measures. And although it was much more subdued than she would’ve expected, she recognized Sasha’s dramatic flair in the training grounds and the meeting place. Anne smiled.
“Anne?” a voice behind her said softly.
Anne spun around, startled. “Sasha!”
“What are you doing up?” she asked, walking over to her.
“That cave we picked out is too small, and the Plantars are snoring louder than usual tonight,” Anne shrugged. “What about you?”
“I… couldn’t sleep,” Sasha said, gazing at the floor. She seemed nervous, which wasn’t like her. Anne gave her a sympathetic smile.
“Wanna go for a walk?” she asked.
Sasha smiled back at her. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”
“So what’s on your mind?” Anne asked after a few moments of silence.
“Oh, y’know, plans for how to defeat King Andrias and his evil robot army and save Marcy. S’kind of my job.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Anne said. “I can tell when something’s bothering you, Sash. What’s wrong?”
Sasha stopped walking, and Anne turned to look at her. “It’s… it’s you.”
“What?”
“I didn’t mean it like that!” she said quickly. “I really am super happy you’re here, it’s just… every time I look at you, I’m reminded of all the terrible things I did. And I know that’s all my fault, not yours, but I’m just so sorry! I’m really trying to be a better person, but I know nothing can change the horrible things I did. And the thought that I might never be able to win you back or be good enough for you hurts so much!” Sasha wasn’t looking at Anne, and tears were sliding down her cheeks. “And I promise I’m not trying to manipulate you. I’m just trying to be honest. I totally get it if you want to hate me forever. I just want you to know that I will too.”
Anne hugged her tightly, and for a moment Sasha stopped crying in shock. “I don’t hate you,” Anne said gently. “I never did. And believe me, I wanted to.” She held Sasha by the shoulders and gazed into her eyes. “And maybe things between us won’t ever be the same again. But maybe that’s a good thing. We can be something new, something better. I can tell how hard you’re trying to be a better person, and you’ve already grown so much! I mean, you protected the people of Wartwood when you didn’t have to, and now you’re leading the rebellion even though you didn’t want to. You’re a good person, Sasha.”
“But I’m not, Anne!” she protested tearfully. “How can you say that after everything I’ve done?”
“Because that’s all in the past. You’re different now. And I really like this new Sasha so far.”
“But I betrayed you! So many times! I manipulated you our entire friendship, I fought you, I tried to kill-”
“Jeez, dude, are you trying to convince me to hate you?” Anne cut in teasingly. Then she softened. “You need to stop beating yourself up for that. I forgive you, Sasha. End of discussion,” she said tenderly, smiling like it was an inside joke, her eyes filled with love. “You just need to forgive yourself.”
Sasha threw her arms around Anne’s neck and buried her face in her chest, shaking as small sobs escaped her. “I’m so sorry!” she spluttered. “I’m so, so sorry!”
“Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay,” Anne comforted, rubbing her back gently. “Let’s go upstairs, we don’t want to wake anyone else up.”
Sasha didn’t respond, but she let Anne guide her up to the house. She clutched her shirt desperately, trying to press ever deeper into her embrace. Anne held her steady as they stepped through the secret entrance, then out into the open night air.
Anne kept rubbing her back and whispering to her comfortingly, and soon her crying slowed before stopping altogether.
“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “I think I really needed that.”
“Makes sense,” Anne said, wiping away her tears. “So much has happened, and I’m guessing Grime doesn’t encourage you to talk about your emotions.”
Sasha shook her head, blushing. Then she caught a glimpse of the sky.
“Whoa,” she breathed, still clinging to Anne. “The air must be cleaner here, ‘cause we never saw this many stars at Toad Tower.” She gazed upwards in awe. “It’s so beautiful.”
“Yeah, it is,” Anne agreed. But she found herself looking more at Sasha than the sky.
They stayed like that for a while, holding each other and stargazing. They seemed to silently agree that it was nice just being together. Then a dragonfly flew by, making them both jump.
“You’d think I’d be used to that by now,” Anne muttered. Sasha giggled, smiling at her fondly. Anne blushed.
“So, do you want to keep walking?” Sasha asked awkwardly.
“Sure. I’ll get a candle first,” she said before hurrying into the kitchen. Then she returned a moment later, grinning. “I know the perfect spot.”
The soft glow of the flame danced across their faces as she led the way to an old, crumbling section of a wall. Anne tried not to look at the charred remnants of Wartwood, and Sasha tried not to look at Anne.
“I know you loved this place. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect it,” she said, her face ridden with guilt.
“Okay, you have got to stop apologizing. You protected the people, and that’s what matters. There’s no way you could’ve stopped all of Andrias’s robots by yourself, no matter how badass you are.”
Sasha smiled sheepishly. “I wasn’t by myself. I had Grime, and the townspeople can kick serious ass.”
“I know! They’re pretty impressive, right?” Anne said proudly.
“For sure. They’re all so brave and kind. They actually remind me a lot of you.”
“Pretty sure they’re the ones who taught me, but that’s sweet, Sash.”
“You were really lucky to end up here.”
“Yeah, I was. I think it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
They continued walking in silence until they reached the abandoned wall.
“Here we are!” Anne exclaimed cheerfully.
Sasha gasped. “I’m sorry- er, what did this use to be?”
“What? Oh, no, this was always like this. Sprig and I would come out here and hang out when we couldn’t sleep,” she explained, placing the candle on one of the sturdier stones. She plopped down and leaned against the wall, patting the dirt next to her. Sasha sat, observing the spot timidly. “Do you want to hear about our adventures on Earth?”
“Ooh, definitely,” Sasha said, visibly relaxing.
Anne grinned. “I have so much to tell you!”
Sasha listened eagerly as Anne talked, enamored with the way her eyes lit up when she recounted something exciting and the slight blush that crept onto her face when she mentioned how much she’d missed something mundane. She spared no detail, but that didn’t stop her from asking follow-up questions. They both avoided mentioning Marcy’s family, or Sasha’s for that matter. But there were enough stories to be told without touching those uncomfortable subjects.
“I still can’t believe you broke into the FBI!” Sasha exclaimed when Anne had finished explaining how they got back to Amphibia. “That’s easily the coolest thing any of us has ever done, and that’s saying something.”
“I don’t know about that,” Anne said modestly. “We’ve all done some pretty cool stuff.”
“Don’t sell yourself short, Boonchuy. I could never have done any of the things I did here back in Los Angeles. But you’re a badass in any dimension,” Sasha said, nudging her playfully. Anne laughed. Then that laugh became a yawn. “Alright, we should probably try and get some sleep now,” Sasha said.
“Yeah, good idea.” Anne got to her feet and stuck out her hand to pull Sasha up. Then she grabbed the candle and they headed back toward the base. “So, does this partnership mean I get a sneak peek of tomorrow’s missions?”
“Sure,” Sasha chuckled. “There’s only one mission tomorrow. Some wealthy frog from Ribbitvale is bringing us a shipment of supplies, but we have to take out Andrias’s laser cannon that’s blocking the mountain pass. I’m going to take Stumpy and Fern as our specialists, but we’re still trying to decide on the best commandos to take. We’ll figure it out with Grime in the morning.”
“Cool. Can I sit in on that conversation? I might be able to help since I probably know these frogs a bit better than you do.”
“I was hoping you would. Grime and I know battle strategies, but you have experience with the townspeople and the valley that’ll be invaluable in our fight against Andrias.”
“Great! I’m excited to see what this whole process is like.”
“Well, I’m not sure how exciting it’ll be, but it’ll definitely be better with us working together.”
“Definitely,” Anne echoed, and they grinned at each other as they stepped back into the base. “Well, I’m gonna try to get some sleep. Come get me when it’s time to discuss the mission.” She yawned again. “Night, Sash.”
“Anne, wait!” Sasha cried, grabbing her wrist. “You said the cave you and the Plantars picked is too small. Do you want to stay in my cave with me?”
“Oh. Yeah, that would be great, actually. Let me just get my stuff.”
She smiled and turned to tiptoe into the Plantar’s cave. Sasha’s heartbeat quickened, but she refused to think about what that could mean. Then Anne emerged quietly back into the main tunnel.
“Thank you for letting me stay with you, Sasha.”
“Of course! It’ll be fun,” she said hopefully.
“Maybe we can have sleepovers, like old times! Or as close as we can get during wartimes, that is.”
“Yeah, I’d like that,” Sasha smiled. Then her face fell. “That’s another thing I need to apologize for. I’m sorry about all those Scare Dare challenges. I never should have made that stupid book. You and Marcy aren’t losers. I don’t know why I couldn’t just play the game without making you two feel bad about yourselves.”
“It’s okay. Even though that part wasn’t great, it’s still a pretty fun game. And remember, I already forgave you for all that stuff. You don’t have to keep apologizing.”
“Yeah, I’m going to need to say ‘I’m sorry’ at least a few more times. I have a lot to apologize for.”
“I get that. Just don’t be too hard on yourself, okay? Don’t let your guilt get in the way of your growth.”
“When did you get to be so wise?” Sasha smirked.
Anne chuckled. “You aren’t the only one who’s changed,” she said, cocking an eyebrow. Then she softened again. “But seriously, you’ve grown so much since I left. I’m really proud of you, Sasha.”
“Thank you, Anne. That means a lot coming from you.”
They stepped into the mouth of Sasha’s cave and Anne glanced around. “Sorry about the mess, I’ve got a lot of my commander stuff lying around. You can set up over here, next to me,” Sasha said, pointing to her sleeping bag. Anne nodded and unrolled her mat. It seemed that and a pillow was all she brought to sleep on, and Sasha gave her a quizzical look.
“Sprig stole my blanket in his sleep,” she explained as she zipped up her backpack.
“Oh. Well, then you can use this,” Sasha said, handing her her cloak.
“Wow, really? Thanks, Sash!” Anne exclaimed.
“Don’t mention it.” Sasha turned away, her cheeks flushing the same color as Anne’s.
“It’s so soft!” Anne said in surprise. “And it’s so warm, too!” And it smells like you, she thought.
“Yeah, it’s really nice. You’ll have to ask Grime what kind of fur it’s made of, but I think it’s like the Amphibia equivalent of mink.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to ask him,” Anne echoed as she yawned. “Good night, Sasha.”
“Good night, Anne,” Sasha smiled, before yawning herself. “See you in the morning.”
They blew out the candle and laid down next to each other, the earth under their beds surprisingly soft.
“Hey, Anne?” Sasha whispered a few moments later.
“Yeah?”
“I’m really glad you’re here. I really missed you.”
“I missed you too, Sash.”