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Sasha, former Queen of Manipulation, star cheerleader, and master graffiti artist Waybright, after several long months of strategizing, apologizing, and sword fighting, had reached her end.
She had thought after reading Anne's journal and learning Anne had a crush on Marcy, she would never recover from the heartbreak. It's not every day you find out your two biggest crushes are crushing on each other. Not only did it destroy her chances with both of them, but it left her resigned to a life as a third wheel to a relationship she would die to be a part of.
But the odds both Anne and Marcy would not only be open to dating girls, but dating the three of them, including Sasha who had betrayed and manipulated them both numerous times, was astronomically and impossibly low.
So, after reading that entry, Sasha had to face the fact that her one in a million chance hadn't panned out as she wanted.
Yet, she still wanted to be there for them. Support them and all their froggy friends through thick and thin. Her dumb romantic fantasies weren't important here, certainly not as important as making amends for everything she's done to her girls.
In typical Sasha fashion, she didn't give up, and started a whole froggin’ rebellion.
~~~~~~~~
She had thought when Darcy (what a dumb, stupidly Marcy name) had raised their flaming dagger (the irony not lost on her), they were done for.
Even if only for a few seconds, she felt completely helpless to what Darcy had in store for them.
The metal tentacle wrapped around her like steel, and while she was strong it barely mattered against its hold. Still, she painfully flailed, pulling and twisting as hard as she could to get out, break free, stop Darcy, save Anne, she couldn't lose her too-
Even if just for a few seconds, she was just as terrified as she had been the last time she was in Newtopia. Images of a flaming sword through Marcy's back mixed with a flaming dagger descending toward Anne's heart until she could see Anne fall, just like Marcy had, before the dagger even touched her.
As it turned out, the dagger never did pierce Anne. Even after Anne yelled out and the weapon was held just under her chin, with a couple convincing questions from Anne and at least three miracles, she was free from certain death for at least another couple of hours.
Which meant they could escape. It meant they had a chance. It meant Sasha couldn't give up, and she didn't.
~~~~~~~~
She had thought when her heron sword had cut the cord on Darcy's helmet, when she could hear Marcy scream in utter, animalistic agony, she would never forgive herself.
The fight was the worst of her life in terms of physical and emotional damages. The back of her ankle had been harshly grazed and her back had been, well, permanently disfigured.
Grime even lost an arm, and if not for her cloak stopping the bleeding it could've easily been his life.
Fighting Darcy had been hard because while they were wearing an armored bodysuit and their head was covered with a creepy mind controlling helmet, she could still hear Marcy's voice in the layers of ancient amphibians.
Sweet, clumsy, easily distracted, crazy smart Marcy. The same girl that risked everything so they could be together.
The fight was hard, but seeing Marcy crumple to the ground, limp and frail, was impossible.
The echo of, "Do you have any idea what you've done?!" replayed in her mind. She didn't know what she had done. She was furious and tired and in pain and if movies had taught her anything then she had to pull the plug on the evil mind controlling robot thing.
But life wasn't some movie or TV show, it didn't all magically work out every time. She had no idea what kind of messed up consequences could come from disconnecting Marcy.
Her wound from King Andri-ass could re-open, she could be blind from whatever that helmet did to her, the green blood could be slowly poisoning her, or she could already be-
And it would be all Sasha's fault. She cut the stupid cable, if anything happened to Marcy because of that it would be on her hands.
If Marcy died, Sasha would be to blame. And Sasha couldn't survive that.
Marcy was adorably clumsy, incredibly smart, amazingly talented, insanely creative, beautiful and driven, hardworking and determined, and she couldn't be the one to rob the world of her light.
She...she fell to her knees. The fight had long since drained from her body.
Marcy had to come back. And she did. And with Marcy back, Sasha had to keep going. She could keep going.
But without Anne?
~~~~~~~~
She had thought she had reached her limit several times before.
But now, she knew. She knew, staring at Anne's open palm and resolved yet determined expression, with the intimidating crimson moon descending ever closer, listening to Anne confess that she like liked both of them, it all confirmed to her that this was her limit.
She had persevered through one of her friends nearly dying at her hand, but this time the stakes were so much higher. Now, it was Anne or Amphibia, and once again, Sasha was to blame for what would happen.
A million and one thoughts had raced through Sasha’s mind as she was propelled down to Amphibia, hugging Marcy to her side.
Anne, miraculously, unbelievably, returned Sasha’s feelings. Not only Sasha’s, but Marcy's too, which honestly felt like a dream and a nightmare at the same time.
Because Anne, strong, beautiful, caring, kind, lovable Anne, would succeed.
She'd stop the moon, the Core, for good, because Anne was Anne, classic hero, but it was how Anne, positive, hopeful, glass half-full Anne, admitted she probably wouldn’t make it out that told Sasha everything she needed to know.
Sasha was strong. Strong and stubborn as hell. But how could she survive giving her best friend and requited crush the key to her demise?
A neon blue streak hit the shallow waters on the outskirts of Newtopia, quickly fading to reveal two girls worn ragged by their battle. At this point, Sasha had taken on most of Marcy's weight, something that only served to make Sasha more concerned about how she would take this.
Sasha could barely accept it herself.
She supposed it was the perfect irony for her life of manipulation and crime. She would get what she wanted, but only when she couldn't have it.
She didn’t even care about her dumb crushes anymore. She just wanted everyone alive.
~~~~~~~~
When the moon exploded, Sasha and Marcy cheered along with the army behind them. Anne, once again, saved the day.
When Anne's body returned to the ground, giving ashen gray a new meaning, Sasha and Marcy cried. What else could they do? Marcy may be the smart one but it didn’t take a genius to know a human couldn’t survive through the condition Anne was in.
So Sasha sobbed her heart out when Anne delivered her final words. She collapsed right next to Marcy when their best friend dissolved into a pile of glowing leaves that were swept away by the wind. She gripped Marcy harder than she had ever tried before, because she was all Sasha had left.
She would later resolve to hold up the legacy Anne left behind. To protect everything they fought for and never fall back into bad habits. To show heart and strength in all she did.
But now… she mourned the loss of a friend. An amazing, wonderful, brave best friend.
~~~~~~~~
Then, like a cheesy romcom, Anne came back, all jokes and laughter, as if she never left.
Frog, Sasha may have cried more than she did when Anne died.
Somehow, someway, Anne was alive. Despite logic or destiny, Anne gave the Grim Reaper the finger and walked right back into life almost the same as she left it. Except missing the wrong shoe. Which, funnily enough, made Sasha realize what she'd been doing wrong this whole time.
She had been living from disaster to disaster, always thinking each would never be topped and pushing through them anyway because she was Sasha frogging Waybright. But on her way, she missed all the little moments. Like how Anne looked at the Plantars the same way she looked at her parents, or how Marcy rarely cried, especially this much for this long (she was the only one with active rivers of tears still).
Sasha must have missed so much just looking at the bigger picture.
But she could change that now. She would change that now. If her best friend dying wasn’t a good enough wake up call, she would never get another one.
What better time to clear up her grievances when Anne revealed three glowing shards in her pocket that would surely send them home?
With a paper-thin layer of anxiety and an iron wall of resolve, Sasha cleared her throat and gestured to the cliffs edge that overlooked the ruins of Newtopia.
“Before we go, can we talk about… everything?”
Anne smiled like she was just about to bring up the same suggestion and Marcy looked at her with pride for being the first to address the issues between them instead of the last.
Huh. Maybe she would get through this afterall.
Though, not without several nightmares. This whole experience has been absolutely horrifying.