Chapter Text
An hour ago, Sasha Waybright was at the mall, and the biggest problem in her life was trying to stop her best friend from ditching her to go to her dumb birthday party.
Then she was on her back in a muddy swamp.
Her first thought was a stubborn thought that this couldn't be real. That she was in LA just a moment ago, and this was clearly not LA, and there's no way in hell she could travel that far without waking up once. She liked to think she would be harder to kidnap than that. Her second thought was, oh my god, I'm covered in mud.
It's not the giant bugs or the even giant-er birds eating them that freaked her out. It's so far removed from who she is as a person that it doesn't quite register right in her head. Bugs taller than her aren't anything she's ever thought about, because she's not even that scared of them usually. So, seeing them now, hearing them screech and skitter, didn't do anything for her sense of reality. It just didn't click.
What did click, however, was the things she'd felt before; her face was hot like she's got a fever, her back ached like she'd slept weird, and her socks were as wet as that time she and her friends got stuck on the wrong side of a flood and had to walk through knee-deep water. It's those feelings that came to her, that raised red flags in her head, that said something is actually up here. It wasn't a dream. She'd never dreamed so vividly or so early in the day. She'd rather trust herself than the laws of reality, so that means, actually, maybe it is real. Maybe she was too quick to cast that possibility aside.
She sat up like a firecracker was lit under her, adrenaline zipping through her veins; then everything else started to fade in. The sound of the birds, louder than it should be, slammed into her ears so hard she very nearly stumbled.
She was with her friends. Then Anne opened that box, and there was a bright light, and now she's here.
Okay. First order of business would be to find them.
Pulling herself to her feet, she looked around herself, stubbornly ignoring the... everything happening nearby. That wasn't relevant, and also maybe if she ignored it hard enough it'd stop existing.
“Anne!” she yelled. “Marcy! Where are you girls?”
Nothing. She groaned. Okay, so they're not quite as close as she hoped. Or they'd fallen into a hole and passed out, which sounded a little more accurate. Something unpleasant bubbled up in her chest, and she wiped her hands over her face to get it together.
She had tk find her friends. That was her first concern. After that, she'd worry about figuring out what's going on, or what Anne did by opening that box, and how to get home before her parents notice that she's gone (which actually gives her quite a bit of time). If she was a little freaked out, she couldn't imagine how they were doing. They'd be dead without her in minutes. So, she took a breath, ran right past a mantis' claw as it slammed into a nearby tree, tried not to barf at the smell of the swamp, and stormed off for what better be a very short trip.
-
Sprig Plantar happily bounded through the swamp, hopping off trees and clinging tight to his slingshot as he hummed a song under his breath. He followed the tracks that the beast had left behind - big and long with what looked like one lumpy toe. Whatever it was, it was pretty gross. But he could handle gross if it meant proving himself.
Eventually, the tracks ended at the mouth of a small cave. He took a deep breath.
"Okay, Sprig," he mumbled to himself, bouncing on his feet. "You can do this. Capture the beast, save Wartwood, and Hop Pop will respect you forever!"
It was the perfect plan. The perfect first taste of adventure, to prove forever that he was capable of it. Even if the description of it that Wally gave was horrifying, and it didn't seem like anything they taught him about at school (it was destroyed months ago, of course, so maybe they just didn't get to that one in time), those tracks weren't that big, and it only seemed like it had two legs. How dangerous could it even be? He was sure he'd dealt with far worse at the farm. Of course, he had very rarely actually fought them. One might say he had never done so successfully in his entire life. One might be correct in saying that. Hypothetically. But that didn't mean he couldn't do it now!
He puffed out his chest and took a step towards the entrance of the cave -
Only to be instantly blinded by a flash of bright light.
He fell backwards, hands over his eyes, rolling around in the mud and yelling like it might help. He was a fool - This creature clearly had some sort of evil magic, and now he was blind forever. Forever, if he survived its attempt to eat him, too. Then something kicked him. This was it. He was going to die for his hubris. At least he had lived a good one while he could. He'd surely be remembered well –
"Wow. This is just sad," a voice said. "Honestly didn't think that would work that well."
Oh, the beast could speak. Neat. He'd never heard of that before. Guess that thing Wally said about it mocking him was actually literal and also not a complete lie.
"Seriously, just open your eyes."
He opened his eyes, and found that his sight was magically restored. Standing over him, looking at him like he was a worm they had accidentally stood on, was the beast.
Their appearance matched Wally's description - pale skin, a red face with an uncomfortable bump coming out the middle, long limbs, and long straw-like hair. The sticks inside said hair were probably unrelated to the whole 'being a monster' thing though. In their hand, they held a strange box, a bright spot on the back of it. That must be what they used to blind him! Maybe it was magic? Maybe they were a witch.
"H-hi!" he said, jumping up, a nervous laugh spilling out. Play it cool, and maybe they'll leave you alone. They left Wally alone! After he ran away screaming, but still. "I'm Sprig. Nice to meet you, horrifying beast!"
The beast wrinkled their face-bump, glaring down at him. "Don't call me that."
Their voice was harsh, a cold tone that very clearly said he was going to die if he didn't do it. Sprig shrunk into himself. "Okay. Uh, is there anything else I can call you...?"
They seemed to consider it for a moment. Then, shrugged, and smirked. It was the sort of smile that he wanted to believe was friendly, but also kinda looked like she was going to eat him. "Sasha Waybright."
“Nice to meet you, Sasha!”
He held out his tongue to shake. And Sasha looked at him like she wanted to take his neck in her hand and squeeze.
So he stuck it back into his mouth. “Uh. Not a tongue shake person?”
She hesitated, crouching down to his level for a moment. Wow, her eyes were intense. “Have you seen anyone else that looks kinda like me?”
“Nope! I think I’d remember seeing something that horrifying.”
She hummed, got up, and started walking in a random direction. “Well. Later, weird little frog boy.”
Wait. The beast can’t just leave! The beast was his chance to prove how responsible he was. Also he now really wanted to know what exactly she was.
He ran after Sasha, slinging himself up into a tree by the tongue and dropping down in front of her. She stopped.
“Wait! What are you?”
“Uh. A human.”
“...A what?”
“A human!” she repeated. “You know, from Earth?”
He stopped. And thought. “Yeah, not ringing any bells for me.”
Sasha stopped and groaned, slamming her head in her hands. “Oh my God. You’re really an alien or something, aren’t you.”
Sprig thought for a moment. He wasn’t sure he’d ever even heard that word. “Uhhh, I don’t feel like one?”
Apparently, that was not one of those questions that you’re supposed to answer. Because the only response he got was another groan. As Sasha turned back, her eyes were sharp. “Why are you following me?”
Okay, maybe he shouldn't say he was hunting her. She might have actually beat him up then. “Uh, the frog you met earlier told me there was a monster in the woods. I wanted to check it out.”
Sure, lying felt incredibly bad. But it was for everyone’s sake, wasn’t it? So it couldn’t be that bad. Probably. Maybe.
“Well, you did it. You saw me. Now back off.”
He considered it for a second; weighed up the pros and cons of backing off. Then…
“Nope! I like hanging out with you!”
Sasha put her head in her hands and screamed.
“If you can’t help me, then go away!” she groaned.
He couldn’t really help but flinch. These ‘humans’ must have been the top of the food chain wherever they came from, because he found it difficult to imagine that anything could defeat her in that moment.
Then he saw the mantis right behind her. It hadn’t noticed them yet, but-
“I’m sorta busy right now, trying to find my friends!” Sasha continued. “So stop bother-”
At least Sprig’s frantic shushing quieted her down. Even if he uh. Wasn’t entirely certain it was because she was listening to him. Because she still sort of looked like she wanted to kill him. Then, she took a deep breath, and grabbed him by the shirt.
“H-hey!” He floundered. “I-I’m just saying, there’s-”
Oh. Wait, he wasn’t supposed to make any noise, was he?
Just as he realised his mistake, it saw them. A big empty eye turned in their direction, followed by the head, then the body.
For the second time that day, he was absolutely certain he was going to die. Sure, he was wrong the first time, but that only meant it was more likely to be true the second! He took out his slingshot, a shaky hand pulling it back; he had to at least try to fight, didn't he? Then another shadow fell over him.
"Back off, squeaky toy," Sasha growled through gritted teeth, tossing him to the side. He fell behind a rock, protected from the mantis' eyesight.
“Sasha?” he mumbled.
And she was off before he was even sure she heard him speak. She took something big and sparkly out of her bag, one for each hand, and she ran for the mantis with a loud yell. At first, he watched in awe as she jumped up and over one of its claws, her legs split right apart to get higher up. Then that awe turned to concern as she spun back around to face it again, holding her weapons up like she wasn't really sure where to start attacking, or how.
Well. She didn't leave to let him die, so he should probably at least try to help, right? So, he took a breath, held it, got out his slingshot again, and aimed right for the spot he knew would hurt.
It didn't seem very hurt, but it did stop in its tracks for a moment. That was a win in his book.
"Aim for the joints!" He called out, ducking back behind a rock.
Sasha didn't say anything. But she did listen. She wasn't much of a match in terms of raw strength, not with her size, but she had the speed and agility of a dragonfly, and she knew how to use it, dodging its every swing and movement. It was almost like she was dancing; she'd be good at hunting, Sprig thought.
Then, just as it started to stumble from all the wandering around in circles, she jumped up and kicked it in the neck. With a screech, it lost its balance. Both of them grimaced as it caught itself again, but...
It just sorta… gave up and left. Maybe it decided they weren't worth the effort? Could a mantis get embarrassed?
Either way, Sasha groaned and flopped back against a tree, burying her head in her hands. She looked like she needed a moment. Orrrr, a friend!
"You saved me!" He yelled, arms out. "Even though you don’t like me! Why?”
Sasha ran a hand through her hair and shrugged. “Maybe I didn't wanna see you become a pancake. I guess we'll never know.”
Sprig couldn’t help but beam at that response. “You're a hero! An ugly, ugly hero!"
She beaned him in the face with one of the weapon things. It actually didn't hurt nearly as much as he thought it might. "Keep talking like that," Sasha said. "See what happens."
"You're smiling!"
She was no longer smiling. "I am not."
He shut up. For about a second. As she got up and started walking again, smacking branches out of the way as she went, he hurried to follow her, hopping along after her freakishly long legs. “Where'd you learn to do that?” he asked, beaming.
Sasha smiled. “Cheerleading, believe it or not.”
“...Sorry, cheerwhat–”
“Nevermind. It’s a human thing.”
Whatever cheerleading was, it must have been hardcore. And she used it to help him, even though she didn’t have to at all. He paused. "You're not a monster at all, are you?”
She turned back around to face him. “What gave you that idea?”
“Geeeetting the feeling you might mean that sarcastically.”
“Oh, really?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at the look on her face. Just a few moments ago, he would’ve been scared… but then, she saved him. Even though she could’ve just left and gotten what she wanted from him. Everything she said made him a little less certain she actually wanted him gone. Actually, even though she was so… big, he was pretty sure she was a kid. She didn’t act like any adult he had ever known, at least.
…Geez, it seemed pretty mean to send a mob after her, considering that.
“Oh, we're nearly at a town,” Sasha said. “Good. I need supplies.”
Oh frog.
The mob.
He’d been just following Sasha as she wandered around, so distracted by trying to befriend her that he didn’t consider what her getting closer and closer to Wartwood meant. He had to do something!
“H-hey!” He yelled, running up in front of Sasha. “Uh, maybe don’t go there! It’s dangerous!”
Sasha raised an eyebrow. “I think I’ll manage.”
Aaaand she walked right past him.
He desperately grabbed her by the leg, clinging hard. “Seriously, the other frogs–”
Then he found out how it felt to be shaken wildly at incredibly high speeds. And then flung off onto the ground, where a familiar pair of arms hoisted him back up to his feet.
“Hop Pop!” he breathed. “Uh, I know how this looks, but-”
“Don’t worry, Sprig,” Hop Pop said, pushing him behind his back and brandishing his pitchfork. “We’re just glad you’re okay.”
“We’re talking about this later!” Polly yelled from his shoulder.
Major Toadstool walked over from the back of the angry mob, brushing off his jacket with the back of a clawed hand. “Now don’t you worry boy, we’re gonna get this beast dealt with!
Sasha kicked a frog who was approaching her with a rope straight into the bushes. “What the hell, squeaky toy?!”
He couldn’t get his mind off the look in Sasha’s eyes. As strong as usual, but wavering in a way that they hadn’t earlier on. His lip wobbled, and he wriggled out of Hop Pop’s protection to run in front of her, arms out to defend her.
Sasha was mean, and even Sprig could tell she didn’t like him. But, still…
“Listen, she’s not a monster! She saved me!”
“Saved?” the Mayor asked. “What could that thing possibly save you from?”
As if on cue, there were loud, thumping footsteps behind them. The mantis was back.
“Uh. That.”
“Hurry, everyone!” Toadstool called out. “Mantis formation!”
Mantis formation never worked. Not once in the whole time Sprig had been alive had he seen it work. But the mob did it anyway, climbing on top of each other’s heads to get as big as they could.
They might have thought it worked when the mantis turned tail and ran. Unfortunately, Sprig was at the exact right position to get a good look at the real thing it was hiding from. The much bigger, much redder one behind them.
“Nope, that scared it off,” Polly said.
Hop Pop nodded. “Yeah, that makes more sense.”
The red mantis let out a loud screech, swinging its claw down to part the mob, which scattered. Just as Sprig was about to follow the safety of his family, he noticed Sasha. She wasn't running with the rest of them.
“Hey, ugly bug!” she yelled. “Over here!”
Sprig flinched. Even if she could scare off that other one, this one was way bigger and tougher.
He hopped in place, trying to think. Sasha saved him last time. It was only fair he made up for it, right? Plus, he accidentally led her right into a trap…
He dashed over to her, slingshot in hand. “I’ll distract that thing! You get out of here!”
Sasha seemed to hesitate for a moment, then took a step back, giving him space to shoot. Having her trust him like that actually felt… pretty good.
“Hey!” he yelled, drawing the mantis’ attention, shooting a pebble right onto its carapace.
It didn’t seem to react.
Uh. Actually, he didn’t really consider what he'd do after he got its attention.
Before its claw could cleave him right open, Sasha grabbed him by the back of the shirt and tucked him under her arm, the other one out straight to push its claw back. She grunted with the effort, dropping him down onto the grass so she could use both hands.
She didn’t seem scared of it at all. She leapt up onto its shoulder, wrapped both arms around its head and pulled like she was trying to choke it, her feet digging hard into its carapace, teeth gritted. But it still had its claws, and it was lifting them.
“Sasha!” Sprig yelled. He panicked, looking around for something better than a pebble he could throw at it. And he landed on Sasha’s bag.
He frantically searched in the bag for anything that might be useful - and pulled out some sorta weird glossy book. Okay, that was better than nothing.
-
Sasha really did have half a mind to escape in the commotion. These weird little monsters were planning on killing her.
But, then it was about to attack Sprig, and – she didn’t like him, but he was obviously a kid or something, she couldn’t just leave him to die.
The big ugly mantis head she was clinging to rocked hard, screeching. Sprig had run under it and was hitting it with one of her magazines (was he seriously going through her stuff?), which had drawn its attention away from her, but driven it straight to him. This stupid kid was gonna get himself killed. Why did he keep doing that?!
He kept distracting it from Sasha. Like, for some reason, he was trying to protect her.
Something in her went hot at the thought. All she could think about were all those times as a kid when she fought to protect her friends. He was sort of like how they were back then; small and scared and helpless. Hadn’t she promised, once, that she would always fight bullies? Sure, this was different, but…
She’d feel pretty damn awful if she let him get eaten.
Something surged through her - a new sense of confidence that she hadn’t really felt since she landed in this dingy place.
“Hey, kid!” She shouted. “Move it!”
Whatever look she had on her face, it worked. He jumped out of the way. She felt like she was burning as she tugged harder and harder, until she felt something crack under her hands. She grinned. Then, she suddenly felt cold again as the mantis collapsed, sending her screaming to the grass.
She landed. And she looked at the bug head in her arms. And she screamed as loud as she could and chucked it in the other direction. Where the hell did that come from? She was pretty sure she’d never done anything quite that violent before.
“We did it!” Sprig yelled out, running over to him and shooting out his gross tongue. She wasn’t sure what he thought he was doing there, but at least he gave up faster this time.
“Yep. We did.”
Sasha’s chest heaved as she hauled herself to her feet and looked around at the crowd. At a sea of eyes, all looking at her with a mix of fear and awe. Honestly, it was the sort of thing she could get used to – having that sort of power. And if they wanted to run her out, she could just… scare them a little more. A little pressure to make them back off, like the boys back home.
“It’s a monster!” she heard one whisper.
“She’s way too strong…”
“Well, now that that's settled, what the heck are we gonna do with this thing?” The toad said, turning back. “Maybe we oughta run it out of town just to be safe. Let it be someone else's problem.”
That whipped the mob back up. She could barely make out what they were yelling about through all the commotion. She stepped back slightly, clenching her fists.
Then, Sprig jumped in. “Stop! She’s not a monster! She’s just lost and needs our help. We should take care of her.”
Personally, she resented that phrasing. But she let him speak.
“Are you crazy?” The toad spluttered.
The hobo stepped forward, holding out a torch. “Yeah. What if it goes nutty tomorrow and starts eating people?”
“Why would I do that,” Sasha mumbled.
Hop Pop – probably because Sprig was freaking out so hard – stepped in. “Don’t worry yourselves silly. I'll keep an eye on 'em, both of 'em.”
The toad hummed. It felt like he didn’t want to give it up, more that he couldn’t bother fighting hard enough to change things. Like it’d be easier to push her off to someone else to deal with.
“Hmm. Have it your way, Hopadiah Plantar, but I don’t like it,” he says. “All right boys, pack it in!”
The villagers skulked off, mumbling something she couldn’t care less about. She took the time to catch her breath and push her hair back into place.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sprig slink back over to Hop Pop, arm out dejectedly. She tried very hard not to laugh at him. “Looks like I'm back to causing trouble for the family again, huh?”
But Hop Pop actually smiled. Sasha jolted.
“Trouble? Sprig, standing up to that angry mob to help this creature out was... Some of the bravest and most responsible stuff I've ever seen!”
The… baby? On his head smiled. “That was pretty cool, Sprig. It was also really dumb!”
Hop Pop smiled fondly. Sasha… sorta felt like she shouldn’t be watching. Or she didn’t want to. “Yes. Really, really dumb.”
Sprig gasped. “You think I'm responsible?”
Sasha checked out. She didn’t want to listen to their annoying family banter for any longer. She pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, frowning at the lack of signal. Or wifi. Or anything, no matter how high up she lifted it. She was seriously about to lose it if she couldn’t text her friends soon - God, she’d been here long enough already, hadn’t she? She’d better get a move on if she wanted to be back any time soon.
She cleared her throat. “Well, since I saved you, I want a map out of this place and some provisions.”
Hop Pop turned to her like he forgot she was there. Then, he had the nerve to laugh at her. “Oh, a map won't be enough,” he said, taking one out and showing her. “This here valley is surrounded by mountains that are impenetrable this time of year.”
WHAT.
Sprig shrugged. “It should clear up in a couple of months.”
WHAT.
Hop Pop kept talking, oblivious to her freaking the hell out right in front of him. “But until then, you try to cross those mountains-”
The baby glared at her. The baby! “You will die.”
Sasha did not scream, because that would be lame. But she was screaming in her soul. Anne and Marcy weren’t anywhere near her, even with all the searching she did. Chances are they’re not even in the valley. But she needed to find them as soon as possible; they’d die out here without her. Anne probably still had that stupid box too, and if opening that brought them there, it was probably the only way to get back too.
No. No way. She was gonna find a way past those mountains early.
But for now…
She sighed. “If you can’t get me out, can you at least get me somewhere to stay?” She put on her best puppy eyes. “I really don’t wanna sleep in a cave again...”
-
Apparently, the best place they could think to give to the person who saved their lives was a basement.
“-And you’ll have to help around sometimes. It’s not cheap to take in a guest, you know!”
Hop Pop fixed her with a suspicious look as he walked back up the stairs, rambling about his stupid rules the whole time. He really had an awful lot to say to the lost child who saved his grandson.
She had half a mind to tell him to shove his rules down his throat. But…
If she really did have to stay with these people, then she had to make sure they liked her the whole time. She… could find somewhere else to stay if she had to, but that didn’t mean it would be fun. Besides, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, these weird little frogs knew the valley. They could help her search.
“Awwe, no worries!” she cooed, “I’ll make it worth the effort, promise.”
And then, there was Sprig.
He stayed longer than the other frogs, slowly walking down the stairs with an armful of stuffed animals. “Uh, I know how hard it can be to sleep alone… so I bought you some friends.”
She raised a hand before he could attempt to give her any, her best smile on her face. “That’s… fine. You keep them.”
She was trying to keep him happy. Put him down as gently as possible. But he pouted instead.
“...Okay,” he said. He made to leave, then paused, then placed one of the many plushies on the floor. “Take one though! Just in case.”
As he hurried out of the basement (dropping then picking up multiple of them in the process), Sasha finally let herself sit down on the mattress they had on the floor. She felt the springs digging into her and grimaced. Stupid cheap thing.
She pulled something out of her jacket pocket. A polaroid, folded into quarters. She’d been checking for it every few minutes, making sure it was still there.
Only now, that she got a moment to sit and relax without having to worry about something trying to eat her, she opened it and looked.
The three of them on the first day of the school year. Anne’s dad insisted on taking these pictures every single year, printing it out and giving a copy to each of them. They’re all smiling, holding each other, like they don’t have a single clue of what was going to happen. Sasha
frowned, brushing a thumb over her best friends’ faces. Her girls. She just had to find them.
“Don’t worry girls,” she whispers into the night. “I’m going to find you.”