Chapter Text
The moment Sasha woke up, she felt something was wrong.
She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes, looking at her phone. It was already late, which was unusual in itself. Usually Sprig would already be jumping on top of her to make her wake up and do something fun, or Hop Pop would wake her up and make her do something boring, like take care of the farm. In the rare cases that didn't happen, the ruckus Polly was making in the living room would be loud enough to jolt her awake.
Sasha frowned at that, but shrugged it off. She wasn't going to turn down a break when she could. The less she had to work for that old toad in exchange for staying in the basement, the better.
Stretching her body, she stood up and left the room, stopping when she felt something was wrong again. Was it her imagination or was the weather a little cold? Sasha hugged herself and rubbed her arms, no, it wasn't her imagination. That was even stranger, this swamp had always been pretty warm, why was it so cold now?
“Sprig, did Hop Pop buy an air conditioner?” She asked, shivering a little. It was unlikely, after all, his stall had been closed for less than two days, but it was better to ask anyway. Weird things happen all the time in this world, like that electric bug that restored her phone's battery to an impossible charge.
Silence was her answer.
Alarm bells rang frantically in her head.
“...Sprig? Polly? Hop Pop? Is anyone there?” She began to walk slowly through the house, her entire body tense, ready for a fight. Had someone broken into the house and she hadn't noticed? Is that why everything was quiet?
She stopped in the living room, everything seemed normal, except for the lack of people. A somewhat grotesque breakfast, probably made by the orange frog, was still on the table, the fire still burning the wood. Sasha was starting to get worried when something in the window caught her attention.
White.
The entire field was white.
The human approached the window, her eyes widening at the sight.
Everything outside was white, covered by a special layer of snow that covered every corner she could see.
She blinked once, rubbed her eyes and looked back out the window. She blinked again.
“... What the hell...?”
She took a step back, more than a little confused by the scene in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the door to the house moving slightly, not having been closed properly. The Plantars must have left and Polly forgot to close the door again.
She looked at the door, then at the snowy field she was looking at through the window. She seriously considered turning around and going back to sleep, hoping it was just a bizarre dream.
She looked at the table, where there were three plates of food with some leftovers and one still untouched, covered with a cloth, a high chair propped up next to the plate.
(On a hot summer day, Marcy, in a rare moment of awareness of her surroundings, had decided to use her money to buy ice cream for the three of them. She was happy to see her two friends looking satisfied, and Sasha belatedly realized that she had never thanked her for what she had done.)
Sasha frowned as her conscience poked at her.
“...Urgh, whatever...”
***
The outside was as silent as it was inside the house.
Sasha put on some warm clothes and grabbed her makeshift scythe, heading out to Wartwood to try to figure out what the hell was going on. The entire place was covered in snow, a thick layer of snow, the kind that sometimes made her have to drag her feet because it was up to her shins.
Worry began to well up in her chest, what exactly was going on? How did it snow out of nowhere like that? Was it just another one of Amphibia's oddities or something more serious and dark? Sasha didn't know, and she was starting to get worried about the Plantars.
Fortunately, it didn't take long for her to reach the main square, and what she saw made her steps falter. All the people of Wartwood were inside large blocks of ice, some hugging each other, others in what looked like they were in the middle of crying, some desperate, but all with a sad and helpless expression.
"What the hell is going on?" She took a few more steps, looking at each of them in turn before focusing on a large block of ice near the statue, with familiar frogs inside. She quickly ran over and touched the ice. “Sprig! Polly! Hop Pop!”
They couldn’t hear, of course. Like everyone else, they were frozen together in an embrace, looking as if they were crying. The worry in Sasha’s chest only grew worse at the sight, and she looked around, trying to keep her cool.
“Okay, okay, let’s go over everything… One, it’s snowing, for some reason. And it’s snowing a lot.” Sasha walked around the square and began listing, holding up her finger at each item as she spoke. “Two, everyone’s frozen, and I remember Marcy said something about amphibians and reptiles hibernating in the winter, it might have something to do with it. Three, everyone’s sad, but no one seems surprised…”
She stopped walking, looking around again.
…They don’t seem surprised. Which meant they probably knew this was going to happen. Her theory that this was just another one of the many bizarre phenomena that exist in Amphibia was gaining traction.
“What to do now…?”
She could leave the Plantars there and go home, satisfied that her mystery had been solved, but she didn't know how long they would stay like this. Worse, some wild animal might take advantage and try to eat the Plantars. She knew that many insects and birds didn't like the cold, but there were always exceptions, and the way this disgusting world worked, she wouldn't be surprised that these rare animals that liked the cold were common here.
She could take them home, they would be safe and maybe even warm enough to thaw. The idea of carrying a large frog popsicle on her back to the Plantars' house didn't appeal to her at all, but she owed them for letting her live in the basement, no matter how annoying they could be from time to time. She might be demanding, but she wasn't that ungrateful.
Sasha approached the Plantars again, ready to carry them when she noticed two frogs near them. One tall and the other not, both yellow with red hair, both looking resigned to something. Felicia and Ivy. The one crazy about teas and porcelain and the brat who loves to try to ambush her and Sprig.
... The Plantars would be upset if something happened to them, wouldn't they?
She looked over, that old toad and her pet spider were hugging, next to her, the big handless cook was freezing with a defeated look down.
(At the park, Sasha and Marcy were trying to comfort Anne, who was sad to hear that someone from the Thai Temple was in the hospital. I don’t know them well, she said, but they’re important to my parents, and I feel bad that I can’t help either of them.)
Sasha winced as her damn conscience poked her again.
“ARGH, WHATEVER!!! BUT THESE IDIOTS BETTER REWARD ME WHEN THEY RECOVER!!!”
***
The first thing Sasha did was try to find a warehouse or house with enough space for everyone. Once she had done that, she emptied it as much as possible and began moving each of the frogs inside. They weren't heavy, but the fact that they were basically blocks of ice meant that they were difficult to hold, both because of the cold and because they were so smooth, so she spent a good hour or more transferring them all to safety. Once Sasha had the Plantars in the most comfortable spot, she left and closed the door.
Satisfied with her work, she began to make her way back to the Plantars' house, stopping for a moment at the town bakery to pick up some bread for herself. She closed the door to the house and lay down on the couch, grabbing her phone and starting to watch some series she had downloaded. She distracted herself for a few hours, watching excitedly until she jumped a little and laughed.
"Oh, this is gold! Sprig, you have to see this!" She sat up and turned to the side, her smile fading when she heard the silence.
Right, everyone was frozen. She was alone.
... Just like it was at home.
Sasha frowned, looking at the screen of her cell phone that was still playing the video, suddenly not as interesting as before. A silent house was nothing new, nor was a house full of shouting, she had been used to it since she was a child. Either her parents were at home, pretending to be fine and shouting at each other when they thought she couldn't hear, or she would come home and find everything silent, them being too busy at work to come back at the time she got home. It was something normal for her.
Still, for some reason, it seemed different here without the Plantars. Maybe because, despite the confusion and shouting, there weren't that many serious fights, most of them were small rivalries that could be solved with that strange insect fight. Maybe it was the fact that they always managed to solve their problems together and take care of each other, even with their differences.
... Maybe... It was simply because, just like Anne's family, this place felt more like home than the two houses she lived in on Earth.
"... What am I thinking...?"
She shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her mind. Looking at the house, a strange uneasiness rose in her being and she decided to simply leave again, telling herself that it was just to get more of that bread.
As she left, however, she stopped.
Quickly, she grabbed her scythe that was next to the door and went out again, her weapon in hand. Silence reigned in the place, but she would not let her guard down, because she was sure...
... She heard something.
Advancing carefully towards Wartwood, Sasha looked around carefully, prepared for an attack. The snow muffled her footsteps, the houses buried in the snow reminded her of a suspense movie she had seen before. She heard a noise again and tensed, hiding behind a wall, her heart racing, she carefully peered towards where she heard the sound.
A few meters away from where she was, breaking down the door where the frogs were, was a white and furry creature. A weasel, or the equivalent of a weasel in this world.
Sasha hid again, gritting her teeth, she knew that some nonsense from this world would attack, she knew! Damn this world! Sasha peeked again, the weasel's claws were easily destroying the door of the house, she could retreat, but the Plantars could be caught, what to do?
The weasel broke the door, sniffing the place and catching some of the frogs, it wasn't the Plantars.
But it was Ivy, Sprig's friend.
Without thinking, Sasha advanced with a roar.
The weasel turned around in fright at the roar, and that was enough to escape Sasha's first blow. The blonde didn't let herself be shaken and quickly swung her weapon, hitting the animal's snout superficially. The animal grunted in pain and growled at her, jumping with its mouth full of fangs open. Sasha held her scythe horizontally and blocked the attack.
(“Do you know a fun fact? If you are attacked by a dog, the best thing you can do is put your arm in front of you and press hard on the back of its mouth when it bites you! It can hurt a lot, but it is usually enough to keep the dog from closing its mouth and doing more damage. You can even press on the uvula to trigger the gag reflex if you are lucky!)
Grunting, Sasha pressed the handle of the scythe firmly into the animal’s mouth, and as it was trying to close it, she freed one hand and punched the uvula, causing the weasel to back away in despair while seemingly coughing. Taking advantage of the opening, Sasha raised her scythe and brought it down hard on the animal, its blade easily cutting through the skin and flesh, leaving a nasty cut on one of its front legs.
The weasel screamed in pain, and to Sasha’s surprise, it spun its body and slammed its tail into it, throwing it away. She quickly recovered, only to see the weasel quickly fleeing into the forest with Ivy in its mouth.
“HEY! COME BACK HERE, YOU BASTARD!!!” She screamed, trying to reach the animal. The sight of the open door where the other frogs were made her hesitate, but she quickly grabbed some of the boxes she had taken from the house and stacked them at the entrance to make a barricade, grabbing her scythe again and running into the forest.
She had missed the weasel, but her blow had left it bleeding, and a red trail led her through the white snow. Sasha ran as fast as she could, the cold invading her lungs as sweat poured down her face, for reasons she could not even understand, the thought of that young frog being devoured filling her with terrifying adrenaline.
Fortunately, she reached the end of the trail, which led to a dark cave. Pulling out her scythe again, Sasha advanced, prepared for a rematch with the animal.
Inside the cave, the weasel cautiously licked its wound, its ear twitching at the noise at the entrance. The weasel turned and raised its hackles, the bipedal creature with a sharp curved claw was there, its eyes almost seeming to glow as they both glared and snarled at each other. The creature looked at its frozen prey nearby and the animal tensed, doing its best not to lean on its injured paw.
For a moment, neither of them moved, both prepared to fight, but neither of them daring to strike first.
And then a small cry was heard behind the weasel.
Sasha blinked, her gaze going behind the animal, finally realizing that there was a nest there. The weasel retreated even further, trying to protect whatever was there with its body, but Sasha is no idiot, she knew that there was only one reason for an animal to be so protective of a nest. It's because the nest had babies.
Sasha looked at the frozen Ivy, and then at the injured weasel. The one she wanted to protect and the protector taking care of someone.
Swallowing hard, Sasha pointed her scythe, making the animal growl again, still not moving. Slowly, she began to approach the frozen frog, her gaze and blade never leaving the animal, even when she finally reached the block of ice and began to pull it towards the exit. The weasel growled, but it was a little less aggressive, almost resigned, as Sasha continued to pull Ivy towards the exit.
She only lowered the blade when she was already outside the cave, she only turned her back and ran when she was already in the forest.
It wasn't that complicated to get the young frog back to Wartwood, Sasha double-checked the frogs to make sure they were all there. She didn't care about half of them, but she knew all their names. Once she was sure they were all safe and well, she refortified the entrance, placing more boxes and barrels, covering everything with snow, and making a small fort at the entrance.
She nodded to herself at a job well done. Her gaze fell back to the trail of blood that led her to the injured weasel. With the blow she had given the animal, it would probably have a hard time hunting it, especially now.
(“She was so skinny, Sasha. I think she got lost from her family or they died. I’m glad I bought that toy mouse and brought her home, I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened to her being alone on the streets…”)
Sasha's conscience poked at her.
She roared.
“SON OF A…!”
***
The next day, the sun shone again and the ice began to melt. Sasha blinked slowly, rubbing her tired eyes as she watched the snow evaporate and disappear as if it had never fallen in the first place.
She heard a bit of confusion and some shouts of joy, as well as the sound of boxes being pushed. Despite everything, Sasha couldn't help but smile a little when she saw all the frogs come out of where they were sheltered. It wasn't long before she saw Sprig, Polly and Hop Pop approaching the house, where she was waiting for them.
"Sasha! You're alive too!" Sprig shouted excitedly, jumping up and down next to her. "You won't believe it! There was hibernation day, but no one died this time!"
"I'm glad about that, it would be really annoying to know that you died after all the hard work I had to do to protect you." She commented, Hop Pop looked surprised.
"Were you the one who put us in the city hall?"
"Yeah, it was the only place I saw that could fit everyone, and it was easier to keep an eye on if you were all together." She crossed her arms and winked. “You’re welcome.”
“Well, thank you, Sasha. I don’t even know how to thank you for what you did.”
“… Weeeell…” Hop Pop narrowed his eyes in suspicion when Sasha looked away. “… I think I know how…”
She led the Plantars to a small abandoned building nearby, where Bessie’s barn used to be. She stopped at the entrance and pointed inside, and when they saw what was inside, their hearts stopped.
Inside the small abandoned barn was a large furry creature, bandages wrapped around one of its front paws, a bag of food in front of its face. Its body was curled around a nest, where three smaller, hairless creatures were sleeping. The creature opened its eyes, but closed them again when it noticed the human.
Slowly, the Plantars turned in shock to the human, who gave a small, embarrassed smile.
“I maaaay have accidentally adopted a pack of giant weasels, and I was wondering if you knew anyone who could fix this barn up for them to stay in. I’ll take care of the feeding.”
"SAY WHAT?!?!?!?!"