14. S1: Girls' Bizarre Night Out

Here I am, once again, suffering from real life problems. But writing makes me feel better and it gives me something to do. This chapter is based on "Bizarre Bazaar" and "Girl Time", two episodes. So now Polly's involved and the plot is moving. Maybe someday, I'll do it again. Feedback is appreciated and I hope you enjoy.

The music box. A mysterious magical artefact and the sole cause of Sasha's forced exodus into another world. Throughout her time under the Plantars, she had kept the music box hidden somewhere only she knew. It was best kept away from prying eyes.

It wasn't because she didn't trust the Plantars. It was simply because she didn't think it concerned them.

After the fiasco that was her money-making scheme, the Plantars and Sasha decided to hole up at home and wait until everything's calmed down. However, eventually, they had to visit town to resupply, much to their horror.

That's when the saw the sign with the words 'NO BEASTS ALLOWED' and a crudely-drawn figure of a familiar human face.

"Well, this is a first." Hop Pop exclaimed.

Sprig, who was beside him on the passenger's seat, nodded. "I can't believe you got banned from the Wartwood's farmers' market. That's like, never happened before!"

"Really? Are you sure you're not just exaggerating?" Sasha questioned, raising a brow.

"Nope. And we had literal criminals buy vegetables from us." Hop Pop answered, shaking his head. "Welp, at the very least, you didn't get exiled from town. That's a death sentence, I hear ya."

She did make this bed. No point complaining about it. "Guess I'm going back home then. Alone..." Sasha remarked, her shoulders drooped.

She sounded a little bit sad and to be fair, why wouldn't she? Markets were a bustling place of commerce. They're the closest things to malls and Sasha enjoyed spending time at malls with her friends. The only difference was that it was muddy and smelly and had no burger joint.

Sprig was a kind soul. Not wanting Sasha to be all alone, he volunteered. "Wait, let me come! I can go with you."

"It's fine, Sprig. I can handle it. I'm a big girl." Sasha replied, declining his offer.

Seeing no reason to argue, Hop Pop accepted the response. Though, even he had a feeling what Sasha was going through. "Alright, then. See you in an hour or so."

With a whip of Bessie's leash and a small wave of goodbye, finally, Sasha was alone.

Since the Plantars took Bessie to town, the human girl had to walk home. It wasn't particularly far and the calm atmosphere had its perks. Still, walking long distances suck, especially on dirt roads.

It did however give her time to reflect on herself. What happened at the market that day was nothing short of a disaster. Not only did she accidentally cause untold destruction but now, she was probably hated by most of the townies. Hopefully, just most.

Ugh, making friends at school was so easy. Why was it so hard here?

Crunch!

"What the heck?" Sasha shrieked. Not paying attention, she unintentionally stepped on something, even feeling it wiggle under her foot. "Ugh, gross!"

Lifting her foot, she found an odd fuzzy creature with legs like some kind of walking hairball. Instantaneously, the fuzzy creature bounced back up, relatively unharmed, and went on its merry way.

"Huh?" Sasha said in confusion, not sure at what she just saw. Simultaneously, more and more of these critters started to appear, forming a line and crossing the street like a bunch of ducklings.

Somewhat curious, Sasha followed the trail backwards and discovered a hollowed tree where these creatures appeared. "What in the world...?" Sasha muttered, looking closer.

Right there in the hole was a black and red egg with intricate patterns she'd never seen before, drawn on its shell. It reminded her of Easter if Easter was celebrated by edgy teens and conspiracy theorists.

Grabbing the egg, she hummed. "Hmm... I really wish I had my phone right now. Oh well!"

With the egg in her pocket, she headed straight home. She'll just have to ask the Plantars later.

Two hours later, Sasha was sitting at home, reading some of Hop Pop's old books. Earth magazines were starting to bore her after the 10th rereading while frog magazines were too weird to be enjoyable. This left her with Hop Pop's thick tomes.

Not saying that Hop Pop's books were fun but it was at least something.

Without warning, the front door slammed opened with a bang, startling Sasha slightly. Entering the house was Sprig, carrying two bags of consumables like a big boy.

"Sasha, we're back and we got groceries!" He said, waddling straight to the kitchen.

Instead of helping, Sasha just flipped a page and continued lying on the couch. "Sup, Plantars." She greeted nonchalantly.

"Nice to see you're all comfortable." Hop Pop remarked.

He noticed the book she was reading and didn't think she was that kind of a reader. Still, he didn't judge. It was nice to have a book lover in this house other than him.

Meanwhile, Sprig placed the bags onto the dining table and pulled out its contents. "We got you new flavours! I bet you like string beans!"

"Maybe later." Sasha replied, not hungry at the moment.

Realising that the Plantars were home, she remembered something of interest. Sasha turned to the old frog, a curious glint in her eye. "Say, Hop Pop, can I ask you something?"

"You already did." Polly said with a straight face. She was, unfortunately, ignored.

"Sure. What is it that'cha want to ask?" Hop Pop exclaimed.

"Hypothetically, if you were to find a weird patterned egg in a tree trunk where a bunch of little fantastical creatures came out from, hypothetically, what does that egg mean?"

Hop Pop blinked, slowly processing what he just heard.

"Hypothetically, I mean." Sasha added for good measure.

It took a moment but after that, Hop Pop scratched his chin thoughtfully. A patterned egg sounded familiar. "Hmm... Well, if I recall, that sounds like a—"

"An entry ticket to the Bizarre Bazaar!"

Out of nowhere, Sprig appeared with full of excitement and glee, leaping over the old frog. Sasha might still be confused but now she was also baffled, seeing the boy far more excited than what she's used to.

"Eh, the what now?" Sasha asked.

"Oh, oh, oh! Let me tell, LET ME TELL!" He insisted extremely. No one disputed him so that's technically a yes. "Okay, so; the Bizarre Bazaar is this mysterious night market that passes through Frog Valley once a year. It's got a bunch of cool stuff like exotic foods, exciting games and mystical treasures."

Sasha's eyes widened. Mystical treasures? Like the music box?

"Hold on, Sprig! At the same time, it's full of greedy degenerates. All they ever want is to get their sticky fingers around your coin!" Hop Pop added.

"Really, huh..." She quietly muttered. She can handle greedy degenerates.

"Yep! Say, why'd you ask? Did you somehow found an entry ticket to the Bizarre Bazaar?"

Sasha slowly blinked. In her mind, she weighed the pros and cons of answering honestly. While the place didn't sound like anything else other than a magical night market, they were just farmers and this was her problem to deal with.

Would she really risk them again for a selfish reason?

"... Nope. I saw Wally pass by with one. It looked weird, that's all."

Hop Pop scratched his chin. "Humph, that does sound like Wally."

"Oh, silly Wally!" Sprig said with a laugh.

Nighttime was a quiet time in Amphibia. The buzzing of fireflies, the gentle whoosh of midnight winds and high tides; it was honestly quite peaceful. The only thing that stood out of place was the lack of croaking noises which made sense since the frogs here were sentient.

Sasha looked around the dark living room, her bag behind her and making sure there was no one in sight. It was hard to see with the lights but she didn't dare turn them on, else wake them up. Hearing not even a whisper, she smirked.

"Alright, the coast is clear. Sorry, Plantars but I got stuff to do."

"Really? And what's that?"

Eyes widened, Sasha hastily turned around, facing the mystery voice. Right there in the pitch-black shadows, a pink ball stared at her with beady eyes.

"WAH!" Sasha screamed, but covered her mouth quickly, leaving the rest muffled. She then hyperventilated, her heartbeat racing from the scare.

Looking closer, she realized it was just Polly sitting at the top of the stairs.

"Hah, hah..." Sasha gasped for air, gradually calming down. "Polly, what are you doing here?!"

"Oh, no reason... Except to catch you by surprise!" Polly answered with the swagger of a baby frog. "So, where are you heading off to?"

Sasha sighed and without another word, she pulled out the black-and-red egg from before, showing it to Polly. She gasped in shock, realising what it was.

"Oh my frogs, is that an entry ticket to the Bizarre Bazaar?!" Polly yelled out loud.

"Yes, now stop shouting!" Sasha hissed, putting the egg back into her jacket's pocket. "I'm gonna go to the bazaar to find any clue of getting back home. Can you please keep it a secret?"

Polly hummed methodically. "Hmm... I could but on one condition."

Ooo, Sasha didn't like the sound of that. Please don't say that she wanted to come.

"I wanna come with you!"

Dangit!

"Polly, it's too dangerous. You're a baby and I don't want to see you get hurt." Sasha reasoned.

While it was genuine, the other reason was that she didn't want to watch over her and focus on the task at hand. She didn't want to involve any of the Plantars in this.

Polly, however, scoffed. "Pfft, as if! You've seen me in action. You should be worried about everyone else getting hurt."

"No, Polly. You're too young. Maybe when you're older and, uh, have legs." Sasha said, getting serious.

Unfortunately, Polly was still unconvinced, frowning deeply. "Ugh, it's not fair! You always bring Sprig with you on adventures and even Hop Pop gets more airtime than I do. I wanna go on a deadly Sasha adventure too!"

"Deadly what?" Sasha questioned, only to stop herself. "Look, it doesn't matter. You're staying put. End of discussion."

'End of discussion'. That was her trademark quote.

Anytime she wanted to do something and needed to convince someone else — for example, her friends — Sasha would always default to this phrase. She only used it once here and it did work, albeit with unforeseen consequences in the form of a giant lake monster. But technically, it did work.

Too bad for her, none of the Plantars was intimidated by her in the slightest.

In defiance, Polly inhaled deeply and held her breath. Her cheeks were puffed and her round form expanded as if she was an inflated ball.

Sasha stared at her, unamused. "What are you doing?"

"H-holding m-m-y br-reat-th!" Polly replied in a struggle, refusing to lose any precious air.

"Polly, that's not gonna work."

No response outside of the glare of a pollywog.

"Can you, like, stop?"

She refused. Sasha even noticed that her skin was turning purple. Never a good sign. Was this really it? Was Sasha really going to be convinced by a baby that held her breath in a tantrum?

...

...

She was. She really was.

Sasha groaned. "Ugh, fine! ... You can come."

"Bwaaah! Hah, hah, hah...!" Polly quickly exhaled, breathing in and out desperately. She then raised her flipper and cheered. "Woohoo! Polly and Sasha adventure!"

"Quiet down, will ya?!"

Once outside, Polly took a nice seat in the backpack, riding behind Sasha. Using a bit of lotion from Sasha's backpack, she was able to keep herself moist for long periods, discarding her bucket. Although most of the stuff was back home, there was something solid underneath, wrapped in cloth. At least she had a place to prop her rotund body up.

"Soo, where is it?" Polly asked. Sasha shrugged in response.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I assume the egg has something to do with it." She replied, showing off the egg in hand.

"Ooo, let me see!" Polly begged. Sasha gave the egg to the pollywog, only for it to slip off upon grabbing. The egg shattered with little fanfare. "Whoops! Flippers."

"Polly, what the heck?!"

But before she could go any further, the eggshells began to shake, alerting the two. From the broken pieces, a small two-legged abomination of nature emerged and after staring at the two girls, it ran off into the woods like a roadrunner.

"Follow that weird thing!" Sasha ordered, running off with Polly in her bag.

Despite its small size, the critter gave a run for her money, leaping over roots and running underneath branches. But Sasha was used to chases and easily kept close behind. Every obstacle was just an annoyance at best.

After several minutes of intense cardio, the critter jumped into a hole, too small for her to follow, and disappeared without a trace.

"Where'd it go?! Did we lose it?!" Sasha asked, looking into the hole.

As she tried to reach in, hoping to get something out of it, Polly surveyed the surroundings. Just then, bioluminescent mushrooms blinked into life, forming a very obvious trail.

"Sasha, look!" Polly exclaimed, pointing at the illuminated path. Sasha pulled out her hand and with a nod, followed the mushroom trail.

The fungi took their time to blink one by one, guiding them through the forest. By the end of it, a mystical archway glowed, unknown sigils written on its surface. Without a word, she walked through.

Immediately, the two were blown away.

"Woah..." Sasha voiced out in awe.

This was the Bizarre Bazaar. Sprig wasn't exaggerating with his description. She remembered Anne showing her pictures of the markets in Thailand and the Bizarre Bazaar had a passing resemblance to it, albeit filled with amphibious humanoids and a bunch of those weird creatures.

Much like what Hop Pop said, the place was filled with shifty folks. She'll have to keep a close eye on Polly and her bag.

Polly celebrated with a great cheer. "Haha, look at all this cool stuff they have! Ooo, Sprig is going to be so jealous!"

Sasha, however, stopped her there. "Wait, we can't tell anyone that we're here! Else, Hop Pop would get super furious at us."

"Aww...!" Polly whined. "Can I at least get a souvenir?"

"Just one. And nothing too expensive! I didn't pack much cash."

And with that, the two went shopping.

Unlike the farmers' market, the Bizarre Bazaar was something else. Curious trinkets, out-of-this-world delicacies, and alien materials and ingredients — it had it all. There's also a selection of money-stealing carnival games.

Even though some foods looked familiar, they were all still bug-based and occasionally, the bugs were still alive. Sasha shuddered; they didn't even have the decency to die.

While she was browsing through a bunch of jewellery, a short cloaked figure walked by behind her. Wiggling his fingers, the figure silently moved his hand towards the bag, obviously with impure intentions.

STOMP!

Before he could even touch it, Sasha stomped her foot down at him, startling him into falling onto the ground.

"Back off, creep. One more inch and you'll lose your arm." She warned, her words laced in venom.

"H-h-heeee—!" The cloaked frog shrieked, running away with his figurative tail tucked between his legs.

Sasha scoffed, putting the bag back on. She was only here for a few minutes and there was already someone trying to steal from her. She had to give it to Hop Pop; this place really was full of greedy degenerates. Had he not tell her that earlier, she probably would've lost the bag by now.

Lifting it, Sasha noticed her bag was a bit too light. Quickly, she removed it and peered inside, only to realise a certain pollywog missing. "POLLY!"

Looking around, Sasha scanned her surroundings for the spherical baby girl. In a place full of hard-boiled people and shady characters, it wasn't hard to find to the single dark-pink ball of sunshine, standing out the most by being so plain. It also helped at the fact that Polly was riding a giant ladybug, wailing happily like a cowboy.

"WAHOO!" She howled, bouncing up and down off the insect's back. Before she knew it though, Sasha had jumped into the ring and grabbed her off prematurely. "YEEH—Aww?! Sasha! I was aiming for the world record!"

"Why did you get on that bug? You could've gotten hurt!" She fussed.

"But I didn't." Polly nonchalantly answered, taking it lightly. "It's fine. Sure, the place is shifty but I can handle it."

Out of the corner of her eye, a stall piqued her interest. "Woah, what's that?!" She said, jumping out of Sasha's hands.

"P-Polly!" Sasha exclaimed with an exasperated groan.

After a brief chase, Polly then stopped in front of a food stall. Behind the counter was a gruff-looking yellow toad, his left hand replaced with a butcher's knife. Despite the location, he was wearing an apron and a chef's hat, and his stall looked cleaner than most.

"Two of whatever it is you're having, my man!" Polly requested.

With a confirmed huff, the toad pulled out a pair of steamed dumplings, handing them over to her. Polly graciously accepted the dumplings and slid a few coins for payment, looking forward some genuine street food.

She opened her mouth but was led to disappointment.

"ARGH!" Sasha screamed, running towards her in a panic. She then snatched the dumplings away from Polly, stopping her from the first bite. "Don't just put things in your mouth!"

"Why not? Everyone is doing it!" Polly argued, increasingly annoyed.

"Yeah but I don't know how it'll react with your sensitive baby stomach. What if you die?!"

The pollywog shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, if it happens, it happens. That's the Plantar family motto."

"I thought the Plantar family motto was 'honesty is the best policy'?"

"That's just the stand. We have a lot of mottos."

Sasha took a deep breath and exhaled silently. This was a lot harder than she thought. It would've been easier if Polly didn't run off whenever she saw something twinkle but being the pollywog that she was, it was hard to tell her not to. Children her age were just so impulsive and easily distracted. That was the case on Earth and seemed to be the same here.

"Look, can you at least just keep close to me? I don't want to lose you in the middle of a crowd. This place is so removed from Wartwood that nothing is familiar, like at all!"

"What about Wally?" Polly quizzed, glancing at the table across the street.

Just like she said, Wally was there, gambling with a bunch of strangers through a game of dice. And here she thought there was no one from Wartwood here. Then again, why not? Everyone here was strange and Wally was the strangest person she knew. And that was saying something.

"Come on, Wally needs a new pair of shoes!" He chanted. Throwing the dice, they landed on a pair of matching images. But before he could celebrate at his win, one of those mystical critters appeared and kicked a die, changing the outcome. "NOOOOOO!"

Sasha blinked. "Huh, I guess Wally did get a ticket." Shifting back down however, her child companion was nowhere to be seen, leaving her to her own devices once more. "Wait, what the— Polly!"

"Well, so far, nothing horrible happened. That's a good thing!"

"You mean nothing cool happened! This is so boring!"

After several escape attempts and recaptures, the game finally ended with Sasha hugging Polly tightly in an unbreakable bond. Polly didn't bother to try and escape; she's seen Sasha's physical abilities.

"Come on, Polly. Be reasonable. We're not here to have fun; we're here to find someone who knows their relics." Sasha expressed. It wasn't that she didn't want to go around the market sightseeing — she was a teenage girl who loved shopping after all. It's just that her reason for being here was not to lollygag.

It's been almost an hour since they first got here and so far, none of the stalls had anything that fit. She was starting to think it was hopeless but then right by the wall was a parked gipsy-esque wagon. On display were several artefacts, all of which having frog designs and grey jewels — just like her box.

"Hey, that's it! That's the stall!" She said, running straight to it without delay.

Meanwhile, in the said wagon, a salamander was searching through her wares. She had dark brown skin with a yellow underbelly and wore a stitched black hood loose over her beige undershirt. She also had a single misshaped eye, possibly damaged.

"Now vhere did I put my incense burner?" she muttered. Upon reaching the wagon, Sasha knocked on its wooden walls, alerting the owner. "Huh? Ah, velcome. Velcome to Valeriana's Antiques."

Polly leaned over to her human friend and whispered. "Sasha, I think she's missing an arm."

"I heard that." The woman, Valeriana, grumbled. "Anyvay, how can I be of service?"

Placing Polly down on the counter, Sasha unzipped her bag and pulled out the mysterious object, unwrapping it. It was the music box and Polly flinched, surprised to see something so luxurious in Sasha's belonging.

"Whoa..." She voiced, awestruck.

"I need you to inspect this. Have you ever seen it before?" Sasha questioned, showing the shop owner the box.

Valeriana smiled. "I've seen it all. Heard it all."

"Betcha haven't seen anything like me, bub."

"No, not exactly. In any case, that music box of yours is a bit... unique." Valeriana stated.

Raising a brow, Sasha had to ask. "Unique how?"

"I've seen many antiques vith similar markings and they're all very strange. Very ancient. Curiously, never a music box." And she wasn't lying either. Being an ex-adventurer, her antiquities were all pulled from forgotten tombs or the pockets of rich folks who stole them from the tombs before she could. But most of them were old weapons or everyday objects.

"Are you perhaps selling it?" Valeriana asked, curious of the box.

In response, Sasha pulled the box back, away from the salamander. "No, not a chance. I just needed to know if you got any info."

Valeriana smiled. Well, she couldn't win every time. "Hmm, if by any chance you do have an urge to buy some artefacts, just let me know. I can easily provide."

"Thanks but no thanks." Sasha replied, pocketing the box back into her bag. Looking to her side, Polly once again disappeared, taking the chance to leave while she was doing business. "WHAT THE—! WHERE DID SHE GO?!"

"Are you talking about the young girl? She hopped her vay that vay." The shop owner exclaimed, using her prehensile tail to point the way.

"Thanks!" Sasha replied before heading in that general direction. Under her breath, she muttered. "Once I find you, you are so dead."

Back at the wagon store, Valeriana scratched her chin thoughtfully with her gloved tail. "Huh, strange creature but really interesting. Could it be, Liander? Could she be the one we've been searching for?"

Next to her, the parrot-bug thing known as Liander puked. "No Liander! Not the carpet!"

Meanwhile off somewhere else, Polly was enjoying a delectable treat known as ice-cream. She never had ice-cream before and the sudden coldness shook her to her core. It was also super sweet, leaving her to wonder whether the convenience store sold these.

Nonetheless, she shrugged, continuing to enjoy her dessert. "Lalala, just being my carefree self. Pfft, and Sasha thinks I can't take care of myself."

Speak of the devil, or in this case, the human. Right there at the far end of her path, Polly noticed Sasha, still running around looking for her.

"Oops, there she is. Better go meet up with her. Hah! That'll show her how much of a grown-up I am!" Polly confidently said, not realising that this would make Sasha more protective of her, not less.

However, her plan was cut short; all of the sudden, a pair of frogs appeared from behind Sasha, dragging a large empty burlap sack. Before she could react, the frogs ran past her on both sides with the sack in-between, causing her to trip and fell right into it. The sack closed up from the weight and they did not stop, dragging the poor girl across the dirt, unable to free herself.

Polly dropped her ice-cream and screamed.

"AAAAHHHH! Sasha's been frognapped!" Polly yelled in panic, hopping around frantically. "What-do-I-do, what-do-I-do, what-do-I-do?!"

"Uh, uh—!" Looking at the scene of the crime, she noticed a dirt trail made from dragging the sack. Steeling herself, she huffed. "Trail, follow, right! I'M COMING, SASHA!"

"I told you to get the bag, not the whole thing!"

"S-sorry, boss! My bad!"

Sasha expected many things when going to the Bizarre Bazaar. Getting kidnapped, however, was not one of them. Trying her best to keep calm, Sasha looked around in the darkness, searching for the opening. Once found, she tried ripping it open, wiggling it bit by bit until it loosened.

Once the hole was big enough, she pushed through, freeing herself from her textile prison. The first thing she noticed was a large number of frogs around her, all staring at her in surprise. They were around Hop Pop's height in a variety of greens and yellows. The second was the fact she was in a warehouse of sorts, built in a large spacious cave.

"Uh, hi there." One of them greeted. Too bad it was ignored due to the circumstances at hand.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!" She angrily yelled, contemplating on taking up very brutal actions.

The same frog from before, whom she dubbed Doug, frowned. "Hey, come on, don't be mean. We're just a lovable ragtag bunch of thieves trying to make ends meet, sticking it out to the man."

"Woo! I hate the man!"

Sasha glared at the so-called 'lovable ragtag bunch of thieves', clearly annoyed. She didn't expect much from her kidnappers but there was a minimum — a minimum they didn't even scratch. Pinching the bridge between her eyes, she sighed, feeling a headache coming up.

"Okay, first off, those only exist is dumb storybooks and TV shows. Second, that doesn't explain why you kidnapped me."

Doug then pointed at one of his frogmen behind him. "Our boy Freddy here says he saw something real nice in that bag of yours. Ain't that right, Freddy?"

The frog named Freddy gave a thumbs up, which Doug reciprocated. "Good job, Freddy! You know, his birthday is coming up. I'm thinking of using the cash to buy him a nice present."

"... You know what? I'm leaving."

Taking one step towards one of the exit, her path was immediately blocked by the group of frogs, creating a sea of amphibians half her height. Behind her, Doug shook his head, arms placed on his hips.

"Sorry, no can do. Freddy ain't a liar which means you got something of value in your bag." Doug said. He stretched out his hand, the palm facing upwards. "Give it."

Sasha glared. If it's a fight they wanted, it's a fight they'd get.

"Over my dead body."

Suddenly, the air grew cold and every other frog's breath hitched. This took a turn to the extreme that they never expected. Nervous sweat began pouring out, running down their skin. Nobody dared to move.

One of the frogs tapped Doug's shoulder, feeling agitated himself. "Hey, uh, boss? We're not going to actually kill it, right? I don't think the boys are comfortable with that."

"Of course not! We're thieves, not murderers. Just knock this, uh, thing out and grab the bag." Doug ordered.

After a sigh of relief, the frogs all came charging forward, intent on getting that bag under any means necessary, except for murder. They were all so short and weak, their numbers being their only advantage. Even when together, they were just barely above harmless.

Sasha quickly realized this after punting one across the room.

Grabbing a nearby broomstick, she batted the frogs left and right, sending them flying elsewhere. A few got smart and started grabbing random junk to fight back. Unfortunately due to her size advantage and superior reach, even they were unable to get close.

After one or two minutes of an unfair battle, the cave was left littered with injured frogs, all groaning in pain.

Sasha jeered at the sight. "Psh, you guys are a bunch of pushovers."

Her words, however, proved her hubris when out of nowhere, a green ball the size of an apple appeared, speeding towards her. Unexpecting that, the ball then exploded upon contact, pushing her off and into a wall, covered in a green goopy mess.

"Aw, what the heck?!" Sasha shrieked, surprised. She tried to move her arm but the goop was far too sticky and relented. "Ghhhg, I-I can't move!"

There in front of her, Doug had aimed with a hand-strapped slingshot, clearly more advanced than anything else she'd seen in Amphibia. Doug smiled at a well-placed shot. "Heh, ya like it? Got it off from some contacts in Newtopia. Some weirdo came in the city and created a bunch of knick-knacks. It wasn't easy trying to get this baby."

"As for you..." He then walked up to her and with a bit of effort, pulled her bag off. "Swipe!"

"H-Hey! Give that back!" Sasha demanded, her voice sounding desperate.

Doug unzipped the bag and pulled out the actual prize — the music box. The frogs expressed their wonder. "How much do you think that's worth, boss?"

"Ancient relics. I bet some high-end collector would pay a pretty price for it." Stuffing it back in, he turned around, facing his crew, and whistled. "Pack it up, boys! We're leaving!"

Sasha baulked in horror. They were leaving with her one trip back home and there was nothing she could do about it. She struggled and strained but to no avail. The green goop was just too tough. Whoever that made it must've been some genius.

"L-look, if you want money, I have money! I'm loaded! Just d-don't take the music box!"

Doug shook his head, looking somewhat apologetic. "Sorry but I ain't taking that risk. Hope you have a good evening."

Too desperate to back down, Sasha continued to try. No matter what, she couldn't lose the music box; it was too important. It couldn't end in a whimper like this.

She needed help but there was no one around.

Suddenly without warning, one of the entrances burst open and there on the other side, a beloved baby stood confidently. "What is up, my cranky crew?!"

"A pollywog?" Doug asked.

Sasha gasped, her hope renewed. "Polly the pollywog!"

"Hi, Sasha! Sorry about being a bit late. I needed some backup."

And what a backup it was. Instead of doing the ordinary thing and follow Sasha straight to the thieves' hideout, she did the one thing a responsible adult would do whenever they witnessed a crime.

She called law enforcement.

From both sides, tall cloaked figures with the markings of the Bizarre Bazaar marched in, lining up by the walls. They were the security and peacekeepers of the bazaar and they moved uniformly, almost militaristic even. Each one looked almost identical, their dark velvet hooded cloaks covering their entire being.

One of these security officers walked forward, pointing at the frog thieves menacingly. "Stealing is illegal in the Bizarre Bazaar. Punishment is imminent!"

"Croak! It's the feds!" Quickly, Freddy then grabbed a bottle and dramatically smashed it into the ground. "Everyone, scatter!"

And with that, led chaos. The frog thieves hopped around in hysteria, grabbing whatever they can and stuffing them into their pockets. Shocked by the reaction, the Bizarre Bazaar security force immediately went to apprehend them but none stayed in formation, preferring to chase after the criminals individually.

Doug wasted no time and while carrying Sasha's backpack, he dashed off. It was every frog for himself at this point and while he was sure some would get caught, he knew his boys wouldn't snitch. They were too nice like that.

While running away and remaining unnoticed, Doug accidentally crashed into a wall of flesh, causing him to bounce off and back.

"Oof! Hey, what's the big idea?!" He cried, only for his words to die in his throat. In front of him was a massive and muscular red frog, his body riddled in scars and other grizzly features. There was only one person that fits that description.

"Y-you're the Wrecker!" Doug stammered, alarms going off all over in his head.

The Wrecker glared at him and stretched his open hand out. "Bag. Now."

Doug complied instantly. No reason to argue in the current unstable situation. "Alright, alright! Take it! Sheesh!"

It was a shame he had to leave empty-handed but there were other scores he could aim for. Maybe even bigger ones with a bigger payout. It's nice to stay optimistic.

The chaos that was the security's corralling process lasted several minutes. Long minutes, though. During that time, Polly tried to pry Sasha off the wall but even with her unnatural strength, this was too much. She tried numerous methods using whatever tools nearby which, according to Sasha, was working somewhat.

In the end, she found a flask marked 'dissolving liquid' and used that. The goo melted off harmlessly, freeing Sasha. Good thing that didn't affect her or else Polly would get convicted of murder.

"The Bizarre Bazaar apologizes for the inconvenience you've experienced this evening." One of the cloaked figures said as he approached the duo, handing over a small printed piece of paper. "This coupon is eligible in all Bizarre Bazaar stores. We hope you continue to have a fine shopping experience."

Sasha stared at the coupon. She wasn't even sure if she was going to use it. "Uh, cool?"

The figure nodded and left without a word, resuming his duties. Once again, the two were left alone, watching from the sidelines as the mess was slowly handled.

Polly nudged Sasha with her flipper. "Heh, what a day, am I right?"

Sasha saw where this was going and was having none of that.

"I was so worried about you! Why'd you go off like that?!" she cried, grabbing Polly into a hug. It wasn't a lie though; she truly was scared for her.

To Polly however, that wasn't the issue. Grunting, she pushed herself off, out of Sasha's arms. She raised her flippers in protest, stopping the human from grabbing her like an item again. "Ugh, this! This is why I left. You've been so overprotective that I can't even move around."

She looked at her, baffled. "B-but I was just trying to look after you."

"I know but I need space to breathe! You know what I can do, so you don't have to baby me like that."

Hearing that, Sasha flinched. She just realized it but the entire time, she was focused on two things: finding someone who knew about the music box and taking care of Polly. While Polly was a baby technically, she was quite mature and incredibly independent for someone her age.

Sprig watched over Polly all the time but he never coddled her. He only followed her from behind and helped out when needed to, pretty much as expected of an older brother. Sasha would definitely have found the one-armed lady's cart sooner or later — she had all night. There was no rush.

"W-was I really like that?" Sasha asked. She wanted to know.

Polly nodded. "Uh-huh! I mean, I appreciate it but it's too much."

The consensus was clear then. She looked downwards with a small frown, now knowing the full thing. "Sorry, Polly. I was so scared that you'd get lost or hurt that I didn't put into care how you felt. Can you forgive me?"

Polly thought about it. It didn't last.

"... Psh, of course I do, girl! I know you don't mean it."

Apology accepted. Her arms wide open, Sasha and Polly engaged in a brief but heartfelt hug as a way to make amends. Their bonds strengthened, Sasha felt that she knew Polly a lot better now and one thing's for sure — Polly ain't no baby.

After the hug, Polly noticed something was missing. "Wait, what happened to your bag?"

Crack!

"Oh god, my bag! THE CHEST!"

Before she could get a heart attack, the Wrecker appeared, his large figure ironically being quite quiet, surprising the two. To their horror, the bag and from the looks of it, its contents, were slung over his shoulder, too small for someone of his size.

Sasha stood up, ready for a fight. "Hey, that's mine! Give it back!"

"Yeah, give it!" Polly added for support.

To her amazement, it worked. Wordlessly, the Wrecker removed the bag and dropped it into Sasha's arms. In response, she smacked her lips. "Oh, that was easy."

But when the Wrecker ripped his skin off, revealing an old man on stilts, that genuinely struck fear.

"Oh. My. God. Hop Pop?!" Sasha yelled, baffled. Next to her, Polly was shocked as well.

"Hop Pop, you had a big buff frog costume?!"

Not really the point but better than nothing. Hop Pop crossed his arms, looking cross. "That's right! When you brought up about the Bizarre Bazaar, I knew there was something off about it. So in disguise, I came to make sure you didn't get yourself in a pickle."

Sasha waited for more but... nothing.

She blinked. That was it?

"And... You're not mad at us?" she questioned, feeling somewhat suspicious of him.

Hop Pop, on the other hand, was impressively reasonable. "Of course I'm not. I figured you wouldn't have gone there without a good reason. I trust you, Sasha."

Trust — it's funny how that worked. She trusted the Plantars but wouldn't give up her secret. She trusted Polly and yet, wouldn't let her walk five feet away from her. Out of everyone here, she was the least trustworthy and the least to trust others.

Maybe it's time to extend that trust a bit.

Sasha unzipped her bag and revealed her dirty little secret — the music box. Polly saw it already but was still awed by how shiny and expensive but was. Hop Pop was shocked too but he had a grim expression, something she didn't notice. She began her explanation.

"Here. This is how I got here. Some weird magic stuff happened back in my world and I woke up with the box next to me. I've been trying to figure out how to make it work again but..." Sasha opened the box but nothing happened. "It's busted."

"And you were hoping that the Bizarre Bazaar had some answers." Hop Pop quickly figured out.

Scratching the back of her head, she nodded. "Yeah, have you seen anything like it?"

"Let me have a look, see." Hop Pop exclaimed, examining the box with incredible scrutiny. Every detail, nook and cranny, he checked. He even licked it for some reason. "Hm... Hm... U-huh..."

"Well?"

He hummed. "Mmm... Nope! Never seen it in my life."

She sighed. She didn't expect a bunch of farmers to know but at least she was straight about it. Packing up, she wore the backpack again. "Well, it's worth a shot. Come on, let's go."

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Sasha and co. headed back home, the coupon left unused. The trip back home was a long one; everyone went to the Bizarre Bazaar on foot. But the stars were out this night and looking up, she never realised how pretty they were. If Marcy was here, she'd probably think that one of those stars was Earth's.

She wondered how Marcy was doing or even Anne. Out of these two, Anne at least was a good judge of character. She can befriend anyone but she was also a pushover. Marcy was a different problem; she trusted people too much and ended up getting the short end of the stick.

Sash hoped they were okay.

Polly patted Sashacs cheek from below, breaking her out of her stupor. "Don't worry, Sasha. We'll help you find a way back."

"Thanks, Polly. I appreciate that." Sasha replied, smiling gratefully. Turning to the old frog, she just had to ask. "Say, Hop Pop? Why do you have that weird outfit?"

"Oh, that old thing? It was from a lifetime ago. Not particularly proud of it. Being young means you make a lot of dumb messes."

Sasha smirked. First was his skills in first aid and now this? Hop Pop's got depth.

Once they got home, Hop Pop turned on the lights, only to find a very annoyed Sprig sitting on the dining chair, his arms crossed and tapping a finger. If there was one thing he resembled, it was that of an angry parent who caught you leaving at night.

"Sprig? You're awake?" Sasha greeted with a question.

"You guys went to the Bizarre Bazaar WITHOUT ME?!" Hyperventilating, Sprig then took a deep breath and screamed.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"