Hello you lot.

Today is a good day.

It is chapter day.

FIRST CHAPTER WITH THE GIRLFRIENDS WHO'S EXCITEDDD

I AM TO WRITE IT

AHHHHHHHHH

and a first time showing you the sasha/valerie friendship dynamic

also I have already said this on my message board, but I'd like to apologize, Valerie looks a little mean in this chapter, she's just been through a lot of toxic people like Sasha so she's just looking out for herself

here goes nothin-

-

There was a reddish light casted over the sky as a familiar group of frogs and humans (along with a certain frog robot who was clutched between talons) currently flew on the back of Joe Sparrow. Valerie was sitting right up close to Marcy, wearing-- well you know what she's wearing, if you don't you need to go back to the previous chapter, you potato.

As the bird came to a landing, he was huffing and puffing after flying straight towards a volcano. Reasonably so, it was hot, and he had barely managed to place Frobo down before collapsing.

"Wa-bam!" Anne said as she reached into her backpack, whipping out the Music box, revealing the blue laser pointing from the same color gem, which seemed to point to a carved stone door. But it wasn't open, as pink runes around it lit up, it still didn't. "the entrance to the third temple."

Simultaneous gasps erupted from the group as the all looked to Marcy for an answer to what it says.

"what's it say Marcy, what's it say?" Sprig chanted out as he moved himself to tug at the girl's dark blue cape. Said girl seemed confused as she opened up her journal, glancing from the pages to the glowing writing.

"well this can't be right. 'Lift to enter, brah'?"

Valerie, who was a bit behind the group, pausing to look at her surroundings (as one might expect she'd never been around a volcano before and she just genuinely really liked fire) walked up next to the noirette who was now known as her girlfriend and placing an arm on her shoulder, leaning over her shoulder to look at the book. "nah, sounds about right. I mean, it's the third temple, I can see why they got lazy-- stone carving takes a while."

"Well, I suppose you're right," Marcy looked back down at her journal once more, before she leaned her head back just a little and pressed a quick kiss to the brunette's forehead, who leaning into her even more. "as always." she said the last part sarcastically, earning a playful eye-roll from her lover.

Then, Frobo walked forward. He tucked his talon like fingers under the heavy door, and after a second of struggle, it opened up, and as he did he wiped a bead of imaginary sweat off his forehead.

"wow, way to go Frobo!" Hop-Pop said as his hands started to form claps, the others being quick to join in, amazed at the robot's strength. Valerie was smiling at the fact she could hear Gold in her head, who was also impressed at the strength that he possessed.

"Now let's go crush this temple!" Anne exclaimed, pumping one of her fists up into the air with the adrenaline running through her veins, running into the temple door with the squad right behind her, cheering in agreement.

Frobo however, did stay outside to look after Joe Sparrow.

-

Valerie walked just behind Marcy, looking in awe at the decor of the place around her. She was curious to why this place was so heat-based-- after all most, if not all, the animals that lived here required water to live. So why pick fire as a theme?

"Whoo, it is hot in here!" Anne said as she wiped sweat off her forehead with her forearm, before looking to a very excited Marcy next to her, with her girlfriend trailing up behind her, who wasn't sweating, somehow-

"alright gang, there should be three challenges, just like the two other temp..-les?" The noirette seemed to pause as she looked back at the dehydrated frogs behind her. The brunette beside her grimaced.

"you alright there dudes?" Valerie asked unsurely, one of her eyebrows quirked as she seemed to have a look of concern on her faces, due to the fact that they all looked like dehydrated fruit.

"A little dehydrated from the heat," Hop-Pop managed out, despite his voice being very strained and quiet, almost like a whisper he wanted no one to hear. "We'll be alright."

But they all still kept going, walking through a door at the end of the path into what must have been the next room. Which... had another long path, but it seemed to be all windy and unnecessarily twisted up. And hard to walk on, given the fact, you know, there was boiling, bubbling lava all over it.

"Well this just looks like the floor is lava in real life." Valerie said, walking up past the other two girls and a little closer to the rickety path. The air had a faint smell of metal carried by the fumes of the smoke around, which she admittedly didn't hate, it did kind of remind her of that one burning building in Russia she was in... oh wait, she nearly fucking died there.

Then Marcy started to read the writing that appeared off to the side.

"Woah there, boss, think you're strong enough to get across?" 

"I have a distinct feeling this temple is about strength," Anne remarked sarcastically, earning a mellow-dramatic gasp from Valerie next to her, who seemed shocked that someone other than her actually pointed out the obvious.

"Oh my frog, someone actually noticed! we're not gonna run around in circles again." She said with her tone dropping into dripping sarcasm at the last sentence. "Seriously, the word 'heart' was mentioned so often last time, I'm surprised you guys didn't catch on.

as the two finished their little back and forth, a chest underneath the glowing writing open, revealing weapons.

"wonder what those are for." Sprig commented in a croaky voice due to being so dry in these warm conditions. As soon as he stopped speaking, a big millipede like monster popped up from the lava behind him.

"Sprig!" Anne exclaimed worriedly, before going for one of those hammers in the box and (with a fair amount of struggle) managing to lift it up and knock it down, basically letting go of the hammer and panting afterwards. "Man this thing weighs a ton!"

"the temple's about strength, doofus, I thought we established that." Valerie said from offscreen. She understood that it was probably heavy and that she was probably just vocalizing that-- but she needed to regain her status of being the sarcastic one.

As everyone looked ahead to the different millipede creatures that hopped out of the molten rock, screams seemed to escape them all, except Valerie, who looked purely exasperated. What is with all the screaming?

"Alright guys, it's hammer time," Marcy said as she reached into the box and pulled out a hammer. She kneeled down and gave it to Polly, who tried to take it but failed.

"Yeah, this ain't happening."

"Don't worry guys, I'll protect you!" Anne said as she jumped forward, knocking a millipede out with her hammer. As she did this, a certain brunette noticed how Marcy was struggling to carry the hammer she had, so she reached out her hands, silently offering to take it.

The noirette handed it over with no hesitation. As the handle touched Valerie's fingertips, they lit up and turned gold for a split second, before she was able to hold it with ease and even twirl the heavy weapon around in her hands.

Improved strength. One of the most memorable qualities of the Gold gem.

She heard a familiar entity say in her head.

Thanks, Gold.

As the squad started walking, there were a couple of those creatures who tried to attack them all. The first one Valerie managed to knock down quickly and easily with a singular swing at it's head, which launched it back down into the lava below them, and she landed in a superhero pose, which earned applause from those around her.

However as the second one arose from underneath them, Valerie didn't have enough time to react. Her back was turned, but by the time she spun on her heel, the being had been mysteriously cut in half....

...And a familiar blonde emerged from behind the severing.

"oh my frog, no way." was all the brunette said. She and Sasha were quite close friends, despite the manipulative nature of the individual. She'd dealt with plenty of manipulators in the past, and knew just how to shut them down, so if things got a little weird... she'd be able to play with her, as mean as that sounded.

Gasps emerged from among the group.

"it can't be." Anne muttered, eyes wide. Before anything else could be said, Marcy seemed to start jumping up up and down with excitement.

"Sash! Oh my gosh, I can't believe-"

"there's no time!" Said girl rushed past both her and Valerie, seeming to urge them to move. In response, the brunette grabbed her girlfriend's hand with her own free one (the one that wasn't holding the hammer) and starting to run along with her in tow, the others following quickly afterwards.

As once again, a couple of creatures popped up, Sasha took down one-- cutting off it's head with her sword. As a second one popped up, before she could get to it, Valerie jumped in, knocking it on the head with a hammer. The two shared a glance, smiling.

(Fighting buddies!!!! Yay, violence! :3)

They all did manage to make it through the two double doors at the front of the front of the corridor, safe from the monsters. For now.

-

Everyone was panting. That was pretty much the only way to describe it.

Valerie was the first to come out of the heavy breathing as she dropped her hammer, and soon to the followed by the others. Anne brought out her tennis racket, and honestly, rightfully so, after what had happened at Toad tower not too long before.

The blonde simply turned around innocently, holding up her hands together, with closed eyes and a smile. Her expression really looked straight out of an anime. "Hey girlfriend! Good to see you!" she exclaimed happily.

Before Anne could really soak in the situation, Marcy rushed past her to give Sasha a hug. The two seemed to converse for a minute before Valerie walked up next to them.

"Hey, Sash," She threw out casually, holding out her hand out flat, which made it seem like she was trying to shake her hand in a professional way, but instead, Sasha took out the own hand and the two started to do a little handshake that didn't look too hard to do.

"Val! oh my frog, girl- did we all get glow ups when we got zapped away? I don't think I've ever seen you wear gold before- like ever. Do they have color analysis sessions here or something? Looks absolutely stunning." She asked as she seemed genuinely interested at the idea. The brunette simply chuckled in response.

"yeah, they do, actually, I took it," the girl admitted with a flick of her hair. She looked over Sasha's outfit curiously, before shrugging. "But you, oh my gosh, dude that armor is like- chef's kiss. But enough of that, how'd you find us?"

"Oh that's simple-- we heard you three were traveling together so we tracked you all here."

"Did you say..." Anne paused, actually processing her e̶n̶e̶m̶y̶'̶s̶ friend's words, blinking and lowering her tennis racket in confusion. "we?"

Suddenly the double doors burst open and psychotic laughter erupted from a green male toad-- that Valerie was able to recognize as Captain Grime. She'd seen his face on wanted posters before. "Even in this state, those things were no match for me!" he said with a strained voice.

I'm not surprised Sasha ended up crashing with him, somehow.

"woah," Sasha said as Anne and the Plantars seemed to raise their guard, walking around the group and towards Grime. "Cancel the red alert! Seriously we're not here to fight."

"Oh no?" Sprig asked.

"Nope." Sasha seemed smug, the kind of smug that would make one's stomach churn, smug like how someone would win an argument, even if they were wrong, by making the other person feel crazy. "the whole reason we've been stalking you is..."

There was a dramatic pause in the air.

Her face switched to sadness. Which was obviously fake, to Valerie's eyes, if her opinion even mattered. "So that I could tell Anne that everything that happened at Toad Tower was my fault."

Anne seemed to drop her guard completely as Sasha spoke. "really?"

"Yep, it was wrong of me to put your frog friends in danger. And undoubtedly wrong of me to push you around."

Valerie couldn't even hear the rest of the conversation over what Gold said next in her head.

I have nothing particularly against this pink friend of yours, but you know, in the thousands of years that I've been alive, I have to say that I have never once in my life heard an apology that's so fucking fake. It's so bad, it's funny.

The brunette would admit she was stifling her laughs now.

She should've taken me up on those acting classes I offered her. But noooo, she thought 'tHaT wAs FoR GeEkS'

Seriously?

Seriously.

Well she certainly needs them.

If you-- an all seeing being-- thinks so, then she has to need em!

The head conversation may or may not have continued, but before it could, she felt a familiar soft hand grip hers and a voice snap her out of her thoughts.

"Come on, Val, we gotta get moving- you alright there, though? You look all up in your head."

The two's eyes met, and Marcy's eyebrows were twitched up in concern, her lips that were usually in a big grin were in a smaller, more awkward smile. Plus the little flush that was spread across her face...

Valerie couldn't resist placing a little peck onto her cheek, trying to calm down the worriedness in her tone. "I'm alright, sunshine. Let's just keep moving."

You could almost hear Sasha clearly ahead of them, looking back with a grunt and saying softly "damn it, I owe Anne money."

-

Valerie, Marcy, Sasha and Grime currently walked up front of the rest of the group, with the two lovers holding hands, both of them seeming a little bit unaware of the eye-rolls the blonde was sending back towards Anne.

As they all walked in through a stone archway, they found themselves in a room with one of those gym machines that you'd lay back on and lift the weights with. Pink, glowing writing appeared above it soon after they entered.

"Sup, brosef? Do you even lift?" Marcy read out with a raised eyebrow, reading it out quite slowly to make sure she actually got it right and wasn't misreading it.

"they're not even trying anymore!" Anne said with exasperation as her eyelids dropped, over this whole temple thing with the more modern terminology. Temples were supposed to be old and mysterious.

Valerie just chuckled as she looked over the writing. She honestly found it funny with the words they used, and it was even funnier to her teenage brain that they were actually using the words correctly.  "If I ever go back in time, I wanna become friends with these frogs. They seem pretty chill."

"Ha!" Sasha said from in front of the group of frogs and humans behind her, cracking her knuckles and closing her eyes with pride at what she was about to do to beat this temple. "This is all me."

Anne rushed forward from her spot and tried to warn Sasha that there was usually a catch to these tasks, only to be ignored and dismissed (wow, big surprise) as she rushed forward and lifted the weight with ease.

As she did, the door behind her lit up and opened.

"This things going to be over before it starts," Sasha commented after she had put the weight down and started to get up. Valerie was impressed by the strength, it really seemed like Sasha was the right fit for the pink gem. "let's get going, nerds."

"by nerds, she means you guys." Grime stated the obvious to the group.

-

The room they had all entered seemed to have some kind of circular platform past the entrance that was made of... possibly metal? Either way, it had a symbol representing the gem in the middle of it barely lapping at it's edges. Although, there was a random sliver of it cut out, which made it look like a pacman...

I think the creators of this temple were doing some kind of weed.

"Alright!" Marcy said enthusiastically as she threw her arms up to either side of her, gesturing the environment that the group had now found themselves in. "This should be the final room."

Just as she finished speaking, the door behind them closed. Valerie looked back worriedly, but just took a deep breath and was quick to calm down after that. Just then, she noticed that glowing writing had appeared on both sides of the door.

"You've definitely got skill, no doubt," Marcy read out, with her hand on her chin, either to focus or just for dramatic effect. "but it's time you learnt what strength is all about."

"Well that's just lovely," Valerie put particular emphasis on the last word, smiling in a way that looked like she was about to put a gun into her mouth and pull the trigger. The fact that she had seemed to convey that through an expression-- let alone do it so well-- was astounding.

Just after she spoke, the ground started to mysteriously rumble beneath them. Then some kind of...monster made of stone just appeared from the ceiling. He flexed his arms in several different positions, before putting out his hand and curling his fingers up, signalling a challenge.

Valerie couldn't help but voicing her thoughts (and Gold may or may not have agreed with the thought as well). "Geez, is this what happens when a gym bro overdoses on steroids?"

"Stay back everyone," Sasha said as she put a hand out, then reaching out for her sword and getting into a defense position, one that was probably a reasonably safe start. "I got this."

The gym bro then roared (yes that is his name now stfu) and the floor started to light up. Balance seem to be thrown off and a magnetic force immediately pulled everyone down, some flat on their stomachs and some just to their knees.

Valerie was on her knees and could hear pulsing in her head. She was only on her knees, so it wasn't too bad... yet. Although one thing she noticed... Is that she still felt like she might've been able to get up.

"That thing has somehow increased the room's gravitational force!" Marcy yelled worriedly. There were a few strained voices from the frogs at the back, telling how they weren't able to get up.

If the gold gem represents power, Valerie was able to lift her hands off the floor with ease, looking over them, there was a pale gold color being emitted off into the air. Especially power in magic-

Yes. Your powers are pretty much unlimited. Don't worry, if you weren't worthy and able to use them for good-- the box would have killed you as you transported.

Ah, what a lovely thought.

That was sarcastic, of course.

"Just sit tight," Anne's voice snapped the brunette out of her thoughts. "Us humans will handle this!"

There was struggle as the other three girls got up, grunting as they walked. But for Valerie...She still felt the same, as if the initial shock of the actual attack being thrown her way had already worn off and she was good as new.

The big gym bro laughed and dug his hands into the ground, pulling out two chunks of rock from it and throwing it towards the quartet. The first boulder was headed towards Anne, who dodged it by jumping out of the way. The second one, however