When Will saw the frog hopping menacingly in his direction, he finally snapped back to his senses. He knew he couldn't fight, he'd never been in a single fight his entire life. So he knew his only option was to run. He looked to Cosmo and then to Lura and quickly tried to think of a plan. The approaching monster didn't give Will much time to think however.

For a similar reason as the oncoming monster, Will decided not to head towards Lura. He didn't want to get in the way and make things worse for her and himself. Making his decision, he took off running.

The frog was approaching straight ahead, so Will ran to the left. He had been stunned through the fight between Cosmo and the monster, but he had still been paying attention. He knew the frog liked using his long tongue to grab people, so as Will fled he weaved between trees and tried to stay as close to them as he could. He figured it would be harder for the monster to aim at him this way, but also it would add obstacles the frog's tongue could get caught on if he did attempt an attack.

Will was running in a semicircle, to reach Cosmo who had been directly behind the frog. He continued to run his way through the forest using his strategy, but he had underestimated the frog's ability to move. While fighting Cosmo, the frog had been very straightforward in how he approached the crimson lizard. Now that he was pursuing fleeing prey, he began to move differently.

When Will had begun running, the frog followed at a more casual pace to see if there was any need to be cautious. Now, having determined that Will was simply fleeing, the frog began moving like a predator. His powerful frog-like legs could propel him 15 feet in the air, and he wasn't limited to simply using the ground to jump off of. He leaped into the air, twisted his body so he would run into a tree feet first, and then kicked off the tree.

Will looked behind himself to see where the frog was, and was surprised by what he saw. The frog was leaping from tree trunk to tree trunk, and was quickly catching up to Will. Seeing this, Will abandoned his strategy which slowed him down, and instead made a b-line for Cosmo as fast as he could.

Reaching Cosmo's side, Will dropped to his knees and began shaking the lizard.

"Cosmo, wake up! We have to run!" Will shouted.

Consciousness began to come back to Cosmo, and as he opened his eyes he saw Will. Their face to face was short lived however, as the moment Cosmo opened his eyes the frog had grabbed Will with his tongue. The frog was planted onto a nearby tree, about eight meters up. He gripped Will tightly and reeled him in close to himself.

Seeing Will get dragged away, Cosmo jumped to his feet. Breaking into a sprint he chased after the boy he had befriended. He got within an arm's length and reached to grab Will. However the frog pulled him away before Cosmo could grab him.

After Will was pulled away Cosmo didn't stop running. There were no thoughts going through the crimson lizard mind, he was acting purely on instinct. Charging at full speed, Cosmo slammed into the tree the frog had been clinging to the side of.

The impact reverberated through the tree, shaking the frog loose. He attempted to regain his grip on the tree to no avail. Seeing the ground getting closer, the frog tossed Will away to focus on landing properly.

Will was flung into the air, and was quickly making his way back towards the Earth. Beneath the falling boy was his friend Cosmo, trying his best to get in position to catch the boy. Cosmo reached out his arms and then the falling boy collided with him. The lizard and boy tumbled to the ground, both getting a little scraped up.

Will was the first to stand up since he had collapsed on top of Cosmo. He then grabbed Cosmo's hands and pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks, Cosmo." Will said with gratitude. The relief of seeing his friend back on his feet helped clear his worried mind.

Will and Cosmo turned their attention towards the frog. Its slimy skin glistened in the sun that was peeking into the forest between the trees. Running seemingly no longer an option, Will and Cosmo stood together ready to fight the frog.

The frog was quick to act this time, spitting his tongue towards Will. Cosmo had come to expect this attack by now, and once again blocked it with his arm, protecting Will. With the tongue now wrapped around Cosmo's left arm, he stepped forward and grabbed the extended tongue with his left hand. With the frog's tongue firmly grasped, Cosmo slashed at the tongue with his free right hand. The frog, unable to retract its tongue due to Cosmo's grip, hopped off the ground and used his tongue to launch himself towards Cosmo.

This too, Cosmo expected. As the frog came flying towards him, Cosmo grabbed the tongue with his right hand as well, spun his body so his back was towards the frog, then pulled the tongue forwards. The airborne frog was sent even higher, as he did a semicircle over Cosmo's head, and was flung onto his spikey back in front of the lizard.

This had knocked the wind out of the frog, and unknowingly he loosened his grip on Cosmo's arm. By the time the frog had gotten back on its feet he was already in a terrible predicament. At the instructions of Will, Cosmo and the boy had tied the frog's tongue to a nearby tree. The frog was now stuck, and began panicking. He stretched his tongue to its limit hoping it would come free, but to no avail.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Lura was on her knees, struggling to breath when she saw Respyn start walking away from her. She was unsure what caused this, but she was grateful for the break. As she collected herself, Will and Cosmo ran to her side.

"Lura, are you okay?" Will asked.

"Don't worry about that. Where is he going? What happened to the other monster?" Lura said, quickly looking in the direction Respyn was walking.

"We took care of the monster for now. Let's get out of here while we can." Will said, trying to pull Lura up to her feet.

Lura did not get up despite Will's attempts to help her. She just sat there watching Respyn.

"What the hell are you doing?" Respyn screamed at the frog monster.

The creature had been attempting 5o free itself, but at the sound of Respyn's voice it began cowering in fear. Respyn angrily walked up to the monster and kicked it, knocking it back a few feet.

Next, Respyn walked up to the tree where the frog's tongue was tied around. Without even attempting to untie the tongue, Respyn pulled out a blade and slashed through the tongue just below the knot.

The frog let out a loud scream, as its tongue retracted. Blood spewed all over as the tongue traveled back to its resting place. The frog was lying on its belly, with its two front legs reaching up and holding its mouth.

Respyn didn't allow the creature a moment to rest. He grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and threw it in the direction of Will, Cosmo, and Lura. Blood began dripping out of its mouth as Respyn once again came up beside it, delivering kicks to its stomach. The kicks were lighter this time, so Respyn wouldn't have to keep chasing the frog as it went flying. They were still strong enough to hurt the monster.

"Get up and finish them off, you trash." Respyn screamed as he continued kicking the frog repeatedly.

As the frog laid there, taking the verbal and physical abuse, blood leaking out of his lips, something snapped. His eyes, which had just shown fear, glazed over. He opened his mouth letting out a vicious howl spewing blood from his mouth.

As if that howl was the trigger, the frog began to grow. As if the blood in his body was boiling, his skin began bubbling. As the bubbling got more violent and the bubbles got bigger, his body was growing below the surface. The spines on his back grew longer and thicker, with barbs forming down them. They looked like skinny pine trees with the trunk and pine needles being made of bone. The thorn on the end of its tail had morphed to appear like a mace, it was now a ball covered with many spikes. The tongue in his mouth became too large for his mouth to contain, so it fell from his mouth and dragged along the ground. Its frog-like feet now had claws that were long enough and sharp enough to dig into the ground as he just stood there.

When the violent transformation came to an end, the monster was almost indistinguishable from what it was before. Its physical features were more monstrous, but the color of its skin was also different. What was once a blueish-gray was now entirely gray. It had been more plump before, but now it was skinny enough where you could start to see bones pressing against the skin. The slime that had covered its skin was still present, but now it was much thicker and dripping off its body.

The most frightening part of this newly transformed monster for Will, Cosmo, and Lura, was the monster's size. Where it had previously been knee high to Lura, it was now ten feet tall while still standing on all fours.

"There we go! Now you can get rid of those pests no problem! Wipe them out!" Respyn commanded the monster.

It let out another vicious roar, this one with less pain in its voice. Then it began lumbering towards the group of three, who had been stunned watching this transformation take place. Lura snapped up onto her feet as the large beast approached. Will, who was still holding on the Lura's arm from when he was trying to pull her to her feet, began to be pulled by her as she started moving backwards away from the oncoming monster. Cosmo was the only one not backing away. His face had contorted into a snarl, and he was letting out a growl.

Seeing Cosmo, Lura finally knew what she needed to do to defeat the oncoming monster and catch Respyn. She planned to make Cosmo transform, and take on Respyn's monster. While the two monsters were their own separate beings, they were a pair. If one could transform into a hulking ten foot tall monster then the other one should be able to as well.

Lura pulled her arm away from Will's grasp, and ran towards Cosmo. Will, once again, was scared stiff. Getting beside Cosmo, Lura grabbed the lizard by the shoulders and spun him around to face her. When Cosmo turned his attention back toward the monster Lura shook him to keep his attention.

"Look at me. Now is the time to show what you are made of. You exist for times just like this one. We have a powerful enemy in front of us, and it is up to you to stop them. Or die trying.

"You can't put up a fight as you are now. So muster up the strength, and get over there and crush them. This is what you were born for." Lura said, letting her own preconceptions of thinking the monsters from the eggs were merely weapons of war, as well as her frustrations of being beaten by Respyn twice influenced her decision. Cosmo and the frog were both weapons, so using Cosmo like one seemed more than reasonable.

Cosmo listened to Lura's speech intently. Yes, he had learned some English from Will and TV, but Lura's ability to communicate surpassed normal spoken language. Even someone with little to no ability to verbally communicate would still be able to get the gist of what Kitanian's were trying to convey, because it was the emotion and intention they projected and not simple words.

When the creature's from the eggs die they become an egg they are reborn. None of their memories are carried over into their next life. Cosmo, who had spent most of his current life with Will knew nothing of the history his past self had on Lura's home planet Kitania. Cosmo knew what weapons were, characters on Intergalactic Hero Cosmo used them to fight. Being told that was all he was was a weapon saddened the crimson lizard, but he knew what that meant he needed to do.

As Lura had instructed, Cosmo shifted his focus back towards the approaching frog monster, and began to focus everything he had into becoming stronger. Cosmo, unsure what it meant to be strong, only had the monster in front of him to base his idea of strength on. As he concentrated on becoming as powerful as the creature in front of him, his mind started to become cloudy. His vision became more focused only on the monster in front of him. Then Cosmo, like the frog before, let out a huge roar.