Lura led the group as they charged in the direction Respyn had fled. Despite not knowing the area, it was decided it would be safest for her to take the lead. Will, Rosalie, and Cosmo were following behind, as they headed toward the main street of town.

  Main Street was once a bustling place full of citizens and tourists, but when the town's tourism died down so did a bulk of its shops. What was left of Main Street was a strip of long since abandoned storefronts and houses, covered in dirt and graffiti. However, even the graffiti was fading. Main Street was so abandoned that even the local troublemaking kids didn't bother to come here anymore to tag the walls or smash up the few remaining windows.

  The homes in the area were also long since abandoned. When the shops closed down, the people that would want to live close to them obviously packed up and left too. There was no point in living in a shopping district if there were no shops. Since the town had slowly been bleeding residents, nobody had moved into the homes despite the cheap price. Then eventually they fell into disrepair, so the cost of fixing them became too much for the average person looking to buy a home.

  The assumption that Respyn would be here was just that, an assumption. There wasn't much else out in this direction anymore, and in Rosalie and Will's minds it made a great hideout for someone like Respyn. As they got near that assumption was proven correct as they heard the cry of the frog monster in the distance.

  As main street came into view, the group saw the frog monster wailing in pain. It seems the extended time it has held this larger form has taken a toll on his body. He had already appeared thinner to Will when he first transformed, but now he was even thinner. His stomach was caving in, his ribs looked like they could be played like a xylophone, and his spine was visible enough that you could see where the spines on his back connected to hit.

  As the group got closer they didn't fear the monster like they had in the past. Now all they felt was pity for this sad suffering creature. Will and Cosmo stepped forward towards the suffering beast, while Rosalie and Lura went around.

  When they decided as a group to deal with Respyn and the frog monster tonight, they had also come up with a rough and basic strategy. Will and Cosmo would deal with the frog. It wasn't something either Rosalie or Lura had been thrilled about, but when Will emphasized how Lura and Rosalie couldn't contribute anything to that fight they reluctantly agreed.

  While Will and Cosmo dealt with the monster, Rosalie and Lura were going to handle Respyn. With their compasses in hand it was easy for them to track him down once they got to Main Street.

  From the back entrance of one of the buildings in the row of stores, Lura entered where Respyn had been hiding since he arrived on Earth. She saw him, back turned to her, as he looked out the front window to see the frog monster's rampage. She took light steps, trying best not to give away her position. She gripped her baton with both hands and crept up behind Respyn. She lifted the baton over her head and with all her strength she struck Respyn on the back of the head.

  No dodging, no blocking, no countering. Respyn had no idea the attack was coming and took it full force. He collapsed to the ground. He looked over his shoulder with a grimace to see Lura standing over him.

  Will and Cosmo approached the rampaging from. They looked at each other briefly, and then Cosmo sprung into action. Once again his body was enveloped in light, and he began to grow. For the second time now he had transformed into his larger bipedal form without losing his senses.

  Now at a size capable of taking on the frog, Cosmo approached him. The frog looked at Cosmo, but didn't react at all. Instead, the frog just continued its blind rampage, tearing up a nearby building.

  Through the rain of wood and concrete sent in the air by the frog, Cosmo charged towards him. Cosmo crashed into the preoccupied frog with his shoulder, knocking the frog back. Quickly leaping to his feet, the frog was finally paying attention to Will and Cosmo.

  Will had still been a bit weary about what Lura had said. In his mind he didn't want to accept that he couldn't talk the frog down. Now, looking at the rampaging monster, seeing his body essentially deteriorate in front of him, Will's doubt was gone. The frog was no longer a vicious beast that needed to be killed because it was violent, now it was a sickly creature suffering. Will made a promise internally, “after this and you revert to an egg, I'll make sure we take care of you properly. I won't let you suffer like this again.”

  The frog charged towards Cosmo, slashing at him with his claws. The frog's eyes were glazed over and he hardly seemed conscious. It was more like his body was moving entirely on instinct and his mind was long gone. This didn't make the fight easy however, since the frog seemingly had very good instincts.

  Cosmo tried to dodge, and whether the frog predicted his movement or just reacted quickly, he effortlessly turned towards the evading Cosmo and slashed him with his claws. Cosmo reeled backwards from the attack, four deep scratches were left across his chest. As the blood began to flow from the wounds, Cosmo took a moment to regain his footing.

  The frog however, didn't give Cosmo much time to collect himself. Twisting his body, the frog swung his mace-like tail towards Cosmo. The speed of the swing was too fast for Cosmo to dodge, so all he could do was put up his hands to block. The spikes on the frog's tail sunk into Cosmo's arms, puncturing them in multiple spots. As the frog leapt back, the spikes were pulled out of Cosmo's arms and blood began leaking.

  The fight had only just started, but Cosno was already in a bad way. He had been slashed across his chest and he had several punctures on his forearms. The blood flowed from the wounds and began making a puddle beneath Cosmo's feet.

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  As Cosmo stood still, collecting himself, the frog prepared another attack. Before the frog made a move though he was hit on the side of the head. Looking to the ground the frog saw a piece of rubble left from his rampage. He shifted his attention up, and he saw the source. Will had a pile of rubble, rocks, and other debris in his hands. As the frog stood staring, Will winded up, and threw another chunk of concrete at him. It again bounced off the frog's head and tumbled to the ground.

  The frog was unfazed by the attack, while he had felt it, it felt no different than a human feeling a raindrop hit their skin. After staring for a moment, the frog fully turned his attention towards Will. With heavy footsteps, the frog approached. Even though the frog was getting close, Will didn't back down. He continued peppering the frog with stones he had collected.

  Watching from the sidelines had made Will antsy. Then with the serious hits Cosmo had taken, Will had decided he needed to get involved somehow. Knowing he couldn't do any real damage to a monster that size himself, Will had decided to at least try and distract the frog. That had gone very well, maybe a bit too well.

  As the frog got closer, Will pulled back his arm preparing to throw another chunk of concrete. Before he could follow through with the throw, a smile came over his face. His arm fell to his side, and he began moving away from the oncoming frog.

  The frog saw Will running away, and attempted to pick up the pace. He stepped, stepped, stepped, progressively moving his legs faster, so the sight of Will getting away didn't make sense. As he attempted to speed up more, he realized his feet were no longer touching the ground, and then seconds later, the frog found himself slammed onto the ground face up.

  Will's distraction had been put to good use. Cosmo used the moment of calm to collect himself before chasing after the frog. Once Cosmo was ready to go, he walked up behind the frog and grabbed him by the tail. Seeing that Will ran off to give Cosmo space to fight. The frog had been so preoccupied with Will that he didn't even realize he had been grabbed. Then, before the frog had a chance to realize, Cosmo had whipped the frog over his head with his tail onto the pavement.

  The frog tried to quickly get to his feet, but stumbled. That attack on his already weakening body had really done some damage. However, the frog was down for the count just yet. He slowly pulled himself back to his feet and found himself locking eyes with Cosmo again.

  Both had already been injured despite the fight having only lasted a few minutes. Cosmo was leaking blood from his chest and his arms, and the frog had suffered a gash on his head from that toss. The frog had also lost a few of the spikes on his back during that attack, and the bone-like spines layed on the ground where the frog had landed.

  The two creatures stared at each other for a moment, blood flowing onto the pavement. Then they charged each other simultaneously. The frog again tried to whip Cosmo with his tail, but Cosmo reacted quickly. He leaped into the air, and the frog's tail passed under his legs. When Cosmo's feet hit the ground he was right beside the frog. He grabbed him with his two arms, opened his jaw, and bit down onto the frog's neck and shoulder.

  The frog let out a howl as he tried to free himself from Cosmo's bite. Eventually getting Cosmo's teeth out of him, the frog shook Cosmo off. Cosmo stepped back, and was quickly met with the frog's tongue. It wrapped around Cosmo's, and the frog tossed Cosmo with all his strength. Cosmo flew into a previously undamaged building at the end of the row of stores.

  The entire building collapsed, as well as the wall of the building next door, and Cosmo was left beneath a pile of rubble. Will wanted to run up and try digging him out, but between him and Cosmo was the frog monster. The frog monster didn't move a muscle after the throw, and just stood staring where the building had previously been. A few moments passed and then the rubble began moving, then Cosmo stood up out of the rubble.

  Cosmo took no time to catch his breath, and made his way towards the frog immediately after standing up. His crimson scales had become ashy from dust and debris. The sound of each footstep was followed by a sound like heavy rain as pieces of the building fell off him and hit the floor.

  The frog stood waiting for Cosmo. When the two were within striking distance, they both attacked. The frog once again used his spiked tail, but instead of doing a horizontal strike, the frog jumped in the air, did a somersault, and whipped his tail downwards towards Cosmo's head.

  Cosmo had winded up for a simple punch. He swatted away the frog's tail with his unbleached hand, but was unable to push it far enough away to be missed completely. The mace-like tail grazed Cosmo's already bloodied chest, but Cosmo didn't flinch. He followed through with his punch, and met the spinning frog's chin with his fist.

  The blow was strong enough to send the frog rolling backwards thirty feet. Will ran to Cosmo's side now that the frog was no longer between them.

  “Cosmo!” Will cried out.

  Cosmo looked down at the boy briefly before directing his attention back towards the frog.

  “I think now is our chance. We can finish him off with our special move.” Will said.

  Cosmo nodded, not saying a word.

  Across the way, the frog had staggered back to his feet, but still didn't have solid footing. Blood oozed down the frog's neck. It was significantly thicker than normal blood, and was more jam-like than liquid. As the frog steadied himself he looked forward to see Cosmo had already started charging toward him. With about ten feet of distance between the two monsters Cosmo stopped.

  In unison, Cosmo and Will cried out, “Lightning Javelin!”

  Welling up from inside Cosmo. CRACK! A bolt of lightning emerged from Cosmo's mouth. It extended nearly thirty feet, striking through the frog monster.

  The frog let out a loud roar in pain, but quickly went silent. His body went still, and then his body began to disintegrate. His eyes closed, and he started to become dust flowing through the wind. Before long, where the frog had once been was nothing but a dust cloud.

  It was hard for Will to see through the dust, but in the center he could make out an oval silhouette. The silhouette floated for a moment before falling to the ground, making a thud as it hit the concrete. The dust blew away, and Will could make out the object now. It was an egg, nearly identical to the one Will had found that Cosmo had hatched from.

  With the battle over, Cosmo shrunk back down to normal size. He stumbled to the ground, but Will helped get him on his feet again. Will approached the egg that laid on the ground, and Cosmo stumbled after him. Picking it up, Will began to hug the egg. Will hoped that the monster's suffering was truly over, and that in the future, once he hatches, it can live a better life.