Amphibia: The Last Versus

Set before “All In” and during “TBOTE”. After the resistance is disbanded due to the capture of its leaders, Darcy finally has Anne right where she wants her, in her grasp. However, the hivemind soon regrets its decision for a unity with the cyan calamity warrior when the wit of the core suddenly struggles with matters of the heart. Has Darcy lost all control of the core when it choses its new host?

Chapter Text

Hello fellow fanfiction readers and writers! Alisi Thorndyke here with a story that has been brewing in my mind for a little while now since season 3 of Amphibia! Next to True Colors, season 3 was the best! Anywho, I hope you all enjoy this as it has been a while since I wrote and uploaded anything. My profile tells all.

Disclaimer: Amphibia is owned and created by Matt Braly! I only write about the series, nothing more!

Summary: Set before “All In” and during “TBOTE”. After the resistance is disbanded due to the capture of its leaders, Darcy finally has Anne right where she wants her, in her grasp. However, the hivemind soon regrets its decision for a unity with the cyan calamity warrior when the wit of the core suddenly struggles with matters of the heart. Has Darcy lost all control of the core when it choses its new host?

Chapter 1: Star to Fall

The dance off to defeat the mind controlled Olivia and Yunan was a success as the control collars were broken and disintegrated by Anne and Sasha. The commanders had a clear path to finish the mission they trained hard and made concrete plans for, nothing was going to stop them from entering the throne room and saving the missing piece of their puzzle, Marcy. The warnings from Olivia and Yunan regarding their comrade fell on deaf ears as the two girls barged into the dark throne room. Looking around, Anne became worried upon not seeing their third comrade.

“I don’t see Marcy.” Anne stated as she continued looking around the dark room, having eyed the music box several times.

“First things first, get the box!” Sasha commanded as the two rushed into the dark room and over to the music box, the bane of the trio’s existence since learning of what it could do, but mostly, how the three ended up in Amphibia.

Soft footsteps, against the marbled tiled floor that led up to the pedestal that held the very sought-after item in all the land, approached the golden box as its metal luster beamed in the light it was being showcased in like a glorious trophy. Anne and Sasha’s eyes glistened with delight at reaching the final level of their struggle, feeling the end of their journey as they closed in on the music box.

“I can’t believe it!” Anne nearly squealed in delight as she continued eyeing the music box with joy. “It’s over! We’ve won!”

Reaching down to retrieve the box, Anne’s arms nearly clasped together as the box in front of her and Sasha disappeared into pixels of light, surprising the two as they took a step back in shock.

“Wait, what?!” Anne shouted as her voice echoed through the room. The lights in the room suddenly shut off as orange eyes within the darkness suddenly opened and illuminated what area of the room they were in, focusing their visions on their targets. Before the resistance warriors could retreat, robotic arms shot out from the darkness and entangled the fighters, Anne and Sasha being the first among them to be wrapped. Groans and whines were heard as more eyes within the room continued to open until the final eye on the throne opened to reveal who was behind their capture, Darcy. The cloaked hivemind was standing on the throne holding the very thing she knew they were after with a cynical grin plastered to her face.

“Hello girls.” Darcy eerily greeted Sasha and Anne as she placed her right hand atop the music box while focusing her eyes on her prey. “Nice of you to fall for our trap!”

Eyeing the villain before them, Anne felt her heart drop to her stomach as her vision fixed on the one she and Sasha were hoping to find along with the box, but this did not look like Marcy in the least.

“Marcy?! What are you wearing?!” Anne cautiously inquired. “What’s going on?”

“We’re not Marcy, well not anymore.” Darcy casually replied to Anne as she handed the music box to the robotic arm on the left and descended the steps from the throne, making her way over to her new prisoners. “We are a collection of Amphibia’s greatest minds uploaded into a unified consciousness.”

Struggling against her bonds, Anne’s subtle temper rose as she swiftly leaned down to face her captor eye to eye.

“What have you done with Marcy?!” Anne spat as she angrily eyed the multi-eyed monster before her.

“She’s up here with us.” Darcy calmly replied as she pointed to her helmet, specifically pointing to the area Marcy’s consciousness was being kept. “That’s how we were able to recognize your little ruse. War of the Warlocks, very cute!”

Clasping her hands together, Darcy chuckled at the very thought of their plan being used from a movie neither girl bothered to fully watch until the end.

Grinding her teeth, Sasha fought against her bonds, determined not to let this setback stop her and Anne from rescuing Marcy. Sasha wanted nothing more than to knock that arrogant smirk off Darcy’s face!

“Give us back our friend or I’ll rip that helmet off and take her back!” Sasha threatened with a fierce growl at Darcy.

Darcy then appeared between her prisoners, placing a hand on each of their shoulders as the numerous eyes on the helmet focused on Sasha.

“Your friend? Don’t be silly!” Darcy chuckled as she causally walked from between Anne and Sasha, her hands waved in front of her as if dismissing Sasha’s statement.

“You’re not friends, not anymore and examining Marcy’s memories, it’s doubtful you ever were.” Darcy continued taunting as she turned to the two and placed a hand on her helmet to emphasize her point of scanning Marcy’s memories for any signs of friendship between she, Anne, and Sasha. Positioning her hand with the palm facing upward, Darcy cynically grinned at Sasha’s facial hurt expression, the expression she hoped to get with her statement that deeply wounded the commander.

Looking over at Sasha, Anne sneered, witnessing the strongest person she knew to allow herself to be defeated by mere words, mere words from someone who more or less held power in their current situation.

“Sasha, don’t listen to this….this thing!” Anne venously spat as she shot her eyes between Sasha and Darcy, ensuring that their new nemesis did not make any unsuspecting moves and made their current predicament worse.

“Ahh, the famous Anne.” Darcy quipped as she strolled up to the thai teen with a wide smile while focusing her numerous eyes Anne. “Dumber than a bag of rocks and yet somehow this rebellion’s last hope!”

Casually walking past the teen, Darcy positioned her left hand under Anne’s chin and slowly stroked it as she walked by in a taunting fashion. Feeling the soft and tenderness of the teen’s skin against the back of her hand, a small blush and smirk appeared on the hivemind’s face, twisting the left corner of her mouth as her vision caught with the balcony in front of her.

“The last hope indeed.” Darcy spoke as her words suddenly trailed off. The voices in the helmet began speaking to her all at once, further distracting Darcy from the next phase of her plan. Feeling herself becoming slightly overwhelmed by the voices, Darcy closed her eyes and placed her hands together as she tuned in to the voices to hear what they were saying to her.

“My lord, is something the matter?” Andrias cautiously spoke to Darcy, who did not immediately reply to the newt king.

The inaudible first voice that spoke to Darcy began speaking clearly, pointing out that they must kill Anne to extract the cyan gem’s powers from her safely. Continuing to use the box considering how risky it was to that point without knowing what would happen so long as Anne was still linked to the gem was putting their plan at risk for failure. That voice was immediately met by opposition from the others.

The second voice came forth and suggested keeping Anne as a pet to ensure the resistance did not further test the Core’s motives for world domination. Using her as an example to those who dared opposed Darcy and the strength of the core. Darcy shook her head slightly in disagreement at such a thought. While the thought was one to entertain, Darcy was on a mission that did not include such a detour.

“My lord.” Andrias spoke up once more to Darcy, who released a deep growl as her eyes shot open and locked onto Andrias, fury burning in each of the ten orbs.

“Shut up Andrias!” Darcy snapped with a growl. “Can’t you see we’re trying to think?! When we’re thinking, you are never to interrupt us!”

Turning away from Andrias and closing her eyes once more, Darcy tuned back into the voices as Andrias fell silent.

The third voice came forward with a suggestion that ran a chill run up Darcy’s spine, the one suggestion that the remaining voices immediately came to agreement about as well. A smirk then formed on Darcy’s face as she opened her eyes and turned back to Anne and Sasha, her black and red velvet cape flowing behind her with every move.

“It seems we have reached a consensus.” Darcy sang as she stepped back in front of Anne and Sasha while focusing her vision mostly on Anne. “A consensus that even I did not think of but is brilliant none the less.”

“What are you spouting off about you ancient cockroach?!” Sasha spat as she struggled against her bonds, her temper dangerously bubbling to the surface.

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Darcy replied with a quip to the blonde while continuing to focus her vision on Anne, who looked to Darcy with an expression of confusion. “We have decided to allow Anne to join forces with us. After all, she is the chosen one and the strongest out of the group of you weaklings. We are impressed by her strength, determination, and pure will. She will be a fine asset to the core and Marcy will certainly be pleased to have her one true love by her side for all eternity. So, what do you say Boonchuy and do chose your answer wisely!”

Allowing the last part of Darcy’s statement to filter into her ears, Anne’s look of confusion changed to that of a confidently stern expression at the core’s decision for her. Darcy’s smirk grew into a smile at the sight of the calamity warrior’s change in expressions.

“What do I say?!” Anne began as she gritted her teeth at the smiling demented creature in front of her. “What do I say? I say you’re clearly insane if you think I’m going to have anything to do with you or your twisted plans! And you better leave Marcy out of this!”

“But it was her suggestion to have you join our ranks.” Darcy continued as she approached Anne and ran her right index and middle fingers under the thai teen’s chin while ensuring their eye contact was not broken. “I had other plans for you my dear, but her suggestion was one I could not pass up easily. Besides, you wouldn’t want to break my heart again would you Anne? I don’t want to be alone and without you!”

The last sentences that Darcy spoke were voiced clearly as Marcy, which caught Anne and Sasha by surprise. Sasha’s determined expression was shattered by hearing the voice of the one she and Anne were working so hard to save, bringing back the guilt that cut her deep upon hearing she, Anne, and Marcy might have never been friends from the start of their meeting. Anne’s expression changed as well, her expression clearly reading concern more than guilt.

“…Marcy…?” Anne dryly whispered.

“Heh, I thought that would get your attention my dear.” Darcy spoke in her own voice with a demented chuckle. “Marcy wanted to speak with you so I figured what’s the harm? But this will be the first and only time you hear from her until you join our ranks!”

“I already told you, no!” Anne spat as her concerned expression changed to an angry one. “I want nothing to do with any of this, even if you try to use Marcy to convince me!”

“Well that’s too bad, I guess you leave us no choice.” Darcy sighed, pretending to be hurt by Anne’s decision. Walking two inches from the two, Darcy swiftly turned back to Anne and Sasha as she dropped to one knee. The two commanders exchanged strange glances before turning back to Darcy.

"Our dearest Anne.” Darcy began in a sincere tone as she placed her right hand to the chest of her armor with a bow. “Your timing to grace our presence with your beauty, strength, and ever so graceful elegance could not have been more perfect. We have watched you, have been waiting very patiently for you, and now that we have you, we just have one question to ask with hopes you will say yes our fallen star."

Turning her vision back to the thai teen, Darcy reached into her armor and pulled out a satin navy-blue ring box. The box then popped open to reveal a sterling silver band with the center stone shaped like a frog in sapphire blue. "Anne Savisa Boonchuy, will you do us the honor of marrying us?"

Darcy’s sincere expression then changed to a twisted cynical scowl as she tightened her grip around the box, her ten eyes slanted in anger at the cyan warrior as the thai teen opened her mouth to reply. Darcy’s cynical gaze quickly silenced her.

“Before you continue, do know this.” Darcy began her threat with a growl. “If you refuse my dear, everyone you care about will be wiped from planet earth as if they never existed! That includes your precious Marcy Wu who has been dying to see you before she is silenced for good! With just one press of a button, oops! Can you say ripple effect?”

Maniacal laughter then erupted from Darcy before calming herself to await Anne’s answer to her proposal.

“So what is your answer?” Darcy inquired with a dark tone. “Savisa?”

Having heard the threat that Darcy laid out before them, Sasha’s temper began rising once more as she fumed at the hivemind.

“Is she serious right now?!” Sasha screamed in anger. “That’s it! I’m calling your bluff! We know better than to fall for that! Anne, you better not lis…”

Sasha’s argument was quickly halted as she looked over at her co-commander, seeing that she was clearly considering the core’s proposal by the look on her face. Sasha knew how much Marcy meant to Anne and to have her existence and memories taken so suddenly would hurt her too much. Such an action would destroy them both, no matter how much Sasha did not want to admit it!

“Tick Tock Boonchuy.” Darcy taunted, enjoying the tortured expression on Anne’s face. “We are waiting and do not have all day!”

Feeling all of her fight suddenly retreat, Anne dropped her head in defeat as she turned her vision to Darcy who was delighted at what she managed to accomplish.

“Yes.” Anne begrudgingly stated out as she turned away from Darcy’s vision.

“We can’t hear you love.” Darcy playfully stated. “We need a clear confirmation.”

“I said yes!” Anne loudly repeated as her eyes briefly gleamed a cyan blue before turning back to Darcy as chocolate brown. “Just please don’t hurt Marcy, my parents, or anyone else. I’ll do whatever you want, but please leave them alone or I’ll refuse your proposal!”

“Anne! No!” Sasha shouted to the thai teen.

“Splendid!” Darcy stated as closed the ring box. “You chose wisely my little star.”

“Anne, you can’t be serious!” Sasha continued arguing as she switched her vision between Anne and Darcy. “She’s bluffing! You can’t be rid of the host you need and you know it!”

“Quite the contrary my dear Sasha.” Darcy replied as she got to her feet and walked over to the two, looking between her and Anne. “While this vessel is being well taken care of, our host is as well so long as she stays out of our affairs! With our advanced newtopian technology and with one click of a button, I can easily transfer us into a new vessel. However, such action would be useless when this body is ever so perfect! But our host’s memories can be wiped away just as easily, just like everything else you both hold so dear.”

Blinking the three main eyes on her helmet to emphasize her point, Darcy’s playful smile changed to that of a twisted smirk with a look of pure twisted delight, delight at getting what she wanted all along, Anne Boonchuy.

“Now, enough chit chat.” Darcy slyly spoke as she approached Anne and gently placed her left hand on the right side of her face. “I finally have my prize and what a prize you are indeed.”

Darcy gently stroked Anne’s cheek as she caught with Anne’s vision. The thai teen then turned her vision away from the newtopian dictator as her ears pricked up to the sound of delighted chuckles. Anne’s hair quickly gleamed it’s baby blue hue before returning to it’s normal color of light brown.

“You will be a fine asset to the core my dear, but you must watch that temper of yours.” Darcy softly spoke as she kept her hand on the girl’s cheek. “But do look on the bright side of this, you just saved an entire planet. After all, what’s one life when you just saved thousands?”

Keeping her vision turned away from Darcy, Anne closed her eyes and squeezed them shut as a tear escaped her eyes at the thought of never seeing anything or anyone familiar again so long as Darcy was involved. Fighting against such a cynical maniac was pointless at current so what other choice did she have but to go along with her plan? At least for now?

Finally breaking her attention away from the amphibian guardian, Darcy turned her attention to her robot who apprehended the rest of the resistance.

“You! Take the rest of them to be fitted for collars immediately!” Darcy sternly commanded. “And Andrias, prepare the chamber for our newest resident. I want to make her as comfortable as possible in Newptopia.”

“Yes my lord.” Andrias complied without argument as he began walking towards the entrance of the throne room, the robot holding the other members of the resistance hostage following closely behind the newt king.

“This isn’t over Darcy!” Sasha shouted as she did her best to kick the robot that was carrying her out of the room. “When we escape, I’m going rescue Anne and Marcy! I’m going to take you and the rest of the newtopian scum down and enjoy every minute of it! Do you hear me?!”

Sasha’s threats and screaming fell on deaf ears as she and the rest of the resistance were escorted out of the throne room, Anne and Darcy disappearing from view as the throne room’s doors closed behind the robot and Andrias. The sound of the closing doors behind the party echoed through the silent room, the sound replaying in Anne’s ears as prison doors closing, a prison she knows she won’t be able to escape from, not without assistance from Sasha and the rest of the resistance.

“So my dear, shall we continue?” Darcy inquired with a sing-song tone as the calamity warrior turned back to her.

A/N: Ok chapter 1 done. It was a little tough to write as I did my best to deviate from TBOTE’s original dialogue to add in my own dialogue, but from chapter 2 on, this story will be written in its own original dialogue. The fanart screencaps for this chapter can be found on my Deviant Art page beginning with “Darcy’s Proposal” and “Amphibia: The Last Versus!”

In addition, sometimes my work schedule can be a bit hecate so I will do my very best to keep with a consistent schedule of every three weeks to monthly updates to give everyone a chance to read the chapters though.

Hope you enjoyed and looking forward to your feedback!

Chapter 2: If The Price Is Right

Summary:

'After capturing the resistance, Darcy finally obtained the one thing she was after, but at what cost will Darcy be enjoying her new prize?'

Chapter Text

Chapter 2: If the Price is Right!

'After capturing the resistance, Darcy finally obtained the one thing she was after, but at what cost will Darcy be enjoying her new prize?'

Previously

"You will be a fine asset to the core my dear, but you must watch that temper of yours." Darcy softly spoke as she kept her hand on the girl's cheek. "But do look on the bright side of this, you just saved an entire planet. What's one life when you just saved thousands?"

Keeping her vision turned away from Darcy, Anne closed her eyes and squeezed them shut as a tear escaped her eyes at the thought of never seeing anything or anyone familiar ever again so long as Darcy was involved. Fighting against such a cynical maniac was pointless at current so what other choice did she have but to go along with her plan? At least for now?

Finally breaking her attention away from the amphibian guardian, Darcy turned her attention to her robot who apprehended the rest of the resistance.

"You! Take the rest of them to be fitted for collars immediately!" Darcy sternly commanded. "And Andrias, prepare the chamber for our newest resident. I want to make her as comfortable as possible."

"Yes my lord." Andrias complied without argument as he began walking towards entrance of the throne room, the robot holding the other members of the resistance hostage following closely behind the newt king.

"This isn't over Darcy!" Sasha shouted as she did her best to kick the robot that was carrying her out of the room. "When we escape, I'm going rescue Anne and Marcy! I'm going to take you and the rest of the newtopian scum down and enjoy every minute of it! Do you hear me?!"

Sasha's threats and screaming fell on deaf ears as she and the rest of the resistance were escorted out of the throne room, Anne and Darcy disappearing from view as the throne room's doors closed behind the robot and Andrias. The sound of the closing doors behind the party echoed through the silent room, the sound replaying in Anne's ears as prison doors closing, a prison she knows she won't be able to escape from, not without assistance from Sasha and the rest of the resistance.

"So my dear, shall we continue?" Darcy inquired with a sing-song tone as the calamity warrior turned back to her.

Currently

Song Played: Dreams of an Absolution by Lee Brothem

A flawless sapphire stone in the shape of a frog set on a sterling silver band gleamed as what light shined in the dark hall hit the gem while Anne begrudgingly trailed behind Darcy with the help of Darcy's main frobot. The heavy footsteps of the robot and the shackles attached to Anne's ankles and wrists played a moderately joyless tune as the three made their way down the long winding hall of the castle. The guardian did her best to keep her eyes off what was now a part of herself while also trying to tune out what Darcy was saying as she walked ahead of the guardian.

"And just think of it Anne." Darcy excitedly stated she continued leading the way down the hall to an unknown destination, not bothering to look back at her betrothed. "When we both say I do, you will add your personal touches to the castle too, so long as I approve that is. I had this entire castle redone when I came into power and just knew something was missing. The perfect touch of that perfect someone."

Anne shifted her eyes from her hand and to the back of Darcy, watching as the dictator walked with ease while her hand gestures flung about as Darcy spoke about the castle and their soon to be union. Anne felt her stomach twist in knots as she eyed the mechanical tentacles that were spread about the once beautiful ocean blue crystalline tiled walls and floors of the Newtopian Castle. The "new look" Darcy stated regarding the castle looked more dreadful and like a dungeon than anything else, a place Anne, if she had a choice, would refuse to frequent.

"I know you will love our personal living quarters." Darcy sung as she happily clasped her hands together as she looked back at Anne, taking note of the expression the young woman had on her face. "Especially our family and bedroom."

Briefly catching with Darcy's vision, Anne turned away as her attention returned to the ring on her left ring finger, the sight of it made the warrior inwardly cringe knowing that the ring was linking her and Darcy together for life, a thought she did not want to think about, but had no choice. Her life and any decisions she had were no longer her own, but more her soon to be partner in life.

"13 years old and I'm already engaged?" Anne inwardly stated to herself as she shifted her hand to view the stone shine in the light of the candles that lined the castle wall. "My mom and dad would freak and blow a gasket for sure if they found this out!"

"And here we are my dear!" Darcy sang as she, the frobot that was escorting Anne, and Anne herself stopped in front of large double doors that were made of metal. "This is where the fun begins."

Facing the door, Darcy swiftly moved her right hand to her right side as both doors began opening with a slow and eerie creak. Opening just enough, Darcy walked in followed by Anne and the frobot. Walking further into the room, Anne turned her attention to the ceiling and walls of the room, noticing that the walls and ceiling blended in with the darkness of the room, giving the room the look that it was an endless void of pitch black. Continuing to follow Darcy, Anne stopped short as Darcy suddenly stopped in her tracks as the floor beneath Darcy's feet lit up like tiny tea lit candles in three small circles.

Darcy's attention suddenly turned to the wall in front of her as all ten of the orange orbs on the helmet simultaneously became still as if becoming synced with something or someone in the room. Anne felt her blood suddenly run cold as a low throaty growl echoed through the room. Soon after, ten large orange eyes opened right in front of the three as Darcy's mouth formed into a devious smirk at seeing the beast awakened in her presence.

"Why hello to you too my pet." Darcy calmly spoke as she took two steps closer to the wall towards the creature. "I know you're hungry my dear, but not to worry. I have the perfect meal for you, but remember, same some for mommy too."

Turning her attention to Anne, Darcy's grin grew wider.

"Oh my frog!" Anne choked out at eyeing the creature that was focused on her. "What is that thing?! Never mind! I don't care what it is, I'm not going anywhere near it!"

"And you believe you have a choice Savisa?" Darcy replied with a taunt as she took a step close to Anne, who backed up into the frobot behind her. "Baby has been hungry for quite sometime and it would not be wise to keep her waiting. Hangry is not a good look on her."

"Then let it eat you!" Anne spat as she tried to flee, but was held firmly in place by the frobot. "I'm hardly an appetizer let alone a whole meal!"

Having heard what Anne stated, Darcy's eyes widened, but quickly closed as Darcy laughed a small bit.

"Eat?" Darcy replied with a demented chuckle as she approached Anne, leaving two inches of space between them. "Oh, she won't eat you Savisa. She just wants to get to know you as her new host. Please allow me to explain."

Turning her attention away from Anne, Darcy turned back to the creature that dwelled within the room's walls.

"As you know, we are a collection of Amphibia's greatest minds uploaded into a unified consciousness." Darcy began as she walked up to the wall and placed her right hand on the eye that was closest to her. The eye gently closed as Darcy lightly stroked the eye's lid with her thumb. "Being that we are made up of those who were glorified geniuses past and present, we always felt that something was missing, something that could really make us whole."

Taking her hand away from the eye, the eye reopened and focused its attention on Darcy as she turned back to Anne.

"To become whole, one needs not just a mind, but a heart as well." Darcy continued as she approached Anne once more. "Then a consensus was reached and that is why we chose you, Anne, to join our ranks. That and Marcy's incessant whining."

As she completed that sentence, Darcy rolled her eyes and waved her left hand dismissively.

"I was able to painstakingly recreate the very thing that is in control of this vessel with hopes that once we had the very thing needed to conquer various worlds successfully, our plans would truly be complete!" Darcy proudly finished her explanation. "Now that we have you, we can finally put our plans into motion! Obtaining strength and wit was nothing, but obtaining the heart is everything."

The frobot behind Anne hiccupped, sounding as if it were moved by Darcy's speech.

"Dude, not even." Anne stated with an eye roll, completely unphased by Darcy's speech.

"Shall we begin?" Darcy inquired as she positioned her hands in front of her like she were proudly displaying the creature on the wall. The ground beneath them began shaking and taking a step out of the light circles in the floor, a trap door opened inside the first inner circle as a metal chair arose in front of the three. The chair was placed firmly on the floor as the trap door closed at the feet of the chair.

Before Anne could protest, the frobot escorted the shackled thai teen to the chair, roughly placing her into it. Wrist and ankle locks then emerged from the chair, immediately locking Anne into the seat. Fighting fiercely against her bonds, Anne's hair and eyes quickly flickered between brown and cyan out of fear of what was to take place next. Darcy chuckled at the sight of seeing her prisoner fighting a losing battle.

"Darcy! Let me out of here!" Anne screamed as she continued trying to free her wrists from the chair. "What are you trying to do to me?!"

"Trying?" Darcy mocked as she approached Anne, roughly cupping the teen's chin between the index finger and thumb of her right hand. "Don't be confused my love. It is what I will do to you! Like I said, baby is hungry and it is not wise to keep her waiting!"

The eyes on the wall became a lighter orange as a compartment in the ceiling suddenly opened above Anne. Darcy's grin grew into a twisted smirk at seeing the helmet above Anne's head begin to descend onto the teen. Turning her attention to the ceiling, Anne's eyes changed to the color of her gem as she continued trying to escape the chair.

"It's useless to fight Anne." Darcy continued as the helmet drew closer to Anne. "You gave us your answer to our proposal so there's no turning back. We will keep our end of the bargain to keep everyone you hold dear alive so long as you keep your end to be ours forever."

Firmly gripping the teen's chin once more, Darcy turned Anne's attention back to her as Darcy's thumb landed on Anne's bottom lip while the orange orbs on the helmet caught with the vision of cyan blue.

"Now let's discuss the terms and conditions, shall we?" Darcy eerily requested as the fang in the left corner of her mouth became visible via Darcy's iconic psychotic smile.

Newtopian Castle Dungeon Hall

The bottom of Barrel's Warhammer slammed against the wall of the medium sized prison for the third time as the magenta glow of the amphibian alphabet appeared on the head, rim, and handle of the Warhammer. Grime growled deeply as he looked to the wall for the third time to notice that the hammer did not make even a scratch on the bricks.

"I will have this wall knocked out before you know it!" Grime declared with a heavy pant as he raised the hammer once more, the magenta glow returning to the weapon. The Warhammer slammed into the wall once again as everyone in the cell moved to the other side in the event the bricks shattered from the weapon slamming into it. Olivia, who had her fingers firmly pressed against her temples in frustration, flinched from the sound of the weapon hitting the wall. The sound of Grime panting and declaring everyone's escape further frustrated the newt.

"Grime, it's useless!" Sasha stated to the toad as she rubbed her own temples in frustration. "These walls are made from some sort of reenforced material that is hard to shatter."

"Nothing is too strong for Barrel's Warhammer." Grime declared as he raised the weapon once more. "I just need to find this wall's weakness and we'll be back into the city in no time!"

"For the love of NEWTS!" Olivia shouted, which caught everyone's attention and paused Grime's attempt to shatter the prison wall once again. 'Will you stop slamming that incessant brute of a weapon against that wall?! These walls are made from ancient Newtopian tiles that are indestructible! Nothing will shatter them so PLEASE LOWER YOUR WEAPON!"

Everyone stared at the normally quiet and solemn newt, having never heard her raise her voice or ever display her frustration and was taken back at the fact she did. While Sprig and Polly encountered an angry Olivia once before, this was the first time they have heard the newt become that angry. General Yunan clearing her throat took the attention away from Lady Olivia and to the general.

"Ma'Lady's right." General Yunan chimed in. "All of Newtopia was built with the most indestructible material known to the citizens of the city, especially this castle. While the city is as old as time itself, the maintenance of the city is what helps keep it looking so glorious."

"Well that'll help us with escaping this death trap!" Polly sarcastically stated. "You wanna share any more history lessons to bore us to death with?!"

"That's enough Polly!" Hop Pop scolded the young pollywog. "Your attitude won't help the situation any more than Grime trying to tear down the wall with that ancient mallet."

"It's a war hammer frog!" Grime snidely replied.

"Hey, what about Frobo?" Sprig excited stated which perked Frobo up as well, the decapitated robot's car wheels spinning beneath him. "Maybe he can find the weakness in the wall to get us all out of here! He's stronger than that hammer will ever be!"

"Watch it pink frog!" Grime growled as he turned to Sprig with the hammer, resting the upper half of the handle of the hammer in his right hand as the hammer hummed with magenta energy. "I still have plenty of strikes left in me and I saved one especially for you!"

"Don't you go threatening my grandson with that mallet you big green bully!" Hop Pop stated in defense of Sprig. "You may scare him, but you can't scare me!"

"I've always enjoyed a two for one special." Grime menacingly stated as he then turned his attention to Hop Pop while tightening his grip around the handle of the war hammer.

"Enough you two!" Sasha sternly spoke as she placed herself between Grime and Hop Pop. "We already have enough going on without you two starting a war of your own! Separate corners!"

Grunting in the other's direction, Grime and Hop Pop turned their attention away from the other.

Sasha then walked up to the wall and placed her right hand against the area of the wall Grime struck several times.

"If what Olivia and Yunan are saying is correct, there's no telling if we will escape in time to save everyone, but we can't let this stop us." Sasha confidently stated. "We must rescue the girls, snatch the music box, and defeat Andrias and Darcy!"

"But how if the wall is indestructible?" Hop Pop curiously inquired. "Not even Grime could make a dent in it."

Before Sasha could answer the elder frog, her vision caught with two bright red beamed circles on the wall in front of her. Confused by what she saw, Sasha turned around to see Frobo was charging his eye lasers to try to penetrate the wall of the cell. The wheels beneath him spun with anticipation and encouragement.

"Frobo! Don't ev…" Sasha began, but was cut off as the beams headed towards the wall which made everyone duck to avoid being hit by the high temperature lasers. The beams impacted the wall, but bounced off and began bouncing off the adjacent walls of the cell. The lasers then slammed into the bars of the cell, slicing right through the middle of the four thick bars with ease. The bars to the cell then fell to the floor with a loud clang, which caught everyone's attention as glances were exchanged.

"The walls may be indestructible…" Yunan began as she stood along with Olivia.

"But the bars to the cell weren't." Sasha finished as everyone else got to their feet. "Looks like not everything in Newtopia was built the same."

"Great work Frobs." Polly praised her robot as Frobo closed his eyes and widened his smile at Polly's praise. "Told ya'll he was the bomb."

"Did I ever officially welcome you to the family Frobo?" Sprig excitably stated to the robot.

"Ok, enough chatter everyone." Sasha spoke up. "We can regroup and come up with a new plan once we re-enter the city, but for now lets book it before Darcy's henchmen finds us!"

"Wait! why don't we just go save Anne and Marcy now before we head to the city?" Sprig suggested. "You saw what Frobo did to the bars of this cell. He can help us save Marcy and Anne before we take down Andrias."

"Because Frobo won't be enough to get through Darcy's traps even with the help of the resistance, who already have their hands full with Darcy's army." Sasha calmly replied to Sprig. "And Darcy likely has Anne where we can't reach her while under heavy surveillance. Once we have a better layout of this place, we will know when and where to strike next. We can't afford to make any mistakes as this was already an unexpected setback. Now let's hurry before we're discovered by Darcy or worse, her henchmen."

Without a word or protest from anyone, everyone followed Sasha's lead out of the cell and into the hall. In the ceiling of the hall above the cell where the resistance were being kept, a camouflaged frobot appeared as it's eyes scanned the resistance's body heat signatures….

The Core's Chamber

The helmet above the chair continued descending on Anne as her calamity powers appeared to assist the guardian with escaping, but just as quickly weakened under the core's control. Anne felt herself becoming exhausted with each attempt to fight against her bonds as Darcy observed with a wicked grin.

"Resistance is futile my dear." Darcy calmly stated to Anne as the helmet was a mere two centimeters away from landing on the teen. "Once you become one with the us, you won't have felt a thing. You'll even have forgotten all about those silly childhood friends of yours!"

"You leave my friends out of this you ancient dung beetle!" Anne snapped as she felt her eyelids become heavy from exhaustion, but continued to fight against it. "Sasha and Marcy will always be better than these soulless robots you call your army!"

Running her left index and middle fingers under the girl's chin, Darcy darkly chuckled in response.

"You are so cute when you're angry." Darcy continued chuckling.

Darcy's laughter was suddenly cut short when a voice within the helmet grabbed Darcy's attention. Closing all ten eyes on the helmet, Darcy erupted in a maniacal laugh at what the voice stated to her. Darcy then gathered herself as she turned her attention back to the thai teenager.

"Well, it appears your friends are smarter than I gave them credit for." Darcy stated as the helmet above Anne stopped just mere inches from landing onto her hair. Noticing the helmet was no longer a threat to her, Anne released a heavy sigh of relief. "They may have escaped the castle, but they left behind something very valuable that I know they will return for and when they do."

Placing a hand on each side of her helmet, Darcy removed the contraption with ease as her shoulder length hair gracefully landed in place on her shoulders and her eyes' glowed a brightly muted orange and red. Staring at the hollow shell that was her childhood friend Marcy, Anne felt all color drain from her face as the souls of depraved demons occupying the vessel stared back at her.

"They'll be in for not just one, but two surprises, especially if the price is right." Darcy continued as she placed the helmet under her left arm. "I DO believe it's time to put on one of the best shows Newtopia has ever seen! Don't you agree Savisa?"

A/N: I would really love to thank everyone who gave a kudos/reviews and bookmarked/favorited chapter 1! That kind of support will ensure I continue to crank out quality work for all to enjoy (and keep providing a *cough* distraction from work *cough*). Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter with chapter 3 likely coming at the end of the month into March. Please continue to show your support! Onwards to chapter 3!

Chapter 3: Take My Picture

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Take My Picture (of my Distorted Image)

‘Darcy announced that she will be putting on one of the best shows Newtopia has ever seen! What will that show be exactly and what part will Anne be playing?’

Previously

The Core’s Chamber

The helmet above the chair continued descending on Anne as her calamity powers appeared to assist the guardian with escaping, but just as quickly weakened under the core’s control. Anne felt herself becoming exhausted with each attempt to fight against her bonds as Darcy observed with a wicked grin.

“Resistance is futile my dear.” Darcy calmly stated to Anne as the helmet was a mere two centimeters away from landing on the teen. “Once you become one with the us, you won’t have felt a thing. You’ll even have forgotten all about those silly childhood friends of yours!”

“You leave my friends out of this you ancient dung beetle!” Anne snapped as she felt her eyelids become heavy from exhaustion, but continued to fight against it. “Sasha and Marcy will always be better than these soulless robots you call your army!”

Running her left index and middle fingers under the girl’s chin, Darcy darkly chuckled in response.

“You are so cute when you’re angry.” Darcy continued chuckling.

Darcy’s laughter was suddenly cut short when a voice within the helmet grabbed Darcy’s attention. Closing all ten eyes on the helmet, Darcy erupted in a maniacal laugh at what the voice stated to her. Darcy then gathered herself as she turned her attention back to the thai teenager.

“Well, it appears your friends are smarter than I gave them credit for.” Darcy stated as the helmet above Anne stopped just mere inches from landing onto her hair. Noticing the helmet was no longer a threat to her, Anne released a heavy sigh of relief. “They may have escaped the castle, but they left behind something very valuable that I know they will return for and when they do.”

Placing a hand on each side of her helmet, Darcy removed the contraption with ease as her shoulder length hair gracefully landed in place on her shoulders and her eyes’ glowed a brightly muted orange and red. Staring at the hollow shell that was her childhood friend Marcy, Anne felt all color drain from her face as the souls of depraved demons occupying the vessel stared back at her.

“They’ll be in for not just one, but two surprises, especially if the price is right.” Darcy continued as she placed the helmet under her left arm. “I DO believe it’s time to put on one of the best shows Newtopia has ever seen! Don’t you agree Savisa?”

Currently

Song played: The Veldt by Deadmau5

Angry muted orange and red eyes scanned the document in Darcy’s hands as the core released yet another throaty growl, that being the third since reading the document and those before it. Darcy then released an angry growl as she angrily pulled the document apart and tossed both halves on the floor at her feet, those halves adding to the previous drafts she reviewed.

“What did I just waste my time reading?! Can’t you imbeciles get anything right?!” Darcy screamed as she jumped to her feet while turning to the frobot that stood behind her with a pile of documents in its hands. “That was the most insulting and demeaning coordination plan I have EVER seen! My Savisa deserves the best wedding this pathetic city can provide and that is all you can come up with?!”

The frobot’s eyes blinked green and red in response to Darcy’s frustration and question.

“What do you mean Andrias helped write that plan?” Darcy screamed, her shrill voice reverberating off the walls of her study office. “What would he know about a wedding or even planning one for that matter?! He never knew who his mother was and if she ever met him, she would have seen what a huge disappointment he was to the entire Newtopian Kingdom!”

The frobot’s eyes changed red as a response to Darcy. Darcy then grabbed her hair out of frustration, but just as quickly gathered herself as she ran her right hand through her short raven colored hair. Taking a long deep breath, Darcy turned to the frobot.

“I want you to fine tune those plans and bring me a final draft in ONE HOUR!” Darcy instructed as her muted eyes shined a lighter orange out of anger. “If my bride to be does not have the dream wedding I planned out, I’m turning all of you frobots into scrap metal to light my personal fireplace! And send for Andrias! I need him to answer for that pathetic excuse for a coordination plan!”

The frobot’s eyes changed to green checkmarks as the booster pack in its back fired up, assisting the frobot’s mobility towards and out the door of Darcy’s study. Shortly after requesting his presence, Andrias arrived at Darcy’s study, panting and out of breath as if he ran a marathon to the study. An evil smile crept onto Darcy’s face as she eyed the giant newt.

“Well, well, well.” Darcy began as kept her eyes on the giant newt. “Look what the swamp dragged in.”

“You called my lord?” Andrias inquired as he did his best to gather himself to look presentable.

“Why yes, but first, why are you sweating and out of breath?” Darcy inquired as she watched the Newt get to one knee to bow to Darcy while still trying to catch his breath.

“I was doing my very best to keep your betrothed in her quarters my lord.” Andrias answered as he met with Darcy’s sinister vision. “She insisted on escaping and I did all I could to keep her where you wanted her to be.”

Inhaling a deep breath so to keep from losing her cool on the newt, Darcy closed her eyes and pinched the edge of her nose in frustration.

“How could you possibly lose a 13-year-old who is no taller than I am?!” Darcy inquired through gritted teeth as she opened her eyes and looked down at Andrias. “How?”

“My lord, she has a lot more energy than she appeared to have.” Andrias confidently answered as he rubbed his left elbow with his right hand, trying to calm the area where Anne attacked him, giving the giant newt the blow of his lifetime. “And when she is upset, she is uncontrollable. Tiny, but angry and certainly uncontrollable.”

“Speaking of uncontrollable, would you mind answering for that sorry excuse of a wedding plan I just wasted two minutes of my life reading?” Darcy inquired as Andrias got to his feet while not breaking eye contact with Darcy.

“That, my lord, was a plan I wrote based on a chapter in the book of the new Cynthia Coven novel.” Andrias giggled as he recalled the intricate details of the chapter that he reads night after night. “That plan made her so happy when she walked down the aisle to her beloved. I figured you would like to have that for your bride to be.”

Darcy then clenched her teeth and grinded them together as her anger began bubbling to the surface.

“That trash you call reading will never find it’s way into MY wedding plans!” Darcy barked as she hastily picked up the torn plans from the floor, gripped them in her fists, and angrily shook them in Andrias’s vision. “Wake up you pathetic excuse for a king and get with the program! I want an unforgettable ceremony! Not some slop you call leisurely reading!”

Darcy’s eyes then glowed a bright orange as Andrias’s father came forward.

“You’ve been nothing but a disappointment to all of us Andrias.” Andrias’s father’s voice spoke from Darcy’s lips, which made Andrias flinch at the sound of his father’s baritone voice. “But if you want to redeem yourself, you will listen very closely to what I’m about to say and you cannot afford any missteps.”

Andrias swallowed the lump in his throat as he listened intently to his father’s next words.

Castle Hallway

Having gotten away from the chambers Darcy requested Anne be placed in, the thai teen ran down a dimly lit hall with hopes of finding her way out of the castle. From Anne’s POV, the further down the hall she traveled, the longer and darker the hall became. Despair and defeat was beginning to creep into the teen’s mind, but her determination to escape the castle before Darcy could enact any of her promised plans kept Anne moving. She wanted no part of Darcy and escaping was certainly going to make that statement!

“I didn’t think this castle would be this big!” Anne whispered in a huff of frustration as she leaned into the crook of the hall she was in as a frobot flew by, having been given the instructions by Darcy to find Anne at any cost. “I have to get out of here and find everyone!”

Looking both ways to ensure the path was clear to continue, Anne took three steps forward and leaned her back against a door to try to formulate a quick plan of escape. Placing her left hand on the lower corner of the door, that area of the door lit up in gold with the barrier opening behind the teen with a soft whir, causing Anne to stumble backwards into the room. Falling onto her back rather roughly, the door slid shut and encased the teen in the room that was completely pitch black. Sitting up into the seated position, Anne blinked to adjust her vision in the dark room as she looked around.

“Man, what is with this place and darkness?” Anne spat in frustration as she got to her feet and dusted herself off. “And to be a variation of Marcy, I’m surprised Marcy isn’t trying to take over and put a light in every room.”

Continuing to look around the room, a chill quickly ran up Anne’s spine as the room slowly lit up in a muted orange nearly paralyzing the teen with fear. Whispers mixed with evil chuckles quickly filled the room, further spiking the rising fear in the thai teen as she looked cautiously around the dimly lit room. The whispering voices around Anne became clearer in their dialogue, one sentence came in clear that caused the teen’s ears to prick up.

“We’ve been waiting for you Anne Boonchuy!”

Feeling the fear taking over to the point of shaking, Anne did her level best to push the fear back and not let the scent become evident to what was surrounding her.

“M..me?” Anne questioned as she spoke back to the voice in a shaky tone. “W..why me?”

“You are our salvation Anne!” That particular voice eerily paralleled Aldrich Leviathan’s deep baritone voice. “Save us from her!”

Beads of sweat formed on the teen’s face, the fear she tried so hard to stifle quickly bubbled to the surface.

“Save you?” Anne continued fumbling over her words. “Save you from what? Darcy is harmless!”

Anne nervously laughed, trying to quickly dismiss what she stated regarding the terror that was plaguing the newtopian castle at current. Darcy? harmless? Was she actually convinced of that herself?

Another voice chimed in that caught Anne’s attention as the girl whipped her to behind her.

“We want you to lead us!” The voice spoke. “You are the one we’ve been waiting for! You are the chosen one!”

“You know I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.” Anne stammered to the voice. “It would be nice if I could just take a break from saving the world just once.”

The floor to the room began shaking uncontrollably as the right wall of the room lit up with ten large, muted orange eyes appearing. The eyes focused on Anne as the teen quickly took three steps back from the wall. The inaudible voices spoke quicker and louder to each other around Anne as she looked to the eyes on the wall. Cyan blue met with muted orange as an image appeared in the pupil of the biggest eye on the wall that caused Anne’s pupils to shrink to tiny cyan dots at who the image portrayed. Anne’s cyan powers appeared and swirled around her feet as she looked closer into the biggest eye on the wall. The image was of Anne wearing a black outfit with matching low-heeled boots. Black leggings that ran up the side of her upper outer thighs while covering the entire leg starting above her knees down; black lower leg plates similar to Darcy’s that connected to her boots; black arm sleeves that covered her arms down to the back of both of her hands; a halter top that covered her upper body; a black cutout that covered her belly that flowed into the cape of the outfit that hugged her hips, and a black choker around her neck. Finally, on her head was a crown like Darcy’s helmet with a single muted orange eye in the middle with two protruding horns on both sides of the crown. The teen’s hair was tied into a high ponytail as her eyes shined the color of Darcy’s, a mischievous smirk on her face as the image looked down to Anne.

Anne felt her heart began to race as she took in the image that was her submitted to the core, the darkness in her heart explored, and the outcome being who she was seeing before her. The thai teen began to feel lightheaded as the image gazed upon her and she gazed back in horror, her powers quickly de-escalating.

“This is your destiny Anne Savisa Boonchuy!” The image of Anne spoke to the teen, further frightening her as Anne shook her head furiously. “Embrace the darkness within you like Darcy has! Who says there must only be one queen of Newtopia?”

“NO!” Anne shouted back to the dark image of herself. “I AM NOTHING LIKE DARCY AND I WILL BE NOTHING LIKE YOU!”

The image broke into hysterical laughter as dark Anne placed her hands on her hips and threw her head back as she continued to laugh manically. Her laughter slowed down as dark Anne looked to the original once more, her muted orange eyes shining brighter as their gazes locked.

“There is no escape!” Dark Anne spoke cynically to Anne. “Once you embrace who you are, you will never turn back and those childhood friends of yours will never look at you the same! Who will need them anyway when you will have unlimited power at your fingertips!”

The light-headed feeling continued as Anne fell to her knees, feeling as if the wind was knocked out of her. The teen began trying to catch her breath as with each breath she took, two to three more escaped her lungs just as quickly. The eyes on the wall blinked simultaneously with the image of dark Anne appearing in the pupil of all ten of the eyes as they spoke to her simultaneously.

“Your destiny.”

“No escape!”

“The darkness in your heart is hungry! Embrace the darkness Anne!”

“Join us!”

“This is your home!”

Hearing those images speak to her, Anne felt her fear consuming her entirely. No matter how hard she wanted to fight back, she knew she would lose to herself in a matter of seconds. Closing her eyes, tears began to escape as Anne felt her body shaking from overwhelming fear and anger at seeing what Darcy wanted her to become. Heartless, power hungry, cold, lonely, controlling, and deceiving just like every being that was cumulative of the core!

“No, I won’t become like you!” Anne choked through gritted teeth as she clenched her hands into fists, tears continuing to pour out of her eyes and onto her hands and wrists. “I won’t become like her!”

“Once you embrace your destiny, you will embrace your future!” The image of dark Anne in the largest eye on the wall spoke as her grin grew wider. “See you on the other side!”

Dark Anne crossed her arms across her chest as she began laughing manically. The beast within the wall closed its eyes as the door to the room suddenly whirred open. The dim light from the hall poured into the dark room along with Darcy, who placed her helmet back on. Staring at the trembling teen in the middle of the floor, Darcy’s smirk grew wider as she approached Anne from the right. Having heard the menacing maniac’s footsteps approaching, Anne did not bother to look up to see the look Darcy had on her face, the look she always had when she was able to break someone’s spirits.

“G…go away.” Anne stammered as she slightly glanced to her right to see Darcy’s left boot not too far from her right wrist.

“My dear, I have been searching all over for you.” Darcy sang in a faux concerned tone. “The last place I expected you to be was here. The quarters I placed you in are way nicer than in here. Any reason why you did not want to be in there instead?”

Anne turned her vision back to the ground, not bothering to exchange words with Darcy. Darcy stood in silence as Anne’s body trembled once more as hot tears streamed down her cheeks, the image of herself in core form played back in her mind.

“Is…is that what you really want?” Anne finally spoke as Darcy’s ears perked up. “Is what I saw what you really want from me?”

“I have no idea what you speak of dear.” Darcy calmly replied, doing her best to hide the cynical smile that was trying its best to creep onto the hivemind’s face at Anne’s discovery. “I only want a life with you and if that is what you mean, then yes.”

Anne’s residual fear quickly turned to anger as she shot to her feet. Anne’s cyan powers were summoned as her eyes and hair changed to the color of her gem. Branches and leaves protruded from her cyan hair, indicating that her powers were at peak levels. Clenching her fists tighter, cyan flames surrounded Anne’s fists as she locked glances with Darcy. Seeing the sickening smirk on the face of what used to be one of her best friends, now possessed by depraved souls, further pushed the teen’s anger over the edge! It’s one thing to hold her hostage, but to lie to her face was something she was not going to stand for!

“Temper, temper my love.” Darcy happily sang as Anne shot death daggers in her direction. “We did discuss this.”

“You planted that image for me to find, didn’t you?” Anne demanded as she approached Darcy. “DIDN’T YOU?!”

“Anne, please calm down.” Darcy continued to speak to the enraged teen. “Such behavior is not becoming of a future queen.”

With no words spoken and tired of hearing Darcy’s voice, Anne raised her right fist and swung it in Darcy’s direction. Before her fist could hit Darcy, the supercomputer caught the teen’s fist without flinching and tightly closed her hand around it. Feeling the core tightly holding her fist in her left hand, Anne tried to pull her fist away, but couldn’t.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk Anne.” Darcy nonchalantly spoke as she tightened her grip on Anne’s fist. Muted orange and red flames then encased Darcy’s hand and Anne’s fist, the thai teen feeling the immediate sting of the flames on her compressed skin. Anne felt her knuckles beginning to scrape together under Darcy’s death grip, further exacerbated by the intense heat of Darcy’s defenses. “Do you think that was such a smart move?”

The sound of bones cracking was heard as Anne was brought to her knees, her powers de-escalating by the second as Darcy continued to tighten her grip on Anne’s fist.

“We should be able to speak to one another without demonstrating violence, don’t ya think?” Darcy continued as she further tightened her grip on Anne’s hand, the knuckles in the thai teen’s hand continuing to crack under the pressure. “If we’re going to live in this glorious castle together forever, we need to be able to communicate am I right?”

Anne was completely back to normal as her powers fizzled out. Due to the supercomputer’s strength and defenses, Anne was quickly weakened and could not defend herself. Being at the hivemind’s mercy was the last thing she wanted or needed!

Releasing the teen’s fist, Darcy sternly looked down at Anne who began nursing her right hand in her left. Seeing her victim broken and helpless before her was always a delightful view for Darcy.

“Alright, we’ve wasted enough time.” Darcy calmly, but sternly spoke. “We have a glorious performance to put on for all of Newtopia and lucky for you, you are the shining star that will be center stage.”

Looking up to Darcy, Anne’s teary eyes caught with the vision of ten muted orange eyes as Darcy extended her right hand for Anne to take. Looking to the computer’s hand, Anne looked between it and Darcy with caution.

“I promise I won’t bite this time.” Darcy smirked as she continued holding out her right hand for Anne to take.

Feeling defeated at the hands of her captor, Anne slowly extended her left hand and placed it into Darcy’s right as the hivemind helped Anne to her feet. Pulling the teen against her, Darcy’s eyes immediately fell to Anne’s lips, but just as quickly caught back with her vision.

“You’re shaking badly Savisa.” Darcy stated in a loud whisper as she loosened her grip on Anne just a hair. “Come, lets get you into something more comfortable so you’ll be ready to perform.”

No words were spoken between the pair as Darcy escorted Anne out of the dark room and back into the hallway. A frobot passed the pair in the background as it carefully carried a burgundy pillow with one big and two small control collars sitting atop it….

A/N: My apologies for the wait on this chapter. Life has been very interesting to say the least this past month, but hopefully the wait was worth it and see you all next chapter!

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Newtopian Wedding Bells from Hell!

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: Newtopian Wedding Bells from Hell!

Alternate title: Welcome to My Twisted Reality!

'Anne viewed a possible image of her future, a manipulation tactic of the core's to break the guardian's spirits. Will such a discovery stop Darcy's plans for the greatest show in Newtopia? What will Anne's role be as the star of the show?'

Previously

Anne was completely back to normal as her powers fizzled out. Due to the supercomputer's strength and defenses, Anne was quickly weakened and could not defend herself. Being at the hivemind's mercy was the last thing she wanted or needed!

Releasing the teen's fist, Darcy sternly looked down at Anne who began nursing her right hand in her left. Seeing her victim broken and helpless before her was always a delightful view for Darcy.

"Alright, we've wasted enough time." Darcy calmly, but sternly spoke. "We have a glorious performance to put on for all of Newtopia and lucky for you, you are the shining star that will be center stage."

Looking up to Darcy, Anne's teary eyes caught with the vision of ten muted orange eyes as Darcy extended her right hand for Anne to take. Looking to the computer's hand, Anne looked between it and Darcy with caution.

"I promise I won't bite this time." Darcy smirked as she continued holding out her right hand for Anne to take.

Feeling defeated at the hands of her captor, Anne slowly extended her left hand and placed it into Darcy's right as the hivemind helped Anne to her feet. Pulling the teen against her, Darcy's eyes immediately fell to Anne's lips, but just as quickly caught back with her vision.

"You're shaking badly Savisa." Darcy stated in a loud whisper as she loosened her grip on Anne just a hair. "Come, lets get you into something more comfortable so you'll be ready to perform."

Currently

Song played: Falling Away by Seven Lions feat. Lights (Festival Remix)

Fungi Forest (Midpoint between Wartwood and Newtopia)

Having escaped Darcy's floating fortress, the remaining resistance members arrived to their satellite base in Fungi Forest to regroup. From Sasha to Hopidiah Plantar, the resistance members ran a distance to evade further capture by Darcy's army and were out of breath. Grime, Polly, Sprig, Olivia, and Yunan collapsed to the lush green grass beneath them as they continued trying to catch their breath from the marathon they endured.

"Tell me why we did not think to call Joe or Domino II to fly us out here?!" Grime gripped as he continued trying to catch his breath. "It would have made getting out here that much easier!"

"We couldn't risk losing our only method of air travel Grime." Sasha calmly stated as she sat down while continuing to catch her breath. "Had we taken Joe or Domino 2, Darcy would have disabled a critical part of our plan to make our way back to the castle to rescue Anne. Saving her from Darcy's clutches is our main priority right now and we can't afford to make any mistakes."

"It still wouldn't have been a bad idea though." Polly quipped as she inhaled, having fully caught her breath. "I had no idea how much maintenance these legs require and don't know how any of you manage."

"They're just legs Polly, not coppers." Sprig huffed as he collapsed to the ground next to Olivia.

"Well she does have a point Sprig." Hop pop chimed as he fell to his knees while rubbing his back. "These ol' legs of mine aren't what they used to be."

"This is what we get for traveling with frogs!" Grime mumbled under his breath.

"Running from a challenge has never been my style!" General Yunan griped as her adamantium claws extended from the knuckles of her gloves at the thought of Darcy's smug expression. "If I had one good shot at Darcy, I'd rip her to shreds in a matter of seconds!"

Having heard Yunnan's statement concerning Darcy, Sasha quickly became angry at the Newt as she turned to her, Yunan knowing exactly who Darcy was underneath the armor. A young naive girl who made a mistake out of panic and already paid the price when she was stabbed through the chest by Andrias and possibly rejected by her best friends when the truth came out concerning stranding them in Amphibia purposely. The mere thought of Marcy enduring yet another beating, mental or physical, was a thought Sasha could not process despite her own feelings about the situation. Getting to her feet, Sasha tightly clenched her fists as she narrowed her eyes at the newt.

"And what would that solve huh?!" Sasha snapped at Yunan, grabbing the young newt by surprise. "You'd be hurting someone who has no more control over this than any of us! You were there when Marcy was possessed by that thing and now you want to rip her a part for something other souls are making her do to us?! She's trapped, scared, and can't control anything that maniac Darcy throws at us! Yes, I'm just as upset about this as any of you, but I'm willing to save Marcy from this, not put her through more torture than she's already enduring! Wasn't seeing her nearly killed in front of us enough?!"

"Yes commander, but-" Yunan began stammering, but was abruptly cut off by Sasha's continued rant.

"As a general of one of the most noble lands of Amphibia, your job is to protect and serve, but you are only serving your own selfish interests!" Sasha continued as she squinted her eyes and turned away from the crowd. "Some general you turned out to be and if I could, I'd strip you of your title in a heartbeat!"

Roughly releasing a restricted breath, Sasha then stormed through the door of the satellite base as the old wooden door slammed behind her. Everyone exchanged shocked glances, unsure of how to proceed after their commander's outburst.

"Oh dear." Olivia spoke, barely above a whisper. To that point, Olivia has never seen Sasha that upset before.

Grime cleared his throat and climbed to his feet. If anyone knew how to calm down the blonde bombshell hothead, it was her toad father himself.

"I'll go run damage control." Grime stated as he broke the tension among the group.

The toad's footsteps walked through the door of the base as the old wooden door creaked open. Looking ahead of him to the strategy table in the middle of the room sat Sasha, as she gazed at the picture of her two best friends in silence. The maps and plans that were normally laid across the surface of the table were neatly rolled up and stacked in front of the commander. Taking steps away from the door, Grime's footsteps halted as the blonde spoke up.

"Before you even say it, I was wrong for what I said to Yunan." Sasha spoke as she kept her eyes glued to the picture of her two friends. "I shouldn't have never snapped at her like that."

"Well." Grime began as he approached the table and took a seat next to his daughter. "In her defense, she was speaking in general terms regarding the situation, not particularly towards Marcy."

"And I know that, but poor Marcy." Sasha continued as she turned to Grime, tears beginning to surface. "She didn't ask for this, none of us did, but here we are. Darcy is the monster controlling all of this and poor Marcy has no say in what took place, she still doesn't."

Sasha wiped her tears away as tried gathering herself.

"I know what Marcy did was wrong when she stranded us here because she didn't want to move away from Anne and I." Sasha continued. "But she paid for it ok? She was stabbed through the chest, she was nearly killed in front of us, and she was possessed! I can't imagine what she was thinking or feeling when all of that happened, but Marcy does and I know she would tell us how sorry she is for everything if given the chance again. I just don't want her to suffer any more than she already has."

"Trust me Sasha, I do understand where you are coming from and none of us likes this anymore than you do." Grime stated in a calming tone. "But we must focus on the task at hand which is to save Anne and put an end to the Andrias/Darcy reign once and for all. Even if it means ripping out a few guts/intestines if need be and maybe use them as party streamers once this is all over."

Grime's ending statement brought a small smile to the blonde's face as she wiped away more tears.

"I'll even save the biggest one for you." Grime chuckled a bit as Sasha's smile grew wider. Sasha playfully shoved Grime as she chuckled louder at her father's statement. "Here's looking at you Andrias!"

"Only you Grimesy." Sasha continued smiling. Turning back to the picture of the trio grasped in her right hand, Sasha's smile fell as her thoughts returned to the controversy surrounding the three.

"I failed them didn't I Grime?" Sasha sadly inquired. "I tried so hard to control every aspect of our friendship, especially with Anne. I tried so hard to control her and was such a horrible friend to her. And Marcy…"

Tears surfaced in Sasha's eyes once more.

"I failed to even notice her as a person let alone a friend." Sasha continued as she wiped her eyes once more. "All of her interests, the weird things she would say and do, and how she was fascinated with everything. Because I couldn't see past what my parents didn't give me, I failed to give it to her and Anne. Maybe this is how it should be, maybe I should be alone because I certainly was not a good person to them."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say that now." Grime continued in a nurturing tone. "You have all made mistakes, true, but you all have grown as well while being here, especially you. When I met you, I was just a bully in a tower that sought control at every turn, but you came along and made me a better toad. I learned from you how to obtain support, respect, and appreciation from others that would later foster respect and admiration, not to mention a large following. I have come to see you as my own daughter who I had the pleasure of seeing grow up into who she is now, but is also someone I won't hesitate to correct if I have to."

A small smile crept across Sasha's face as she turned to her toad father, the only parental figure who accepted Sasha for the good and the bad. Grime has been more of a father figure to her than her own father in her perspective.

"As cliché as this sounds." Grime continued as he cleared his throat. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You three will find a way to turn this around and I have the utmost confidence in you, lieutenant, that you will lead the way."

"Thanks dad." Sasha calmly replied as she leaned over on Grime's shoulder while releasing the sigh she felt she had held in for quite some time. "Did I ever tell you what a big softie you were?"

Just as Grime opened his mouth to reply to the blonde, a startling explosion broke the mindful calm within the base and shook the two out of their peaceful father-daughter moment. Another explosion immediately followed on the heels of the first that forced Sasha and Grime to take refuge on the floor for safety, the large toad using his body to cover the blonde for protection.

"Take cover!" Grime screamed as both covered their heads as parts of the bamboo and cement ceiling fell down around them.

"Darcy must have found us!" Sasha yelled as another explosion sounded outside the base.

"This forest is technically not on the Amphibian map!" Grime replied as he continued shielding Sasha to protect her as the ceiling continued falling around the two. "How was it detected?"

"This is Amphibia!" Sasha sighed in annoyance at her peaceful moment being ruined. "Is that even a question?!"

The door to the base suddenly flung open as the remainder of the resistance ran inside to take cover. Yunan, who was the last to come in and whose right-hand claws were dug into the chest of a frobot, sliced the robot in half and roundhouse kicked the remains outside of the base.

"And stay out!" Yunan shouted as she slammed the door to the base.

"That was a close one!" Hop pop panted as he flopped to the floor amongst the rubble. "I thought we were goners for sure!"

"What the heck is going on out there?!" Sasha inquired rather loudly as she climbed to her feet while helping Grime up. Another explosion sounded as the group huddled together.

"Darcy's army that's what!" Polly screamed as she flailed her arms around. "We were by the lake fishing when all of the frobots arrived and started shooting at us!"

"Good call Lieutenant." Grime proudly stated to Sasha as he dusted off himself and his cape off.

"Don't thank me just yet." Sasha huffed as she grabbed her dual wielding swords and spun them in preparation to strike. "How many are left and was anyone hurt?"

Before anyone could answer the blonde, the door to the base was blasted open with a slew of frobots quickly entering and surrounding the group.

"That many." Olivia choked out as she placed her back against Yunan's. Polly and Sprig pulled out their weapons as they stood back to back ready to fight the incoming invaders.

Eying the robots and mentally counting off the tin steels around them, Sasha cracked a grin.

"Looks like we're breaking even." Sasha smirked wider as she spun her swords once more. "Alright everyone, initiate attack plan Blow Back!"

"I highly recommend you cease fire." Darcy's deranged voice rang out, sending a chill down everyone's spine. The frobots that stood in the dilapidated doorway of the base parted down the middle as a helmetless Darcy calmly waltzed into the base with her arms behind her back beneath her cape as her muted orange eyes caught with the blazing blue orbs of the blonde. "I come in peace."

"You've got mere seconds to state your peace or you'll be resting in it!" Sasha growled as her grin quickly changed to a menacing frown.

"My, my, my, aren't we hostile." Darcy darkly chuckled as she stopped two feet from the group, her eyes scanning every member as her expression changed to playfully hurt. "What a shame. I was expecting a souvenir to return to my beloved as proof that I kept my promise."

"Spit it out Darcy!" Sasha roared as took a step towards the dictator, but Grime grabbing her right arm stopped her in her tracks.

"I see my army didn't do the best job in cordially inviting you the greatest show Newtopia has ever seen." Darcy brightly stated as her expression quickly changed to menacing, her words brimming with venom. "So you can give your final farewells to Anne so she will never have to look at the likes of any of you ever again!"

Sasha felt her temper and blood pressure rush to the surface as she broke free from Grime's hold and lunged towards the menacingly grinning supercomputer. Darcy stood completely still as Sasha swiftly swung her right sword from left to right towards Darcy, the sword positioned to slice crosswise through Darcy's abdomen. The sword easily passed through Darcy as the image of her slightly glitched. Taking notice of the girl glitching, Sasha found herself in shock, but quickly overcame it. Growling once more, Sasha swung her left sword crosswise through Darcy while the girl giggled.

"Please stop." Darcy playfully pleaded. "You're tickling me."

"Hence why I held you back." Grime croaked as Sasha stepped back next to her father while trying to catch her breath.

"So I am cordially inviting you all to the beautiful and unforgettable nuptials of myself and Anne." Darcy stated as she flung her right hand into the air. "Be there or not. The choice is yours. Byyyeee!"

The image of Darcy then blinked out as the frobots closed the gap that was made for Darcy's entrance.

"Grime, Sprig, Hop-pop, Polly, grab as many boom shrooms as you can carry." Sasha instructed as she kept her vision locked to where Darcy stood. "We've got a wedding to crash!"

Newtopian Castle (Anne's Chambers)

The thai teen flinched as the thick bristled brush was roughly passed through her thick curls once more. Anne's teeth ground together as the frobot continued gathering her hair into a high ponytail.

"Any rougher and you'll be pulling my head and neck into that ponytail!" Anne snapped at the frobot as he tied the hairband around the teen's hair to secure the ponytail into place. Just as Anne turned to her vanity's mirror, a collage of blue flowers formed into a flower crown was roughly placed on the teen's head.

"Gee thanks for the final touches." Anne cracked to the frobot as it turned and left her chambers.

Taking in the image of herself, a sense of dread fell over the teen. Dressed in an ice blue Thai laro-sarong khmer wedding dress that matched the bindi on her forehead and ice blue floral under garment that was easily shown above the waistline of the dress, Anne's vision shot to the bustled bracelet on her left wrist before shooting back to the mirror in front of her. An overwhelming urge to cry hit the teen, but just as quickly rescinded. Teens her age were going to the mall, hanging out with friends, blowing their allowances on junk food and clothes, and talking back to their parents, but not this teen. This teen was getting ready to spend the rest of her life imprisoned to a computer that possessed her best friend and nearly possessed her. What she wouldn't give to be able to do what normal teens do in place of her current situation.

The feeling of dread was suddenly replaced with the determination and the idea of trying to reach Marcy during the ceremony as after all, Marcy would be standing up there with her so what better time to try and deescalate the situation despite how far in they both were?

Anne was suddenly snapped out of her train of thought when the large wooden doors to her room swung open, a black frobot entering to meet the girl.

"It's time." The frobot croaked as it gestured to Anne to leave her chambers.

"You guys don't know anything about privacy or knocking do you?" Anne quipped as she stood from her vanity and turned around to the open doors behind her, her eyes meeting with the darkness in the hallway. Inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, Anne began towards the doors with the determination to bring her friend back to her and Sasha.

"Hang in there Marcy." Anne stated to herself as she entered the hallway. "I'm going to get you out of there if it's the last thing I do."

Taking notice of the girl, the frobot in the hallway swooped in front of Anne causing her to stop in her tracks. The frobot's eyes clicked to green checkmarks as it turned it's back to Anne with the gesture to follow in it's tracks. The frobot traveled down the long winding hallway to a set of double doors that were decorated beautifully in blue and orange ribbons. Within minutes, the doors were flung open by another set of frobots to a scene that would forever burn in Anne's memory.

The ceiling of the room was decorated with blue and orange ribbons and running along the walls were the mechanical tentacles that Darcy utilized to outfit the castle. On the floor was a black and orange runner that led to the other side of the room that led to the alter where Andrias stood holding an ancient Newtopian book with the amphibian alphabet written on the cover. Standing not too far from him was Darcy who had a frobot standing behind her holding the ring pillow. On the wrist of Darcy's right hand was a glowing fuchsia chain that was attached to the big control collar that sat atop the ring pillow.

"Ah! There she is." Darcy spoke as she cracked a wide grin at the nervous thai teen. "Welcome my love."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Anne began walking into the room slowly, unsure of what lied ahead of her with Andrias and Darcy involved. Darcy she was sure of, but with Andrias involved, she did not want to know! Taking a shaky step onto the runner, the double doors were immediately shut behind Anne, nearly making the teen jump out of her skin. Inhaling a breath to regain her composure, Anne walked down the aisle as her mind began scrambling for what she would say to Darcy to reach Marcy. Reaching the end of the runner, Anne stood a foot away from Darcy as her eyes caught with what the frobot was holding onto.

"Glad you could join us Savisa." Darcy stated as she slid closer to Anne. "And here I thought you got cold feet for as long as it took you to get here."

Anne ignored Darcy's statement and turned her attention to Andrias.

"Citizens of Newtopia! We are gathered here today to join this ruler and future queen in holy matrimony!" Andrias began the ceremony with a booming voice. "If anyone objects to this union, please speak now or forever hold your peace."

Andrias as well as Darcy and Anne looked amongst the crowd of terrified newtopian faces to hear who may or may not object to the forced union. The full room was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

"Or forever rest in it." Andrias cracked as the three continued looking amongst the crowd before Anne and Darcy turned back to Andrias.

"Thank you Andrias." Darcy then stated as she turned to her crestfallen betrothed. "I can take it from here. Shall we continue, my queen?"

"Listen Marcy!" Anne began speaking as quickly as she could before she was interrupted by Darcy or Andrias. "I know you're in there and can hear me! You can put a stop to…"

The clanking of the frobot's feet/armor was heard approaching the two at the altar, which quickly halted Anne's thought. Anne swirled around to find the robot holding the pillow with three control collars sitting on it, the biggest one standing out like a sore thumb. The blue calamity warrior grimaced at the sight of the "rings".

"Are those supposed to be the rings?" Anne questioned as she felt her stomach leap into her throat.

"That, my dear, depends on you." Darcy casually stated as she gestured to the frobot. "Wait until you to see the reception. You are going to have a gas of a time!"

"I REALLY don't like the sound of that." Anne stated as her eyes remained glued to ring pillow.

"Oh you'll love it Savisa and I'll make sure of that." Darcy continued as a creepy smile crept onto her face that made the guardian take a step back from her.

"Let us continue." Andrias continued as he opened the book in his hands. "Darcy, do you take…"

Andrias's thought was cut short by Darcy quickly speaking up.

"Since no one has the guts to object, I take Savisa as my wife, life partner, and most of all, my second in command." Darcy spoke rather quickly. "And Savisa takes me, Darcy, as her master and life partner who she shall serve without any objections, rejections, and recourse on her behalf! She will serve me and ONLY me so long as she lives!"

"Wait a minute, I didn't…" Anne began, but was cut off by Darcy slapping on the big control collar around her neck and just as quickly, the small control collars on her wrists. A chain appears between the two shackles on her wrists, linking both together.

"I may now kiss my Savisa! I DO!" Darcy happily screamed as she yanked on the chain attached to her wrist to pull Anne closer and slammed her lips onto the thai teen's lips. While the lips pressed against hers were Marcy's, the kiss would have been more enjoyable if she weren't kissing a ton of depraved souls living within her best friend's body and she were ACTUALLY kissing Marcy! Feeling Anne pushing her away, Darcy ended the kiss and caught sight of her new wife wiping the kiss from her lips.

Giggling at the sight of Anne wiping her mouth as if she ingested poison, the eyes of Darcy's helmet lit up, informing the ruler that intruders were on the castle's premises. A dark smile formed on Darcy's face at the announcement.

"Well, well, well, we have company." Darcy eerily spoke as she turned to Andrias. "Looks like we have a bit of an announcement to make to our well wishers."

A/N: Sorry for the wait for this chapter. Writing Sasha's area took longer than anticipated as she seems to be harder to write about then Darcy and Anne. Plus the month of May is always a busy month for me. Birthdays, my wedding anniversary, more birthdays, birthdays until the last day, etc. I'm going to try to have chapter 5 out sooner than July, but don't quote me on it. In addition, the end of this chapter's scene can be found on my DeviantArt's page labeled "Wedding in Amphibia".

Chapter 5: The Honeymoon Begins...?

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: The Honeymoon Begins….?

Alternate Title: Everything Goes On!

"Its official! Anne and Darcy are officially unified, but just how long will this union last? What will Anne's true fate be now that she and Darcy are an item?"

Previously

"Oh you'll love it Savisa and I'll make sure of that." Darcy continued as a creepy smile crept onto her face that made the guardian take a step back from her.

"Let us continue." Andrias continued as he opened the book in his hands. "Darcy, do you take…"

Andrias's thought was cut short by Darcy quickly speaking up.

"Wait a minute, I didn't…" Anne began, but was cut off by Darcy slapping on the big control collar around her neck and just as quickly, the small control collars on her wrists. A chain appeared between the two shackles on her wrists and linked both together.

"Well, well, well, we have company." Darcy eerily spoke as she turned to Andrias. "Looks like we have a bit of an announcement to make to our well wishers."

Currently

Song Played: Everything Goes On by Porter Robinson feat The League of Legends

Boonchuy Residence 1 year ago at a sleep over

The window facing out onto the street was open as the warm night air seeped into the room with a hint of humidity. The full moon was shining above with its beams lighting up the clear night sky. The open window led into the room of Anne Boonchuy, Los Angele's most well-known athlete. The movie War of the Warlocks was playing on her small twenty-inch tv screen as popcorn was splayed about on the blue carpet by the bed. Domino was asleep next to the empty bowl, having stolen a few kernels after the popped corn spilled from the bowl.

Giggles rang out in the room that caught with Domino's sensitive ears while Marcy and Anne were laid about in Anne's bed as Marcy regaled Anne with tales of her week in school. Anne listened intently as she hung onto Marcy's every word, a slight blush crossed her cheeks as she continued listening to the girl.

"So the chess captain had to correct the new comer who thought that the bishops on the chess board were the most important piece in the game." Marcy continued with excitement in her voice. "That rookie found out that the most important part was the Queen! I mean who doesn't know that? Ah.. rookies am I right?"

With her face propped up in the cusp of her right hand as her elbow rested on the pillow beneath her, Anne continued listening to Marcy with her words going in one ear and out the other. Anne was mostly focused on the girl in front of her, her facial features, the pitch in her voice, the way she gestured her hands when speaking. Staring into the girl's black/hazel orbs as she continued rattling on about the chess club, Anne felt herself becoming enthralled by the sight of her best friend, a feeling arising within her that she felt before, but was easily able to ignore. The feeling felt much more intense in that moment, which made pushing that feeling away that much harder that time around.

"So I sat back and watched the match while the rookie continued trying to use pieces that could not move on the board so easily." Marcy continued as she laid on her back, continuing her story while waving her hands to express herself. "I felt so bad for that poor kid and I wanted to help him so badly, but rules are rules. First rule of Chess club, know the rules of Chess Club."

Not hearing a word from the thai teen upon finishing her story, Marcy looked over at Anne, who was staring intensely at the Taiwanese girl. Sitting up in confusion, Marcy slowly waved her hand in front of Anne's face to get the girl's attention.

"Anne." Marcy called out to her friend as she snapped her fingers in the thai's face. "Hey Anne, is anyone home?"

Hearing the snapping, Anne came back to earth as she blinked her eyes and refocused her vision on Marcy.

"Hey, you ok there?" Marcy inquired curiously. "You haven't said a word about what I told you. Normally you'd have a come back of some sort."

"Um yea." Anne nervously spoke as she turned away, a deep blush spreading quickly across the girl's face. "Just got lost in your story for a minute."

"Oh, ok." Marcy nervously chuckled as she looked away from her best friend and to the ceiling of the bedroom. "You know what Anne, I've always found speaking to you about these things very easy. I feel like I can never share my stories with Sasha without her ignoring me and saying what I'm talking about isn't important. She does that a lot and while I never tell her this, that really bothers me. She wants me to be interested in the things she does so we can have something to talk about and truth is, I'm not interested in make up, cheerleading or even cat calling guys like she does. You're the only one who ever listens and that makes me feel good you know?"

Listening intensely at how Marcy described Sasha's "friendship", Anne's anger quickly bubbled to the surface.

"And I hate it when she does that to you!" Anne suddenly blurted out, waking up Domino and catching Marcy by surprise. "Doesn't she think you matter to her? She calls us all best friends, but her definition of best friend is different than what a best friend truly is!"

Still surprised by the thai's sudden outburst, Marcy nervously chuckled once more.

"Gosh Anne." Marcy softly spoke as she looked down as her green socked feet. "I didn't mean to upset you. It just bothers me when Sasha does that is all. She's still a good person."

"Sasha is a good person, no doubt." Anne continued as well. "But the way she ignores you and what you say, it's infuriating! Yes, Sasha has looked out for us and I'm not going to take that from her, but when she's not protecting us, she's bossing us around because she thinks she can. I like the stories you tell Marcy and how excited you get for them. No, I don't like your stories, I love them and Sasha's loss if she doesn't!"

A blushing smile crept onto the bashful girl's face as she turned back to Anne.

"If Sasha doesn't get to see and know who the real Marcy Wu is, then that's her loss." Anne calmly stated as she released a heavy sigh. "Because I know who Marcy is. A sweet, shy, perfect version of herself who has the cutest laugh and an even cuter smile."

The blush on Marcy's face grew deeper making the girl's face tomato red. The smaller girl's frame froze in place as the thai crept closer to her on the bed.

"Her laugh is contagious and is music to my ears when I hear it." Anne stated in a near whisper as she moved closer to Marcy, the Taiwanese girl becoming much more nervous at the distance rapidly closing between she and Anne. As the thai drew closer, Marcy felt her body relax while anticipating what was coming next, sensing Anne's calm energy spill into her anxious force field. The gap between the two girls closed as Anne pressed her lips gently onto Marcy's with Marcy welcoming Anne's incredible energy.

Lifting her lips from her target, Anne's lowered eyelids caught the eyes of her intended as she bit her lower lip.

"Your lips are so soft." Anne whispered as her gazed locked with Marcy's. "Exactly how I always imaged."

Continuing to lock gazes with Anne, Marcy quickly pressed her lips against Anne's while placing her hands on each side of the thai's face to keep her locked in the kiss. Breaking the kiss, the Taiwanese girl appeared out of breath as her vision caught with Anne's once more.

"Let's not tell Sasha about this." Marcy requested as she quickly pressed her lips to Anne's once more, needing to taste the lips of the thai girl once more. "I want this to stay between you and I."

"My lips are sealed and yours." Anne stated in an agreed whisper. "Sasha maybe our friend, but she doesn't have to know everything about what we do. This will be our little secret."

"Too late losers, I already know." Sasha's voice rang out as she walked through Anne's bedroom door and made her way over to the desk across from the bed. Taking a seat in the chair, Sasha eyed the two with a nonchalant look. "Hey, don't stop because I showed up."

Anne pushed away from Marcy and kept her eyes on Sasha, her look changing from curious to bewildered. Marcy looked at Anne and then to Sasha with the same bewildered look.

"Sasha, what are you doing here?" Anne struggled to ask, her words coming out in a stutter. "What happened to the pool party you were at that we weren't invited to?"

"Oh them." Sasha scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "I totally blew them off. That party got lame after Vince showed up. Didn't I tell you they invited you Boonchuy?"

"No you didn't!" Anne angrily shouted. "You stated the party was for cheerleaders only. I'm an athlete, not a cheerleader!"

"Oh, well they did ask about you, but I told them you were totally busy planning for your wedding." Sasha stated as a cynical smirk crossed her face. "I'm hurt that I wasn't asked to be your maid of honor and here I thought we were best friends."

Listening to the words that Sasha stated with confirmation, Anne felt the wind kick out of her lungs as she eyed the blond with a cocked eyebrow. Opening her ears more, Anne leaned forward to hear what she wants to believe was not what Sasha actually stated.

"I'm sorry, my what?!" Anne inquired with disbelief, wanting to make sure she heard the girl correctly. "My wedding?!"

"Oh thanks for reminding me Sasha." Marcy cheerfully spoke up as Anne turned to her, her petite frame beginning to tremble. From the light green roll play t-shirt and dark green pants, Marcy was suddenly dressed in the core's outfit minus the helmet as her muted orange and red eyes shined with mischief. "We forgot to make the guest list and chose our main course, but I have an idea of what that will be or should I say, who that will be!"

Anne suddenly felt herself pulled closer to Marcy, the two girls faces a mere inch from each other. A gleam of purple caught with the thai's vision as Anne looked down and saw that her wrists were cuffed with mini control collars. The main chain that ran from the middle of the shackles was tightly wound in Marcy's grasp.

"Wait, what's going on?!" Anne panicked as she tried pulling away from Marcy, who held a tight grip on the chain the connected the girl's wrists. "Marcy, what is this?!"

"Practicing for our honeymoon of course." Marcy stated in a dark tone, her innocent girlish voice switching to Darcy's sinister tone.

"Should I start playing the music?" Sasha's valley girl tone inquired, the words dripping with darkness. Turning to the blonde, Anne's eyes widened at seeing the blonde dressed exactly like Marcy, but the bottom half of her being a full black ball gown form instead of legged armor and boots.

"Ok you guys, this isn't funny anymore!" Anne nearly screamed as she continued trying to pull away from Marcy. "Someone tell me what's going on!"

"We already did Boonchuy!" Sasha stated with a dark chuckle. "This is your big day! Relax and enjoy it!"

"Yes Anne, enjoy your new life with the one you love." A voice that eerily mirrored the thai's voice spoke from behind her. "You only get one so enjoy her while you can."

Anne's body became stiff and her blood ran cold at hearing the voice. Slowly turning her head behind her, the dark image of Anne was spotted standing behind her with a devious grin. Nearly knocking Marcy down, Anne quickly backed away from her dark image who only deviously grinned at the girl.

"Why so surprised Anne?" Dark Anne voiced as she took a step forward. "I'm here to celebrate your big day with you because after all, once you say I do, there will be no escaping your future, which would be."

Dark Anne proudly gestured to herself.

"Me." Dark Anne finished her thought.

"There is NO WAY we are the same and there is NO WAY I'm dressing up like that!" Anne screamed as she continued backing away from her dark image while dark Anne continued approaching the thai.

"Oh sweetie, you won't have much of a say in anything once you become one with the core." Dark Anne stated deviously to the teen girl as she stopped two inches from her and placed her right index finger under her chin, muted orange and red meeting with dark brown with a sliver of cyan blue. "Just ask your dear friends who became one with us first."

Anne then felt both of her arms become tightly gripped, Sasha and Darcy firmly holding the girl in place so she could not run from her dark self.

"We just love our new home." Sasha stated in a devious whisper in Anne's right ear. "You have to join us Anne."

"Yes Anne, we are the trio and it's no fun without you." Darcy hissed in response to Sasha. "You are our leader and we're not complete without you!"

"Ok, this is just too weird!" Anne detested as she tried breaking free from Sasha and Darcy. "Let me go! I want no part of this and that especially includes you!"

Grinning deviously, Dark Anne took two steps back and reached her right hand behind her while keeping her vision on Anne. The teen froze at the sight of her evil double as she revealed Darcy's flaming Scythe, the heat of the blade sending micro-ripples through the still night air. Her smirk widening, the double took one step towards the teen as a blood curdling scream ripped through the air.

The scream woke Anne as she sat up with a start, beads of sweat rolling down the teen's face as she panted heavily. Her eyes scanned the room as Anne took in her scenery, noticing that it was nothing like in her dream and that she was in hotel suite like room, complete with white silky curtains, a balcony outside her window with white silky throw pillows sitting on the windowsill, a well-lit glass vanity across the room from the bed, and 3,000 count Egyptian silk bed spread which she was laying under. If she could describe the bedroom in one word, Anne would say she was literally in heaven. Gripping the sheets, Anne felt her breath return as her body returned to stasis from the dream she just had.

"Oh thank frog, it was just a dream!" Anne stated as she exhaled a large breath and wiped her face clean of sweat. "I don't have an evil twin and Sasha was not dressed like Darcy."

Shaking her head, Anne then laid back down on the silky comfort, allowing the sleek material beneath her skin to relax her mind and body so she could easily slip back into the land of dreams.

"Yep, no evil twin and Sasha would never be caught wearing anything like that, especially in public." Anne stated with a yawn as she fluffed her pillow and relaxed her body to become comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. Closing her eyes, droplets of drool formed at the left corner of her mouth, indicating the thai was slipping back into dreamland.

"That was some dream you had dear and that incessant scream of yours can shatter glass." Darcy's voice rang out next to the near sleeping girl. "I would have woken you up, but I figured you would do so on your own eventually."

"Yea, thanks Darcy." Anne tiredly replied as she released a snore. Quickly processing the name that slipped between her lips, Anne's eyes shot open as she quickly turned over to face the owner of the voice. Darcy lightly waved at the thai as she slightly grinned. Sitting up quickly and sliding away from the helmetless hivemind, Anne slid off her side of the bed and hit the floor with a loud THUD.

"Ouch." Anne groaned as she straightened herself up.

"Ouch indeed love." Darcy giggled as she watched Anne prop herself up on her side of the bed. "You have been extremely jumpy since last night. I don't know what you drank at our reception, but it has had a negative effect on you ever since. Oh wait, yes I do because I gave it to you!"

"Reception?" Anne inquired with confusion as she climbed up on her side of the bed while taking a seat on it. She then wrapped herself in the silky off white/oyster colored bedsheet. "What reception?"

"Oh don't tell me you forgot all about our wedding yesterday." Darcy stated, her voice spoken as if she were hurt by Anne's forgetfulness. "It was the BEST night of my life! I got to dance with you, take memorable pictures, feed you our wedding cake, but most of all, spend the rest of the evening in our quarters with you. You were wearing the most delectable garments, your ice blue flower bikini is now my new favorite outfit for you."

Turning to Darcy with a look of total confusion, Anne's stomach felt as if she swallowed a rock, the thai's memories of the night prior flooding back to her in a rush.

The Night Prior
After Darcy said her vows to Anne and locked lips with the thai, Darcy pulled Anne away from the altar and towards the double doors that led to the main area of the castle via control collars. The doors were then opened for the hive minded dictator and her bride by the fro-bots. Darcy and Anne were suddenly stopped at the door as Sasha and the resistance members were brought before them in handcuffs, Anne getting a good look at the commander and the members of the resistance. Sasha's appearance was noticeably rough with red scratches on her face and a black left eye. The swollen eye was twitching as ruby red orbs met with the devious muted orange and red.

"Awe, you just missed our ceremony." Darcy stated in a playfully hurt tone as she tightened her grip on the control collar's chain. "And I was so hoping you could have seen us begin our journey together, but maybe next time during our vow renewal."

"Sasha!" Anne desperately called to the blonde as Darcy tugged Anne along while the thai tried to break away from the dictator. The echoes of Darcy's laughter were heard trailing the two down the hall as Darcy continued leading Anne further away from her supports.

Present

Anne shook her head as the memory of seeing her friends continued playing back in her mind. Anne was so close to them that if she could, she would have grabbed onto them, but Darcy had other plans.

"And then the hour or two spent in the throne room during our private reception." Darcy continued as she waved her right hand in the air and smacked her lips together. "I had the hardest time keeping you still. I wanted to savor my new prize as long as possible before I announced you as my new queen to the city of Newtopia."

Flashback

With a shackle attached to her right ankle, Anne was at the mercy of Darcy as the hivemind hooked her right index finger between the chains that shackled the thai's wrists together, pulling the terrified prisoner closer to her. The air was tense around the two as muted orange and red met with the terrified cyan blue orbs of the woman in front of her. Darcy's hungry eyes trailed over the thai's thin frame in her "honeymoon outfit" like a predator eyeing it's prey before devouring it.

"So my dear, where should we go from here?" Darcy casually asked as her eyes continued hungrily trailing over her new wife. "Because I can certainly think of a few things right now."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Anne snapped as she fought hard against her shackles to evade her captor.

Becoming inpatient with the thai, a low growl escaped the hivemind's throat at the thai's resistance.

"You, my dear, must have forgotten who is in charge here!" Darcy responded with a low growl, her eyes shining a low orange of the hive mind that was possessing her. "Your eyes may say no, but your lips are…"

"Saying bite me!" Anne spat as she looked away from the core.

"Oh I intend to, trust and believe me!" Darcy whipped.

Present

"You were so cute when you tried to run away, but figured out you couldn't." Darcy chuckled as she threw the covers back on the bed, revealing that she was sleeping in a spaghetti strapped black night gown.

Climbing out of the bed, Darcy reached over to her nightstand and picked up the picture that was taken of Anne and Darcy at their reception. In the picture, Darcy was smiling wide for the camera behind Anne while Anne was sitting in a chair while looking terrified and on the brink of passing out. Her eyes were visibly seen as looking heavy with sleep.

"This is my new favorite picture of us." Darcy swooned as she handed Anne the picture that was framed in an oyster white picture frame with pink seashells and oysters lining the border of the frame. "Something about your eyes, they were so heavy with sleep after you sipped the champagne from our toast."

"You drugged me?!" Anne nearly screamed as she snatched the picture frame from Darcy and looked to the picture that was taken less than twelve hours ago. Anne's eyes widened as she looked at the picture, seeing the lengths that Darcy went to get the thai to comply with her weeding plans. Anne then tossed the picture back to Darcy in a fit of disgust. "What did you slip in my drink Darcy?"

"I can't remember exactly." Darcy stated in a non-chalant tone of voice. "But it certainly loosened you up during the reception. Your wedding dress was so beautiful and I was able to save what was left of it after you ripped it on the way back to our room. Thankfully the fro-bot was able to escort you there safely or you would have hurt yourself."

Looking frantically around the bedroom, Anne's eyes caught sight of what was left of her wedding dress draped across the back of the oyster colored vanity chair. Clasping her arms together, Darcy rushed to the balcony and picked up her black robe while draping it over herself.

"I didn't think the air would be so cold as Newtopia is never that chilly at night." Darcy stated as she rubbed her hands up and down her opposite arms to warm herself up. "But you certainly warmed me up last night love."

"My dress." Anne's voice spoke in a whisper as she kept her eyes glued to the shambles of the wedding gown that laid lifelessly across the vanity chair.

"Well, we're on official royal duty now so please look in the closet for something presentable." Darcy spoke as she looked to the clock on the wall above the vanity, seeing that the official announcement for the castle's new "management" was only forty-five minutes away. "I want to represent you in the best light possible. I wouldn't want my beloved to look like I didn't care how she dressed."

Tying up her robe, Darcy walked around the bed and proceeded to the bedroom's bathroom to get herself ready for the day. Climbing out of the bed herself, Anne slowly walked over to the vanity chair and with shaky hands, picked up her disheveled wedding. The thai's hands began shaking furiously as she gripped the soft fabric in her hands, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"There! That's much better!" Darcy cheerfully exclaimed as she emerged from the bathroom in her total body armor. Running her right hand through her hair, Darcy looked over at the shaking thai as she held what was left of her wedding dress in her hands. Walking over to the thai, Darcy placed a small kiss on Anne's left cheek, the girl never looking up to face Darcy.

"Everything will get better in time, I promise." Darcy softly stated as she walked past Anne and to the balcony outside of their window. Turning back to the thai, Darcy's eyes shined a bright muted orange briefly as fro-bots entered their room and surrounded Anne, the one in front carrying the set of control collars. The thai, having heard the clanking metal, turned to the fro-bots with no emotions riddled on her features.

Looking down at the gathering crowd outside of the balcony, Darcy smirked as she spotted several citizens that she was hoping were going to be present for the announcement she was itching to make. The new ruler of Newtopia had a city-wide announcement to deliver, an announcement that spoke of the new management of the Newtopian Empire. King Andrias was no longer the ruler and Darcy wanted to ensure everyone in Amphibia was given the memo!

Looking to her watch, Darcy noted the time and cleared her throat, preparing for her announcement.

"Good morning citizens of Newtopia!" Darcy began as her eyes scanned the crowd. "I want to thank you all for attending my lovely queen's and I's wedding the night prior! Your well wishes, gifts, and words of encouragement were just what we needed to begin our lives together and Anne couldn't be happier for your presence. However, I would like to announce to everyone that it is I, your merciful Queen Darcy that is now your new ruler of Newtopia!"

Gasps were heard from the crowd at Darcy's announcement, the reaction she was hoping to get.

"While this land was built for just one ruler's eye, I could not think of ruling this lovely land alone!" Darcy continued.

A fro-bot stomped out onto the balcony and handed Darcy the glowing purple chain that was attached to the main control collar. Gripping the chain in her right hand, Darcy nodded to the fro-bot as it re-entered the bedroom.

"Therefore, I would like to introduce the beautiful creature that will be ruling by my side for all eternity, Queen Anne Boonchuy!" Darcy proudly announced.

Yanking on the chain attached to the control collar around Anne's neck, Darcy pulled Anne into sight and hooked her left hand in the middle of the chains that were shackled to Anne's wrists. Lifting the petite thai off her feet, Darcy looked into the crowd once more before leaning over and placing a kiss on Anne's cheek. Gasps and cries continued as Anne locked eyes with the crowd, a horrified expression on her face.

Sasha, who emerged from the crowd moments prior, glanced up at the new dictator of Newtopia, her left eye twitching as her temper bubbled to the surface. Darcy caught glances with Sasha as she placed another kiss to the thai's cheek.

"That's right! I have what belongs to you and she's all mine now!" Darcy spoke to herself as she grinned at Sasha.

Tightening her grip on the handle of her sword, Sasha vision zero'd in on Darcy, wishing that her looks could the kill the cold-hearted dictator right in front of everyone.

"Sasha, help me!" Anne screamed into the crowd as she tried fighting against her bonds. Hearing her best friend scream out in agony only angered the blonde that much more, the poor sword's handle cracking a little in her grip.

"Not to worry dear, we'll be on our way shortly!" Darcy spoke as she hooked her right index finger under Anne's chin and forced the girl to turn to her. "You just hang in there."

Winking to the thai, Darcy turned back to the crowd.

"I would like to thank you all for attending this assembly and welcome to the new Newtopia!" Darcy continued as she placed Anne back on her feet. "Now if you will excuse us, my new love and I have some important matters to attend to. If you all need anything, please leave your requests with a member of my security team. Bye for now."

Wrapping her left arm tightly around the thai's waist, Darcy escorted Anne back into their bedroom, the bay windows closing behind them.

"She's not getting away with this!" Sasha growled as she turned to Grime. "Gather everyone back at the Fungi Forest hq. We're getting into that castle to rescue Anne if it kills us!"

"Kills us?!" Sprig cautiously questioned.

"Right away commander." Grime complied as he turned to the remaining resistance members. Nodding to them, everyone but Sprig nodded back.

Turning from the balcony, Sasha and the resistance members disappear into the befuddled crowd who were still in awe at Darcy's announcement.

Later that evening

Having finished dinner through the intensity of the silent meal shared with Darcy, Anne wandered away from the dining hall to explore the castle that she was being imprisoned in, or at least that's what she stated to Darcy. Going down the dark hall, Anne was in search of the room where she met with the darker image of herself, hoping to speak to her again regarding overthrowing Darcy.

Don't try to make yourself remember, darling
Don't look for me, I'm just a story you've been told

Continuing down the hall, Anne looked through each door, desperately searching for the one that would provide her the answers she desperately sought.

So let's pretend a little longer
'Cause when we're gone
Everything goes on

Having searched just about all the rooms she could access, Anne stood outside of one door, the door to the room she was sure she needed to enter. Lifting her right hand to the door, the thai placed her palm in the center as it turned a muted orange. The door then slid open with a quick whirr, granting the girl access to the room. Walking through, the door closed shut behind Anne as she looked around at the pitch black that surrounded her.

Well, you were staring at the window
And I said, "I wanna take you to the sea"
And when I'm better, we'll do everything
I gotta stop making promises I can't keep

The floor beneath the thai's feet began shaking with Anne knowing what was coming next. Taking a deep breath, Anne stood perfectly still as the ten-eyed monster emerged from the wall, opening all ten of its eyes to greet its visitor. The largest eye in the middle focused on Anne as her dark image returned, the evil clone grinning at the sight of the exhausted girl.

"My my my, if it isn't my lovely goody-two shoes of a double." Dark Anne chuckled. "Why the long face? Not enjoying your holy matrimony?"

"I need your help." Anne stated in a flat tone, unamused by her dark half's attempt at a joke. "It's about Darcy. I want to wield the power she can't and become more powerful than she is."

But if I was gone tomorrow, won't the waves crash on?
Is it selfish that I'm happy as we pass the setting sun?
Someday I'll be overcast, but you won't have to cry
'Cause we'll do the grieving while I'm by your side
I said.

"Finally decided to take my offer I see." Dark Anne stated as she placed her hands on her hips. "Say no more. Unlimited powers at your fingertips when you're ready."

Don't try to make yourself remember, darling
Don't look for me, I'm just a story you've been told
So let's pretend a little longer
'Cause when we're gone
Everything goes on

And I'm so scared of getting used to this
All the vines that keep you tethered in your room
Someday both of us are leaving here
But for now, I'll just bring to the sea to you, ooh

"I'm ready." Anne continued in a flat tone as Dark Anne smirked.

Dark Anne placed her right hand against the side of the eye she were on, which prompted Anne to lift her right hand that slowly inched towards the middle eye where her dark half stood.

When you meet me in the daylight like we did before
Then I felt you on my shoulder, and you weren't suffering anymore
You said, "I'm sorry that you worry, but don't apologize"
I told you to forget me, but you stayed by my side
When I said,

Having exited the dining hall in search of her new wife, Darcy called out to Anne as she walked through the dark hall the thai did moments before. Darcy's pace changed from walking to jogging as she searched just about every room in that dark hall much like Anne did prior. Reaching the end of the hall, Darcy placed her left palm against the door as it whirred open. Running inside, Darcy froze in place at what she spotted in front of her.

The large eye of the monster was shattered as fluid dribbled out of the broken glass that made up that eye. The fluid pooled under Anne as she lay sprawled on the floor, her limbs stretched out as if she were knocked unconscious. Darcy then noticed that the girl was laying in the middle of the floor dressed exactly like her darker image, from her ponytail to the boots. Walking up to her, Darcy kneeled and checked Anne's right eye noticing that her pupil changed from dark brown to muted orange and red to the neon purple, the color of the control collar. Closing her eye, Darcy picked up Anne's head and cradled it in her lap.

Don't try to make yourself remember, darling
Don't look for me, I'm just a story you've been told
So let's pretend a little longer
And when we're gone, ah
Everything goes on

"Welcome home Savisa." Darcy softly spoke as she placed a soft kiss to Anne's lips.

Undisclosed Secret Laboratory (Earth)

Joyful humming filled the room as papers were shuffled neatly on the desk next to a computer monitor with a high-resolution image of a lily pad on the screen. The shuffled papers were then gathered up and placed into a manilla folder that were then carried to the other side of the room to a neatly organized desk. The folder was then placed on the desk as an ice blue haired scientist took a seat while placing a strand of lose hair behind her right ear, that strand having escaped from the ponytail that was wound neatly in a bun at the back of her head.

"Ok, now I can finally get these papers uploaded into the system." Terri excitedly stated as she continued humming to herself. "I know Dr. Jan has been freaking out about not having these forms for the museum. Sorry Jan, but the life of a scientist isn't easy either. Especially when you're working for the government and your boss is technically Mr. X."

Sliding her mouse to wake her computer up, the screen came on and prompted Terri to input her password.

"Of course." Terri happily sang as she entered her password to access her system. The home screen appeared that displayed the same lily pad image that was on her lock screen. Opening her email application, Terri noticed that Dr. Jan sent her an email. Clicking on her envelope, Terri's eyes quickly scanned the message and released a playful chuckle.

"Dr. Jan, Dr Jan, you just will not stop talking about that pocket dimension discovery will you?" Terri stated as she continued laughing to herself. "Ok, I'm going to send you the information right now and then you'll get the forms to bring up the rear."

Clicking reply, Terri's fingers were positioned over the keyboard when a low whirring sound hummed from the computer behind her. As loudly as the humming occurred, the sound died off just as quickly. Brushing the disturbance off, Terri began typing her email reply to Dr. Jan when the humming sound reoccurred and became louder. Halting her assignment, Terri turned around to notice that the computer screen's resolution was a cyan blue, a bright hue that she has never seen before. Cocking an eyebrow at the technological anomaly, the needles of the energy meters next to the computer monitor were moving back and forth erratically, which caught Terri's attention as well. The computer monitor's resolution then returned to normal as cyan blue waves appeared and began streaming across the screen. Terri's eyes grew wide as she rushed over to the computer to read the energy outputs that were flashing across the screen.

"It can't be!" Terri whispered in shock as she quickly deciphered the message that was standing out to her. "That energy signal! That cyan blue energy signature belongs to…."

Quickly grabbing the office phone's receiver next to the computer that was outputting the energy signals, Terri speed dialed the first number on the phone's base with the other line picking up just as quickly.

"Hi, Mr. X!" Terri hurriedly shouted. "Are you sitting down? Good! Because you won't believe what just popped up on my computer screen!"

A/N: I would like to thank the person/people who had my commission "Dark Reflections" removed in the Facebook Amphibia group. Thank you for earning me more viewers, favs, follows, and in general, more traffic to my story on fanfiction and AO3. Haters will always be my biggest fans! 😊

Chapter 6: Heart of the Core Part 1: Ethos

Chapter Text

Chapter 6: Heart of the Core Part 1: Ethos

‘Darcy’s wish for Anne to join the core has finally come true, but how will her wish play out exactly? And Terri seems to have received a mysterious message from Anne from the Amphibian realm. Will she be able to decipher it in time?’

Previously

Undisclosed Secret Laboratory (Earth)

“Ok, now I can finally get these papers uploaded into the system.” Terri excitedly stated as she continued humming to herself. “I know Dr. Jan has been freaking out about not having these forms for the museum. Sorry Jan, but the life of a scientist isn’t easy either. Especially when you’re working for the government and your boss is technically Mr. X.”

Sliding her mouse to wake her computer up, the screen came on and prompted Terri to input her password.

“Of course.” Terri happily sang as she entered her password to access her system. The home screen appeared that displayed the same lily pad image that was on her lock screen. Opening her email application, Terri noticed that Dr. Jan sent her an email. Clicking on her envelope, Terri’s eyes quickly scanned the message and released a playful chuckle.

“Dr. Jan, Dr Jan, you just will not stop talking about that pocket dimension discovery will you?” Terri stated as she continued laughing to herself. “Ok, I’m going to send you the information right now and then you’ll get the forms to bring up the rear.”

Clicking reply, Terri’s fingers were positioned over the keyboard when a low whirring sound hummed from the computer behind her. As loudly as the humming occurred, the sound died off just as quickly. Brushing the disturbance off, Terri began typing her email reply to Dr. Jan when the humming sound reoccurred and became louder. Halting her assignment, Terri turned around to notice that the computer screen’s resolution was a cyan blue, a bright hue that she has never seen before. Cocking an eyebrow at the technological anomaly, the needles of the energy meters next to the computer monitor were moving back and forth erratically, which caught Terri’s attention as well. The computer monitor’s resolution then returned to normal as cyan blue waves appeared and began streaming across the screen. Terri’s eyes grew wide as she rushed over to the computer to read the energy outputs that were flashing across the screen.

“It can’t be!” Terri whispered in shock as she quickly deciphered the message that was standing out to her. “That energy signal! That cyan blue energy signature belongs to….”

Quickly grabbing the office phone’s receiver next to the computer that was outputting the energy signals, Terri speed dialed the first number on the phone’s base with the other line picking up just as quickly.

“Hi, Mr. X!” Terri hurriedly shouted. “Are you sitting down? Good! Because you won’t believe what just popped up on my computer screen!”

Currently

Song played: Sea of Voices (9^th Parallel Remix) by Porter Robinson

Fungi Forest HQ

A wooden chair slammed into the wall as its contents flew in different directions from the blunt force.

“I hate you!!” Sasha screamed angrily as she picked up another chair and hurled it against the wall towards the picture she nailed to the wall of her, Marcy, and Anne in middle school. The chair was hurled particularly at Marcy’s side of the picture, the angry blonde’s blue orbs burning with hatred for the raven-haired girl. “It was YOUR fault we got stuck here because of your SELFISH CHOICE! Now she’s gone and so are you! You got what you wanted! Are you happy now?!”

Balling up her fists, Sasha slammed them down on the wooden table’s surface, forcefully splitting the table top in half as the legs of the table gave way under the blonde’s tremendous strength. Sasha then pulled out her dagger from her right side’s sheath and rammed it into Marcy’s face on her side of the photo several times as she screamed with rage and resentment.

“You didn’t think about anyone but yourself and now look!” Sasha continued screaming. “We are stuck here! You have no idea how much pain you’re causing me and Anne, especially to Anne! You state you love her, but you’re hurting her! She’s terrified and wants to return home, but you won’t let her! You won’t let us! Why are you doing this to us?!”

Sasha felt her anger trying to diminish as she continued stabbing the picture, but mustered what energy she could to continue her rampage.

“And to think I was actually falling for you!” Sasha continued screaming as she pulled the knife from the picture and chucked it across the room. Sasha then tore the picture from the wall, hastily ripped it to shreds. Feeling her anger simmer out, Sasha fell to her knees as tears continued rushing out of her eyes and onto the floor in front of her in a puddle. Sweat running down her forehead and into her eyes, Sasha placed her hands to her face as waves of sadness mixed with guilt racked the warrior’s frame continuously, the blonde loudly crying to herself.

“This is my worst nightmare.” Sasha loudly sobbed as she sat on the ground, her face still buried in her hands. “Our worst nightmare! I just want you both back and to return to earth! Is that too much to ask? Is it?! First my parents split up and now this?!”

Outside of the commander’s chambers, the room Sasha were holed up in, the resistance members overheard the blonde’s rampage and exchanged worried glances at each other, unsure of who should speak to their commander in her current state.

“This is really tearing her a part.” Olivia stated with slight fear in her tone as she leaned closer to Yunan. “One of us should try reasoning with her so we can regain our focus on the mission.”

Olivia then looked to Yunan, who furiously shook her head in a no direction.

“You heard how she ripped me good when we arrived back here.” Yunan hurriedly stated, deflecting Olivia’s suggestion. “Why don’t you speak with her. You’ve always had a way with words.”

“Sasha will literally eat her alive, especially when she is like this.” Grime chimed in. “I should go talk to her as she will listen to me no matter what state she is in.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Grime.” Hop pop quickly spoke up. “When our children behave in that manner, they don’t want to even listen to us. They can be quite stubborn when as upset as Sasha is right now. Trust me, I have plenty of experience in that area.”

Shooting Polly and Sprig a quick glance, Hop pop straightened up the front of his suit.

“I’ll go talk to Sasha.” Hop pop volunteered. “Maybe she will listen to me, someone who isn’t her parent. We’ve grown quite close since the toad tower incident and the formation of the resistance.”

“That is my daughter and I will do the honors!” Grime replied with fierce insistence. “After all, you wouldn’t stand a chance against the lieutenant. She was trained in one of the best armies in Amphibia! She’d have you for lunch!”

“I vote the toad!” Polly pipped up, gaining Yunan and Olivia’s vote for Grime to go in and assist Sasha. After all, someone has to try and calm down the blonde.

Listening to everyone go back and forth, Sprig released a sigh and cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention.

“I’ll do it.” Sprig spoke up, everyone turning to the pink frog as if they saw a ghost. “I’ve spoken to Sasha before and she’s actually very nice compared to when we first met. Maybe she’ll listen to me.”

The area suddenly became tense with nervousness and uncertainty, eyes from just about everyone’s sockets sprung out from her skulls. From a collective recollection, upon Sasha and Sprig’s first meeting, Sasha targeted Sprig for simply knowing Anne and tried to dispose of him on several occasions upon learning that he was Anne’s best friend. However, since the formation of the resistance against Darcy and King Andrias, the relationship between the two had vastly improved, but considering the state of mind Sasha was in, Sprig trying to speak the angry blonde worried everyone. What if Sasha acted on the past feelings of Sprig being Anne’s best friend in place of her? What if she tried targeting him, forgetting about the improved relationship? So many questions hung in the air concerning the pink frog crossing that threshold in the commander’s chambers.

“Sprig, I don’t think that is a good idea.” Hop pop cautioned. “Maybe we should leave her alone for the time and when she’s calmer, you can maybe try then.”

“Hop pop, she’s hurting right now.” Sprig firmly stated to his grandfather. “When someone is hurting, you don’t leave them, you help them! You always taught us that, especially when we first met Anne. She needed our help when she first arrived to Amphibia and we gave her just that. How do you think she would respond if she knew how we were acting when one of her own needed help? Sure, Sasha can be scary and was at one point, but we have to look beyond the anger to something more. She lost her best friends and could use some support right now. I don’t know about any of you, but I’m going to speak with her!”

The area fell silent as Sprig walked past Yunan and into the commander’s chambers with confidence that he would be able to assist Sasha like he did Anne and even Marcy. As the door closed behind the pink frog, the sound of the door hinge latching caused everyone’s hearts to drop into their stomachs.

Crossing his right hand over his heart, Grime walked to Hop Pop’s left and placed his right hand on the older frog’s shoulder.

“I will have his tombstone sent over first thing in the morning.” Grime stated with condolences. A deep sigh was released from the older frog in response to the toad’s statement.

Having crossed the threshold into the chamber, Sprig’s vision immediately noticed the debris that was sprawled about the room and then noticed Sasha curled up in the corner of the room almost in the fetal position.

“Hey Sasha.” Sprig called out to the disheveled blonde. “I came to—”

“Get out!” Sasha venomously spat, her words dripping with ice. “I don’t want to talk to anyone right now, especially you!”

The feeling of fear immediately slammed Sprig as Sasha rejected his presence, but just as quickly pushed the emotion off as he was determined to get through to Sasha, even if it meant possibly getting bruised in the process. He knew which Sasha he were speaking to at that moment and it was not the commander of the resistance he came to know and respect.

“No Sasha, I’m not leaving you.” Sprig firmly stated as he stood his ground. “You’re hurting right now and I’m offering my shoulder for you to lean on as we get through this together. I know you miss Anne and Marcy, we all do, but this is what Darcy wants, to weaken us so she can win and destroy the earth, our home. We can’t let that happen.”

Sasha felt her rage reignite as Sprig’s voice echoed throughout the room and him refusing to let her grieve in private. She did not want anyone to see her in that state and having one of her own teammates seeing the blubbering mess she turned into was not one of her proud moments. Slowly grabbing the handle of her red heron sword with her right hand, Sasha turned to the pink frog, her left eye slanted in rage as she honed in on her target.

“I told you get out and leave me alone!” Sasha hissed as she slowly climbed to her feet and just as slowly turned her body towards Sprig. “As your commander, you are to listen to what I tell you, but you just had to ignore a direct order! Well guess what? You’re going to pay for going against your superior squeak toy!”

Seeing the lieutenant slowly approaching with the deadliest look he has ever seen her hold, Sprig debated with cutting and running from the angry blonde or continuing to hold his ground, knowing that the Sasha in front of him was not the same person he met a while back. The Sasha before him was strong, was not intimated easily, and was able to handle the toughest of diversity with her signature grin. That Sasha was being controlled by her emotions and was not thinking rationally in that moment.

As Sasha continued approaching the frog, she gained a mischievous grin as thoughts entered her mind of how she was going to dispose of the young frog without bringing attention to herself, ignoring the part of her brain that was yelling to her to stop and think about what she was going to do.

“You know, I never did like you Sprig!” Sasha stated with the most hateful tone as she stopped two inches from the frog. “Sure, you’re useful on some grounds, but not very. Anne didn’t know any better when she picked you as her best friend! Well, that won’t be a problem anymore now will it? She won’t even miss you the way I’m going to dispose of you! Too bad she didn’t get the chance to say goodbye!”

Raising her sword, Sasha’s grin grew wider as she caught with Sprig’s vision, hoping to catch what scent of fear that radiated off of him. However, Sprig continued blocking his fear as his vision was locked with Sasha’s, hoping that his resistance to react snapped her out of her current trance. With her sword raised above her head and ready to strike her target, Sasha’s frame was suddenly slammed with guilt as she began shaking furiously. Losing her grip on her sword’s handle, tears rushed to Sasha’s eyes as her sword slipped from her grip and hit the floor with a loud clang. Falling to her knees, Sasha lowered her head as she profusely sobbed, tears pooling at her knees.

“Anne was right! I’m such a horrible person!” Sasha loudly stated as she covered her face with her hands, the messy blonde strands of her bangs mixing with her sweat and tears. “I was going to hurt someone who doesn’t deserve it! I’m no lieutenant, I’m a coward and a fraud! Have I not learned nothing from all of this?”

Releasing the longest breath of relief that he swore he were holding in forever, Sprig approached Sasha and placed his right hand on her left shoulder for comfort.

“Hey, the last thing you are is a horrible person.” Sprig comforted Sasha. “You’re scared of what may happen to Anne and Marcy. I get it, but you’re not in this alone Sasha. You have an entire team standing behind you.”

Looking to the pink frog with tears in her eyes, Sasha cleared her vision and took a seat on the ground as she stretched her legs out in front of her. Spring pulled to Sasha’s left and sat next to the commander as he hugged his legs to his chest.

“When we were first transported here, the first thing on my mind was what I did all the time back home, take control.” Sasha spoke in a low calm tone. “When my parents divorced and took control of everything I did, I felt helpless. From when I visited them to what I ate. I felt like a pawn in their game of chess. When I were with my father, I was pretty much alone as he worked all the time. When he returned home, it was like pulling teeth to get his attention. I was lucky if I got a hug or a kiss on the forehead. And my mother, don’t get me started with her. She was a total control freak and never listened to me when I needed to talk to her. Now I know why my dad can’t stand being around her because she is extremely bossy!”

Sprig nodded his head in agreement so not to interrupt the blonde.

“When I met Anne and Marcy at school, it was like their personalities were begging for a leader because they seemed so lost without someone.” Sasha continued. “So, what did I do? I bossed them around until Anne stood up to me at toad tower. That was something I never expected to happen because she always listened to what I told her to do.”

Sasha then looked to the ceiling of the room as a “heh” escaped her throat.

“You know, now that I think about it, I was no better than my mother towards Anne and Marcy when she was manipulating me and my father.” Sasha slightly laughed. “I could bet every copper in Amphibia that is why my father never bothered to spend time with me when I visited him on weekends because I reminded him too much of her. He always sent me shopping with the nanny just to get me out of his hair and pretended to care when I was so excited to show him what I bought. I can never get his voice out of my head when he stated how much I reminded him of my mother. The hair, the eyes, my voice. My mother always told me, taking control can get you anywhere, but what has it gotten me? Both of my friends are gone and here I am letting it tear me a part. Taking control has gotten me nowhere except…well here. Thanks for everything mom! Your advice is a keeper!”

“Sasha, I want you to hear me out.” Sprig began, his voice full of confidence. “You can’t change the past and what happened to you, but you can change how you respond to the situation. I was just as horrified when I saw what Darcy was doing to Anne too, but we have to remember. That’s not Marcy, she’s being controlled by that thing and if she could put a stop to all of this, I know she would. Marcy is a good person and you are too. You have changed a lot since we first met. I remember when you really couldn’t stand me being anywhere next to Anne.”

“That’s another thing.” Sasha pipped up. “I wanted to control our friendship so much, I wanted to choose who Anne spoke to and hung out with. I can’t tell you how sorry I am for how horribly I treated you Sprig.”

“That part I would say is part of your leadership.” Sprig continued. “You are a leader Sasha and you saw two people who you wanted to lead. Maybe not the best choice of how you chose to do it, but you did it. Maybe it took Anne standing her ground with you, but look what happened after. When Anne came back to Amphibia, you wanted to lead right along with her. You made her feel part of the team without hesitating or taking total control of the situation. If you ask me Sasha, you’re the best we have against what we’re facing and when we get Anne and Marcy back, you three will be unstoppable!”

A smile formed on the blonde’s face as she turned to Sprig.

“Thanks twer- I mean Sprig.” Sasha stated with a light laugh. “You know, I never told anyone about that part of my life, not even Grime, but I’m glad I was able to talk to you about it. When Anne chose you as her best friend, she made the right choice. I couldn’t imagine anyone else being her sidekick.”

“Sidekick?” Sprig laughed right along with Sasha. “Yea, maybe I can be the sidekick as everything always happens to me anyway.”

“Yea, like a trouble magnet I guess.” Sasha laughed.

“So you ready to give the rescue one more go?” Sprig stated with encouragement to his commander.

“I wouldn’t dream of ever giving up!” Sasha stated as Sprig got to his feet and stretched out his hand to help her up. Smiling to the pink frog Sasha climbed to her feet and took Sprig’s hand while shaking it. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” Spring replied with a nod.

“Oh and if you ever mention what I told you to my girls, I’ll replace your insides with grub-hog bits.” Sasha flatly stated, her tone shifted to serious as she tilted her head back slightly as a sliver of light appeared on her slanted eyes from the hanging light above.

“Not to worry.” Sprig stated as he swallowed quickly at the threat. “Your secret is safe with me.”

Sasha’s soft smiled returned upon hearing Sprig’s confirmation.

Outside of the room, Grime happily picked up coppers off the ground along with Hop Pop. Both amphibians smiled ear to ear as they stuffed their pockets with the land’s currency, but their concentration was interrupted by the room door opening as Sasha and Sprig, still fully intact, walked out of the room.

“Sasha, Sprig!” Grime happily chimed as he continued stuffing the coins in his armor’s pocket. “Sprig, I’m shocked you came out alive—I mean were able to get through to my lieutenant after all.”

“Say what?” Sprig began, but was cut off as Sasha passed him to hug her father.

“I’m assuming everything went well Sasha.” Grime excitedly spoke to his daughter.

“Yes Grimsey, everything went very well.” Sasha calmly stated as she released Grime. “I just needed someone to provide another perspective to me and I’m glad it was Sprig. He really gave me somethings to think about, including taking Darcy down and taking back what’s ours.”

“Taking back your girlfriend you mean.” Polly muttered under her breath.

“Well that is very good news, which means you’re ready to re-enter the battle and end Darcy’s reign once and for all?” Grime excitedly inquired as he fist pumped the air.

“You know me, I never back down from a fight!” Sasha happily replied as she fist pumped the air as well. “Is everyone ready to battle and kick Darcy back to the dark dimension where she came from?”

“Yea!” Everyone happily cheered as they fist pumped the air as well, but their celebration was cut short by the sound of numerous coppers hitting the floor at their feet. From Yunan to Hop Pop, golden coins were splayed about on the ground as nervous facial expressions were exchanged amongst the group.

“Ok, why does everyone have so many coppers?” Sprig inquired as he leaned down and picked up the coins that were laid about in front of Lady Olivia. “And these are a lot of coppers.”

“We were just playing a game to pass the time.” Hop pop nervously spoke to the young frog. “And it was a tie so everybody won.”

“Yea we were totally NOT putting together a pool of if you survived or not.” Polly revealed as everyone glanced at the pink tadpole, their eyes ready to pop out of their sockets.

“Polly, you know that is not the truth.” Hop pop scolded the tadpole. “Of course we knew Sprig would survive, even if he had a 50/50 chance of survival.”

“Hop Pop, really?!” Sprig frantically asked the older frog.

“What! It was Grime’s idea!” Hop pop stated as he pointed to the older toad.

“We need to refocus on our mission at hand.” Grime pipped up as he scooped up his coins and stuffed them back in his pockets. “But first, lets grab some dinner shall we? We can’t plan our next attack on an empty stomach.”

With a cocked eyebrow each, Sasha and Sprig turned to each other with a look on confusion on their features.

Newtopian Castle (Infirmary)

The sounds of heartbeats mixed in with moderately loud static sounds were heard reverberating throughout the luxuriously decorated room that was the castle’s Infirmary. Leads from the machine that were monitoring vital signs and brain waves were connected to Anne’s outer thigh’s armor and the core’s crown that was placed on her after she was transported to the infirmary from the room she was discovered in. As the thai laid unconscious on the couch, Darcy hovered over her to ensure she transitioned to her next stage flawlessly. Orange and red muted eyes leapt between the sleeping thai and the monitor that read out Anne’s vital signs and the data that was being transferred into the ports and crown.

“You’re almost there love.” Darcy whispered as Anne suddenly flinched and moaned lightly in her sleep. “Shhh, almost there and then we’ll truly be united for all eternity. I hope you’re just as excited as I am for this.”

“Mmmmemor.” Anne suddenly stammered out as she tossed and turned with Darcy lightly holding down the girl’s limbs so she did not hurt herself as she tossed about. “Memories…lost…mem..”

To calm the girl down, Darrcy placed a calming left hand on and gently caressed the thai’s right cheek which slowed Anne’s erratic movements. Looking into the girl’s face, Darcy felt herself getting lost while basking in the thai’s presence, even though Anne was not aware that Darcy was with her. Lightly sighing, Darcy’s gazing was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the machine beeping, which indicated the data transfer were complete and that Anne’s vitals remained stable during the transfer process.

As if unwrapping the biggest gift under the Christmas tree, Darcy carefully pulled the cords out of the ports and off the crown on the thai’s head. Carefully lifting the thai up, Darcy quietly called Anne’s name as Anne’s eyes flinched at the sound of Darcy’s voice.

“Wake up love and enter your new life.” Darcy calmly, but excitedly stated to Anne.

The thai opened her eyes that were visibly muted orange and red, but just as quickly flickered between the color of her gem and the lilac color of the control collar. Anne’s eyes then flickered back to the muted orange and red as Darcy grinned.

“The transfer was flawless.” Darcy stated as Anne looked around the room and then to herself, to what outfit she was wearing. “So tell me Anne, what do you remember about your ‘friends’ and ‘family’? Friends with black hair, others with blonde hair and maybe your parents?”

Anne then turned to Darcy as a confused look crossed her features, muted orange and red locked into a gaze.

“Fr…riends?” Anne slowly stammered out. “Pa…rents?”

A deep chuckle then escaped from Darcy’s throat, satisfied with the result of the core’s transfer into Anne.

“That’s exactly what I was hoping to hear.” Darcy stated as a mischievous grin warped onto the girl’s face. “So my eternal love, why don’t we take your new form for a test drive, shall we?”

Clanking metal approaching the two caught Anne’s attention as a frobot carrying the main control collar on a pillow stopped on the right side of Darcy. Turning to the frobot, Darcy grabbed the collar from the pillow and quickly snapped it around Anne’s neck, the thai not stating a word nor protesting to what Darcy was planning next.

“And I know just where to start.” Darcy deviously stated as her muted red and orange eyes glowed brighter as she slightly tugged on the chain attached to the collar around Anne’s neck. “We have a few pests here in Newtopia that I want exterminated and I know the perfect candidate to get the job done.”

Core’s Consciousness

Unrolling herself from the huddled bundle within her cape, Marcy stretched her limbs and yawned as she opened her eyes. Since being locked away in the core’s consciousness, Marcy was limited to doing two things, solving a puzzle or sleeping. Since she solved more than half the puzzles presented to her by Aldrich, including flipwart, Marcy decided to take a rest, something she were not able to do much of back on earth. Between being distressed about her parents moving due to her father changing jobs, not wanting to lose her best friends, and being outcasted at school, Marcy was not able to get a restful sleep most nights. However, being in a place that was surprisingly calmer than expected, Marcy often found herself huddled up to sleep when there was nothing more to do.

“I have to say, I get more sleep here than I’ve ever gotten back home.” Marcy happily stated as she sat up from the floating darkness that was formed into her bed. “It should be reversed, but hey, what’re you gonna do? Well, now that I’m rested, it’s time to do more exploring!”

Getting to her feet and stretching once more, Marcy turned around as a door suddenly appeared right in front of her. Confused at its sudden appearance, Marcy grabbed the knob and turned it, the door opening with ease. Entering the room, the sight of a human outline glowing cyan off in the distance caught the girl’s attention, the outline hanging lifelessly in suspended animation. Squinting her eyes to get a better view, Marcy’ eyes grew wide as the outline became a bit clearer. Running in the direction of the image in front of her, Marcy suddenly stopped in her tracks as the outline continued to become clear as the data downloaded into the form, a form that Marcy was all too familiar with.

“Anne?!” Was all Marcy managed to squeak.

A/N: And here is chapter 6! My apologies for the long wait as I had to restructure this chapter at least 5 times as I had so much I wanted to put in, but could only do so much without going outside of the structured outline prepared for this story. But hope you like it and chapter 7 will be out at the very start of 2024! Happy Holidays everyone and if you’re new to The Last Versus, please check out my DeviantArt page for the art related to this story, handle name Alisi-Christine. More is on the way!

Chapter 7: Heart of the Core part 2: Pathos!

Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Heart of the Core part 2: Pathos

‘The transfer of the core’s data was successfully transferred into Anne and Marcy just discovered she is not alone in the core’s consciousness any longer! This is not looking very good for the calamity heroes!’

Previously

Core’s Consciousness

“Anne?!” Was all Marcy managed to squeak.

Song played: Musician by Porter Robinson

Currently (Undisclosed Laboratory on Earth)

“What was the exact frequency in which this signal ran on when it occurred?” Mr. X questioned as Terri quickly wrote down several pieces of information regarding the cyan signal that continued streaming across her computer screen. The majestic purple blazer owner fiddled with his lapel on the left side of the blazer as Terri continued writing.

“I’m pretty sure that was an Omega frequency sir!” Terri stated as she continued jotting down notes while not making eye contact with the eccentric FBI agent. “That frequency is very similar to the one Anne used to open the portal when she returned to Amphibia! It’s like she was a human nuclear reactor!”

“How can I forget such a show stopping event.” Mr. X mumbled to himself as he continued observing the blue haired scientist excitedly jot down what she observed while simultaneously looking to the signal that appeared. “Was there anything else about the signal that stood out such as from what specific contact?”

“No sir.” Terri answered as she looked to Mr. X. “Not even a musical note was heard when the signal appeared. This is incredible that we are receiving a possible alien signal from another world and they made contact WITH US! I cannot wait to publish my research regarding extraterrestrial contact from another dimension! Takes that Dr. Franks!”

Mr. X placed his fingers on his forehead and closed his eyes to gather himself, feeling his frustration rise from Terri’s over analytical responses as per usual.

“Without a specific source from where the energy is from, that doesn’t tell us really anything!” Mr. X stated with a frustrated sigh as he looked back to Terri. “When you called me down here, you made it sound like there was much more going on than what I’m being shown. I was looking for a total light show or at least speaking to another world being! After all, we’re the government. We specialize in that!”

“Ok, let me break it down for you.” Terri stated as she placed her notebook down by her computer. “Earth has been searching for signs of life in the universe since forever and we finally have a lead, a HOOK! Why would they choose us to communicate with when there are so many other planets and universes out there besides us?! That is what I am working to discover since this gem appeared. I can’t to publish my research on this very topic! Dr. Franks will be so jealous!”

“But this still does not explain what this discovery is Terri!” Mr. X loudly sighed. “Like how can we make sense of this?”

Just as X turned around to call his assistant to clarify what was not being stated by Terri, Jenny quickly walked to X’s left with an opened laptop screen, surprising the majestic purple blazer owner as his caramel toned cheeks turned a shade of red from frustration. Mr. X’s glasses then steamed up from his boiling anger, but quickly composed himself.

“Ok Jenny, you are to never do that again!” Mr. X sneered out of being startled. “You know how much I hate being surprised!”

Unphased by the man’s outburst, Jenny then passed the opened laptop computer to X, which piqued his curiosity at the neon green and magenta energy signals that were wavering across the screen. Mr. X’s glasses slid down to the top of his nose as he looked closer at the two signals, his eyes widening.

“And there are two more of these?!” Mr. X nearly screamed at the sight. Terri then rushed to view the screen as her eyes widened as well. “Can someone please explain any of this?!”

“Oh man! This is incredible!” Terri excitedly squealed. “We have hit the extraterrestrial jackpot! We officially have contact with another planet. Outside of the plantars of course!”

“How do we know these signals are not from them?” Mr. X inquired as he handed the laptop back to Jenny. “They did return to Amphibia with Anne and did you not say Anne put out this exact energy before returning to Amphibia?”

“Trust me, the plantars are not behind this in the least and this frequency matches the one Anne used prior, absolutely.” Terri clarified. “But there is something different about the two that came up on Jenny’s screen. Those frequencies are much lower in intensity than the one that got my attention. I am almost positive that we are being contacted by another life in the universe.”

“Well whatever is happening, we need to find the source of it and now!” Mr. X roared in frustration as his unanswered questions lingered in the room. “Jenny, do whatever it takes to find the source of those signals and that goes for you too Terri! We have too many questions with not enough answers!”

Handing the laptop back to Jenny, Mr. X looked down at Terri’s desk and found several sheets of loose-leaf papers with the running head title “Pocket Dimension Discovery” with the sticky note attached to the front of the first sheet stating “send to Dr. Jan”. Picking up the papers, X took a closer look at the front sheet, read the introduction summary on the first page, and recognized the information as the files he thought he hid away in his office. Cocking an eyebrow, Mr. X then turned to Terri as he cleared his throat.

“Terri, dear.” Mx. X began while doing his level best to keep his temper in check. “May I ask why you have these documents on your desk and am sending these to Jan after I SPECIFICALLY told you these were classified documents?”

Turning her attention to the man, Terri felt her heart beginning to race as she watched X wave the papers in front of her as if he were fanning himself, a playful coy like smile spread across his features.

“Oh, about those.” Terri began with a nervous chuckle. “I can surely explain.”

Halting his fanning, X’s gaze caught with Terri’s, eagerly awaiting the woman’s explanation.

“This should be interesting.” Mr. X playfully replied.

Newtopian Castle

The balcony scene played over and over in her mind, Darcy parading Anne around like a trophy while taunting all of the Newtopian territory alongside. Magenta fire burned in the blonde’s blue eyes as she developed tunnel vision, the vision to take down the newest dictator and save both of her best friends. Scaling the side of the castle undetected by frobots thus far, an earlier memory of that day played into the circle of thoughts the blonde were having.

Flashback

“If I don’t make it back, Grime, you’re in charge of the team.” Sasha delegated as she placed her swords in their sheaths on both sides of her. The blonde then grabbed a bag full of boomshrooms and placed them on her belt next to her red heron sword to her left.

“Sasha, don’t be ridiculous.” Grime tried to reason with the blonde. “You’re going to return safely with Anne. I have faith in you, we have faith in you.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence Grime, I really do.” Sasha replied as she turned to her father, the look of determination etched in her features. “But I have to play it safe until I get Anne and I back to safety, hopefully Marcy as well depending on how things go in there.”

“And I’m coming with you!” Yunan volunteered as she raised her fists in the air and extended her adamantium claws with the excitement of doing damage with them. “I’ve been itching for a fight all day!”

“No Yunan, I’m going in there alone.” Sasha flatly stated to the general, which flattened the newt’s joy. “This is personal and I’m not letting Darcy go any further with her reign of terror! Besides if I don’t make it back, at least the team will have a second in command strong arm next to Grime.”

“All the more reason to take someone with you to ensure your and Anne’s safe return.” Hop pop tried reasoning with the blonde, his accented tone gentle. “I know, just like everyone here, that you are capable of taking care of yourself, but this is where the team comes in, we come in to help.”

“I don’t want anyone to follow me in and something happens to any of you.” Sasha calmly stated to Hop Pop while doing her level best to hide her rising frustration. “That will put us at a great disadvantage against Darcy if that happens. I need everyone of you safe until I make it back. If I don’t, Yunan and Grime will stand in my place as commander in chief. Got it?”

The room fell silent as worried glances were exchanged amongst the group. With no further protests, Sasha pulled Grime into a hug.

“Take care of everyone for me.” Sasha stated to the toad as she released him. Grime then looked into his daughter’s eyes with great worry. “I’m counting on you.”

“You take care of yourself lieutenant.” Grime replied with much care. “Give Darcy hell for us.”

“I’d do nothing less.” Sasha confidently stated with a half sly smile.

Checking her weapons of choice one last time and then taking a last look at everyone, Sasha then turned and left the compound, the creaking door closing behind her. The sound of the door closing echoed through the room as deafening silence entered the void. For those who had questions, answers were surely to follow in the moments that laid ahead.

Current

Reaching the balcony, Sasha slowly peeked over the ledge and spotted two frobots guarding the entrance of the castle. Smirking, Sasha disappeared behind the wall only to turbo leap into sight, quickly unsheathed her right sword, and slashed both bots in half in the blink of an eye. Landing on her feet gracefully and unsheathing her left sword, the weapons the robots had drawn landed at the blonde’s feet, having been dismembered from the attack. Smirking at the sight, Sasha’s expression quickly changed to determined as she stared into the very place she could only describe as a torture chamber.

Gripping the handles of her swords, the blonde warrior cautiously entered into the hall leading to the throne room. Positioning her swords in defensive/fight mode stance, Sasha's eyes scanned the area for any signs of threats, particularly Darcy's henchmen and/or Darcy herself. Continuing to look around her surrounding area, Sasha refocused her vision to the very doors that lead to the throne room of the Newtopian Castle.

Sasha quickly inhaled and exhaled as she inched ever closer to her target, steadying her nerves as she continued moving forward.

"This is where it ends Darcy!" Sasha hissed as she continued inching her way down the hall. "When I find Anne, she's leaving with me AFTER I take you down! You’ve tortured the poor girl enough and I’m not letting you get away with any of it!"

A wicked laughter then echoed through the hall as Sasha's ears perked up, putting the blonde on high alert for what she may encounter within the next few minutes to seconds. Feeling her heart beginning to race, the blonde began checking every blind spot possible as the laughter continued, sounding closer and closer each second.

"You are playing a VERY dangerous game Darcy!" Sasha growled as she continued checking for signs of the Newtopian dictator. "Come out and show yourself!"

Whipping her attention to her right, Sasha was just mere inches from the throne room when she suddenly felt something tightly grip her throat from her left. The grip was suddenly loosened as Sasha was swiftly thrown against the left side of the hall's wall. Before the blonde could open her mouth and compose herself, that same tight grip around her throat reappeared and with it, the appearance of her best friend and she looked...different?

Gripping what was threatening to collapse her windpipe, Sasha was able to focus her vision clear enough to see that it was Anne who was gripping her throat. Looking into the girl's face, Sasha saw that one of Anne's eyes was the color of her gem and the other, the color of the control collar that was placed around her neck. Seeing past the wrist Sasha was gripped on to, Sasha eyed the outfit that Anne was wearing, seeing that she was no longer herself, but a henchman of Darcy's.

“Ann…Anne?” Sasha chocked out as she attempted to remove Anne’s death grip from around her neck. Quickly composing herself, Sasha’s slightly blurry vision refocused on Anne.

"Anne! Its me!" Sasha managed to state, trying to get the girl's attention and unlatch her hand from around her throat. "And who's tacky curtains are you wearing?!"

"Oh hello Sasha, very nice of you to drop in." Darcy casually quipped as she appeared on Anne's left from the darkness of the hall, embracing the thai girl in her arms. "If you ask me, I really love the new Anne and she looks absolutely stunning in the outfit I chose for her. Don't you agree my dear?"

The thai teen continued to tighten her grip on the blonde's throat with no response to either individual.

"Don't worry Sash. As you can clearly see, I have taken very good care of Anne and I mean VERY good care of her." Darcy grinned as she tightened her grip on Anne. "She has been doing very well without you and dare I say, never mentioned that she misses you. However, I know she hasn't forgotten the manipulating, bullying, lying, and sabotaging you've done to her, to us. You have been a terrible person to her and doesn’t deserve her love and her heart. Needless to say, she no longer needs you as I am all she will ever have and ever need. Right Anne?"

Lightly nuzzling the side of the teen’s face, Darcy kept her cynical vision on Sasha as Anne grabbed Darcy’s laser dagger from her suit, tightening the handle in her left hand.

"You are one dead bitch when I get my hands on you Darcy!" Sasha growled as she continued struggling to remove Anne’s hand from her throat. The blonde began feeling light headed, but didn’t want to lose consciousness in front of her nemesis.

“What do you say love, that we have a little fun with her first before putting her out of her misery?” Darcy quipped suggestively to Anne as she turned the thai’s face to meet hers. “After all, the three of us are all together again, so why not have a bit of a reunion?”

“The last place I would ever want to be is next to the likes of you!” Sasha snapped as she fell to her knees, feeling the air in her lungs escape quicker than she could replenish it. “Anne, she doesn’t have control of you! Fight her! I know you’re in there and can hear me!”

The core’s voices then spoke to Anne all at once as the girl closed her eyes to process every voice that was speaking to her. Sasha’s voice entered her mind, but was quickly pushed out, the core ensuring that all outside influences would not go against their plans for their new host. Anne then opened her eyes and turned to Sasha as her eyes glowed the muted orange and red, same as Darcy. With a twisted smirk forming on her features, Anne yanked Sasha to her and brought the flaming dagger close to the right side of Sasha’s face, the heat from the blade practically singeing the girl’s hair on that side. Tilting her head away from the blade, Sasha kept her eyes on Anne.

“Don’t worry Sasha, I am in total control!” Anne snipped as she threatened to bring the blade closer to the blonde. Darcy released the thai while watching the display in front of her with delight. “And Darcy is right! After everything you’ve done to me, I could never forgive you!”

The last part of Anne’s sentence was spoken in the deranged voices of the core.

“No matter how much you say you’ve changed, you’re still the same wicked witch that bullied me when you couldn’t get your way and better yet, when you wanted to have your way no matter what!” Anne continued as she lifted Sasha off the ground while still pinning her against the wall, the blonde’s feet dangling beneath her. “All the manipulating, the lying, the bullying, I’ve forgotten about none of it! But not to worry, you’ll have plenty of time to think of how you’re going to make it up to me while rotting away in the dungeon!”

“How are you so strong?!” Sasha continued struggling.

Smirking, Anne swung the blonde to her right with Sasha landing roughly on her left side, a sickening crack heard from the blonde’s shoulder. Gripping her throat with her right hand, fits of coughs erupted from the blonde as she struggled to catch her breath from nearly be chocked to death.

Anne’s muted orange and red eyes briefly shined brightly as frobots entered the area and quickly scooped Sasha up.

“Oh before you go.” Anne began as she walked up to the disheveled blonde, her thin frame towering over her. Sasha’s body immediately tensed up at how close the girl was to her, fearing the girl would continue her assault. “I’ll be taking these as you won’t be needing them where you’re going.”

Anne then snatched the bag of boomshrooms from Sasha’s belt, victoriously holding the bag in front of the blonde.

“Get her out of my sight!” Anne demanded to the frobots.

With no strength to fight back, Sasha’s body fell limp in their grip as they hauled the blonde away. Darcy then embraced Anne once more as she giggled with delight.

“My love, that was perfect!” Darcy nearly squealed as she interlocked her left hand in Anne’s right hand. “Come! I must show you around the castle, more specifically where, we will be ruling from here on out! After that, I’ll be giving you a grand tour!”

Placing a kiss to the thai’s cheek, Darcy began leading Anne to the recuperation room. With her back turned, Darcy did not notice the sinister look growing on the thai’s features…..

A/N: And here we are finally! Life was life-ing and then I had a death in the family, but through it all, here is chapter 7! Chapter 8, I will do my best to keep it under a 1 month waiting period despite how busy work keeps me as now we are entering the core’s newest host’s chapter, Core Anne!

Darcy’s revenge, which was featured in this chapter, can be found on my DeviantArt page under Alisi Christine!

Chapter 8: Heart of the Core Part 3: Puppet Master!

Chapter Text

Chapter 8: Heart of the Core part 3: Puppet Master!

‘Sasha encountered Anne and she did not look like herself and Darcy is to thank for her transformation! Or does Anne appears to have no allegiance to her nor Sasha? Does the core truly have control over the cyan warrior?”

Previously

The last part of Anne’s sentence was spoken in the deranged voices of the core.

“How are you so strong?!” Sasha continued struggling.

Anne’s muted orange and red eyes briefly shined brightly as frobots entered the area and quickly scooped Sasha up.

Anne then snatched the bag of boomshrooms from Sasha’s belt, victoriously holding the bag in front of the blonde.

“Get her out of my sight!” Anne demanded to the frobots.

With no strength to fight back, Sasha’s body fell limp in their grip as they hauled the blonde away. Darcy then embraced Anne once more as she giggled with delight.

Placing a kiss to the thai’s cheek, Darcy began leading Anne to the recuperation room. With her back turned, Darcy did not notice the sinister look growing on the thai’s features…..

Currently

Song(s) played: Get Your Wish by Porter Robinson (Anne and Darcy)

One In a Million by Bebe Rexha and David Guetta (Darcy)

The Core’s Consciousness

“Anne! Anne! If you can hear me, answer me!” A near hysterical Marcy called out as she continued to helplessly watch as her best friend’s outline continued being downloaded into the core’s consciousnesses.

Taking a step forward to begin towards the thai with the hope to rescue her, Marcy was suddenly met with an invisible wall that sprung up to separate the two. Touching it, Marcy’s anger quickly surfaced that had the raven-haired girl firmly pressing against the invisible wall to hopefully shatter it and reach her best friend.

“I am tired of your dirty tricks Darcy!” Marcy nearly screamed as she began banging on the resilient shield. “You are not going to keep me from Anne and there is nothing you can do to stop me from reaching her!”

Continuing to bang on the shield, Marcy felt her fire beginning to burn out to fight against the core. Her breathing being heavy and a bit shallow, Marcy’s rage came to a crawl as tears appeared in the girl’s eyes as she looked helplessly towards Anne.

“I am so sorry Anne!” Marcy squeaked as she tried to fight back her tears while pressing her open palms against her side of the glass wall. “It’s all my fault that we’re in this mess! If I would have just moved away, at least I would have seen you guys again and none of us would be in this mess right now!”

“Dude, how long are you going to keep blaming yourself for that?” Anne’s playful voice spoke out from behind the whimpering girl. “You screwed up, we know.”

Hearing the voice of the girl she tried to desperately save in front of her, Marcy’s frame suddenly froze as the tears that were threatening to pour out suddenly rescinded. Whipping around, Marcy eyes grew wide at the sight of the messy haired teen as the thai girl smiled back at her. Marcy’s expression was tied between excited and frightened at seeing her best friend.

“Hey Marc.” Anne nervously greeted to Marcy.

“Anne!” Marcy screamed as she lunged for Anne only to pass through her and hit the ground behind Anne. Sitting up, Marcy looked to her hands and then to Anne in confusion.

“Yea, I should have led with that.” Anne laughed a bit. “I’m here, but I’m not at the same time.”

“Ok, but how are you standing here when you’re over there?” Marcy inquired further as she got to her feet. “But more so, out there?!”

“Just like you.” Anne replied. “I can walk around here like this while my physical body is in the world. This place is pretty big you know?”

“Anne, why are you here and why are you so calm about being HERE? What did Darcy threaten to do that brought you here?” Marcy frantically asked as she walked up to Anne, stopping a few feet from the girl.

“I did what I had to to save all of you.” Anne calmly replied to Marcy. “Darcy threatened to destroy the planet if I didn’t go through with marrying her. So I said yes to keep her from doing anything drastic. I didn’t want to, but I honestly had no choice.”

Bringing her left hand into view, the emerald frog ring on Anne’s left hand sparkled brightly. With each glimmer of the ring, Marcy felt her anger bubbling back to the surface. How dare Darcy force her crush to marry her and then trap her in the same hell hole she has been trying to get out of since arriving?!

“Anne, you could have found another way!” Marcy nearly screamed out of frustration. “You didn’t have to go through with this! Now you’re stuck here for all eternity with no one out there to stop Darcy! You saying yes to her will not stop her destruction! She’s entirely too reckless!”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say no one will stop Darcy.” Anne smirked. “I still have a bit of control of what goes on out there so we’re not at a total loss.”

“How do you still have control of yourself now that you’re being integrated into the core?!” Marcy frantically asked as she tried to once more grab Anne, but caught herself as she nearly fell. “I keep forgetting about that. I have absolutely no control of myself or what that psycho is doing with my body, but somehow you do?!”

“Trust me Mar-Mar, I know what I’m doing.” Anne stated with encouragement. “Darcy is only aware of what she thinks she can control, but is being blinded by what she thinks she’s getting for eternity, which is me. I will get us both out of this, you just have to trust me.”

“And what about Sasha?” Marcy inquired while steadying her nerves. “Isn’t she a part of the rescue party to stop Darcy?”

“Of course she is, but she’s a bit out of commission right now.” Anne stated with a nervous smirk as she scratched the back of her head nervously. “I kind of let my anger get the better of me in my new form so…”

“Anne!” Marcy nearly screamed. “What did you do to Sasha?”

“Nothing I can’t reverse.” Anne simply replied. “All I ask is that you trust me and know that what control I have, I can overthrow Darcy when the time is right. I just can’t give away too many details right now and only have one shot to get this right. Can you trust me Marcy?”

Turning her vision to the ground away from the ghost of her best friend, Marcy gripped her right arm with her left hand. Taking in a deep breath, Marcy turned her vision back to Anne and nodded.

“I trust you Anne.” Marcy softly spoke. “I trust you to turn against Darcy, save me and Sasha, and destroy the core! I trust you!”

Smiling to Marcy, Anne nodded at her words of encouragement.

“That’s all I needed to hear Marc.” Anne stated with a smile.

Before the thai could continue her thought, her right arm began fading in and out, which caught the girls’ attention.

“Well dude, looks like my fifteen minutes of fame are up.” Anne joked as her right arm faded back in. “I know this is the last place you wanted to see me in, but trust me when I say, I will get us out of this.”

With those final words, Anne faded into the room’s darkness as she waved to Marcy. Seeing her best friend, once again, ripped away from her, the tears that Marcy held back earlier resurfaced and poured down her cheeks like a water fall. Wiping her face, Marcy was overcome with determination as she turned back to the outline of Anne as her data continued being downloaded into the core.

“Anne, I trust you with my life and I know Sasha feels the same!” Marcy sternly spoke as she kept her eyes glued to Anne. “Your days are numbered Darcy so you better start counting them!”

Marcy then balled up her right fist and slammed it against the invisible barrier that separated her and Anne.

While reviewing the amphibian alphabet with Anne, Darcy suddenly felt a pinch in the back of her head that lead the girl to scratch that area of her head. Noticing the girl scratching kind of furiously, Anne turned to Darcy with her left eyebrow cocked.

“Hey, you ok there?” Anne inquired to Darcy as her muted orange and red eyes briefly shined.

“Of course my love, just had a bit of an itch is all.” Darcy replied as she turned her attention back to the alphabet. “I think I may need to switch my shampoo and conditioner to something a bit stronger than I have.”

Newtopian Castle

Tightly holding hands with the core’s newest host, Darcy gleefully pulled Anne into different rooms and areas within the castle to introduce her to her new home. The first room was their bedroom that both woke up in after their wedding reception. Darcy displayed to Anne their wedding photo from the reception in which Anne looked drowsy and terrified at the same time. Grinning at the photo, Anne pulled out her new phone with the core’s symbol on the back of it and she and Darcy posed for their new “wedding” photo. After the picture was taken, Anne and Darcy reviewed at the photo on Anne’s phone, Darcy pecking the thai on her right cheek in the photo.

“Ah, you're my

You're my one, one, one in a million,
It's like someone picked you out of the sky,
Maybe I met you for a reason.”

The next room Darcy pulled Anne into was the door that led to the castle’s study that contained all the information regarding Newtopia dating back to the time of the city’s build to present. Placing the palms of her hands on the faux white and black marble tile of the door, the door shined a bright muted orange before it slid open with a quiet whir. Darcy then pulled Anne into the room while displaying to her shelf after shelf of the ancient scrolls of Newtopia.

“ And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time
Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin' out? Am I dreamin'?
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!”

Darcy then removed a scroll off of the lowest shelf and handed it to Anne as the thai unrolled it and began reading the ancient alphabet that riddled the parchment paper. Watching as the thai concentrated on the document before her, Darcy then swooned as she observed the thai reading the scroll, unable to hide her excitement about spending eternity with the cyan calamity warrior.

“You got me speedin' through the red lights,
Yeah, I'm on my way,
We do it 'cause it feels right,
Yeah, you got me so,

High!
I tripped and found paradise,
No lie,
I tripped and found paradise in your eyes,
In your eyes, in your eyes,
In your eyes, in your eyes (in your eyes, in your eyes),
In your eyes”.

The next room Darcy escorted Anne into were the resurrection room where Darcy recharged and updated the Core’s servers twice a week. The machine that sat next to the bed Darcy laid on to recharge, it’s low hum echoed through the quiet room which caused Darcy’s ears to perk up at the familiar sound.

“I have been waiting what feels like a life time to show you this!” Darcy beamed as she pulled Anne to a small door inside the room. Her eyes shining their usual muted red and orange, the door quickly opened to reveal the music box sitting atop a lighted shelf that shined a bright gold and the key to the music box hanging on a hook above the golden instrument.

“Now that you are one a part of us, you too will have access to Newtopia’s greatest secret!” Darcy confidently stated as she slowly, but carefully scooped the music box up into her hands. She then proudly displayed the box to Anne who carefully took the jewel from Darcy. Touching the surface of the box, Anne felt a slight jolt of excitement race through her frame.

“Isn’t she a beauty?” Darcy cooed as Anne’s muted red and orange eyes glossed over the box carefully.

“Very beautiful.” Anne repeated as she continued looking the box over. “But why is this called Newtopia’s greatest secret?”

“Because this box holds immeasurable power beyond even the oldest newt’s imagination!” Darcy proudly exclaimed as she carefully took the box from Anne and delicately placed it back on the shelf. “This thing can conquer any universe or destroy any target we set our destination to! Having the box back in the castle couldn’t have happened at a better time and it’s all thanks to you my sweet!”

“You're my one, one, one in a million,
It's like someone picked you out of the sky (someone picked you out of the sky),
Maybe I met you for a reason,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!
Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin' out? Am I dreamin'?,
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!”

After showing the thai around the castle for a majority of the evening, the tour ended at Darcy’s bedroom as two hosts settled into the balcony area outside of the bedroom under the setting sun. The night air provided a slight wind that blew the hosts’ hair gently as they laid together. Darcy comfortably dozed off with her arms cupped around Anne’s waist on the charcoal-colored loveseat. The thai closed her eyes and pretended to sleep alongside Darcy, but were waiting for the girl to fall asleep so she could tour certain areas of the castle alone without the careful eyes of a chaperone.

Carefully adjusting her body to look back at Darcy who was hugged up on Anne’s back, Anne noticed a stream of drool were forming in the right corner of the girl’s mouth that indicated that Darcy was in a deep sleep. Smirking and carefully slipping out of Darcy’s arms, Anne quietly, but quickly exited the bedroom, making sure her exit was a quiet one so not to wake the sleeping hivemind. Making her way back to the resurrection room that were two rooms over from the bedroom, particularly back to the small closet that contained the music box and key to the instrument, Anne’s eyes briefly shined muted orange and red as the door slid open to reveal the music box and key in their shiniest of gold coated glory. A cynical grin growing on the thai’s face, Anne carefully plucked the key off of the hook while examining it closely.

“Well, hello there beautiful.” Anne evilly smirked as she continued looking over the key. “We’re reunited at last.”

“Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin' out?
Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin'?
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time,

You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!”

In the dark regions of the castle’s basement, the cell that contained the blonde warrior was suddenly illuminated by a boom shroom alongside Sasha’s face. While Anne confiscated the majority of the explosives, Sasha ensured that she was not completely defenseless in her situation. Slightly smiling at the pint-sized weapon as it glowed with promise, a determined smile grew on the blonde’s face as she kept her eyes glued to the illuminating explosive.

“This shroom is going to go boom very soon!” Sasha stated to herself as she kept her eyes on the mini explosive in her right hand…..

A/N: My sincere apologies that this chapter took so long to publish. Life has been life-ing and summer has been summer-ing with the over-the-top craziness since May! But here it is and stay tuned for the next chapter, Keep Your Friends Close!

Chapter 9: Keep Your Friends Close

Chapter Text

Chapter 9: Keep Your Friends Close

'Looks like the honeymoon is still in full swing for the two hosts of the core, but for one of the hosts, the honeymoon maybe over before it can truly begin!'

Previously

After showing the thai around the castle for a majority of the evening, the tour ended at Darcy's bedroom as two hosts settled into the balcony area outside of the bedroom under the setting sun. The night air provided a slight wind that blew the hosts' hair gently as they laid together. Darcy comfortably dozed off with her arms cupped around Anne's waist on the charcoal-colored loveseat. The thai closed her eyes and pretended to sleep alongside Darcy, but were waiting for the girl to fall asleep so she could tour certain areas of the castle alone without the careful eyes of a chaperone.

Carefully adjusting her body to look back at Darcy who was hugged up on Anne's back, Anne noticed a stream of drool were forming in the right corner of the girl's mouth that indicated that Darcy was in a deep sleep. Smirking and carefully slipping out of Darcy's arms, Anne quietly, but quickly exited the bedroom, making sure her exit was a quiet one so not to wake the sleeping hivemind. Making her way back to the resurrection room that were two rooms over from the bedroom, particularly back to the small closet that contained the music box and key to the instrument, Anne's eyes briefly shined muted orange and red as the door slid open to reveal the music box and key in their shiniest of gold coated glory. A cynical grin growing on the thai's face, Anne carefully plucked the key off of the hook while examining it closely.

"Well, hello there beautiful." Anne evilly smirked as she continued looking over the key. "We're reunited at last."

"Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin' out?
Is this heaven now? Am I dreamin'?
You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time,

You're my one, one, one in a million,
And I can't believe that we're both alive at the same time!"

In the dark regions of the castle's basement, the cell that contained the blonde warrior was suddenly illuminated by a boom shroom alongside Sasha's face. While Anne confiscated the majority of the explosives, Sasha ensured that she was not completely defenseless in her situation. Slightly smiling at the pint-sized weapon as it glowed with promise, a determined smile grew on the blonde's face as she kept her eyes glued to the illuminating explosive.

"This shroom is going to go boom very soon!" Sasha stated to herself as she kept her eyes on the mini explosive in her right hand…..

Currently

"So she actually came back?!" Marcy's mother, Sharon, excitedly questioned to the thai elder as Oum sipped her tea. "What was it like seeing her? Did she grow taller? Is her hair still a curly mess?"

The right corner of Oum's mouth curled into a smile as she processed the questions the other woman was throwing at her.

"No, Anne was the same ol Anne and I was very shocked to see her when she arrived on the doorstep." Oum answered with a slight laugh as Sharon hung onto every word the elder thai spoke. "My husband and I cried when we saw her, but that quickly faded when we met Anne's amphibian family."

"Amphibian family?" Sharon inquired with a cocked eyebrow.

"It's a very long story, but lets just say they were very interesting." Oum stated as she quickly sipped her tea along with Sharon. "Especially the pink frog. Sprig was his name. They were here for a bit and watching how Anne looked after them and took care of them like they were her own really showed how mature she had become. Something I thought I'd never live to see."

Sharon chuckled a bit while sipping her tea.

"That's great to hear." Sharon replied as she tightly gripped the ceramic mug in her hands while lowering her vision to the table, a concerned look etching across her features.

"I wish I could say the same about Marcy." Sharon added, finally setting the cup on the table in front of her. "When Michael announced his job change to Connecticut, I didn't imagine never seeing my daughter again. That day she ran out of the house, something told me to go after her, but Michael stopped me. He was sure she'd come back, but hey, even he was wrong despite being the most intelligent engineer at his tech company. I should have gone after her and maybe I could be as happy as you are that you got to see your daughter again. Unlike Carmen and Ashton, we actually care about our children! I swear those two are so selfish, it's sickening!"

Sipping her tea once more, Oum nodded, silently agreeing that Sasha's parents were indeed self-serving and greedy which fueled Sasha's troubled behaviors that Anne often got entangled in. Oum could not count on one hand how many calls she received from not just the school, but from Carmen complaining of how Anne has manipulated Sasha when the truth was reversed. While Anne was easily influenced by Sasha and Marcy, Oum knew what her daughter was capable of and what behaviors she exhibited, which were nothing like Carmen complained of.

"When I tried to call Carmen to speak about Sasha, the way she rushed me off the phone told me she could not be bothered to speak about her own child!" Sharon spoke in an outrage. "Her OWN daughter who's also missing and you can't speak one word about her to another concerned parent?!"

Oum shook her head, knowing just how Carmen and Ashton were to other parents who tried to communicate with them, herself included.

"The Waybrights are indeed an interesting pair." Oum civilly agreed with a slight nod. "Carmen has a very interesting way of describing our daughters' friendship. (เจ้าเด็กจมูกน้ำมูกตัวน้อยไม่มีอนาคต).

Sharon nodded as well as she tried to control the tears that threatened to fall.

"I just wish I could hear her and even hug her." Sharon continued as she lightly wiped her eyes. "I know how she felt that night when the announcement came, but I wish I could have been able to do more so she'd still be with us, with me. If I could do anything to change that, I would. I was not very happy about Michael's change of jobs out of state no more than Marcy was, despite the change being a better opportunity. I just wish things were different and that there was a way to bring her home!"

Taking another sip of her tea, Oum's right eyebrow raised just slightly at hearing the Taiwanese woman's wish, knowing of a possible way for Sharon to see or even visit with Marcy. Just as Oum opened to her mouth to continue the conversation, Bee entered the kitchen and walked to the fridge, grabbing both women's attention.

"Don't mind me ladies." Bee stated as he opened the fridge and grabbed a soda. "Just taking a bit of a gaming break."

"Oh honey, I need to speak with you for a second." Oum requested as she released her cup. "Please excuse me Sharon, for a moment."

Sharon nodded as Oum stood up and approached Bee.

"เราควรบอกชารอนว่าเราส่งแอนน์กลับไปที่แอมฟิเบียได้อย่างไร." (We should tell Sharon about how we sent Anne back to Amphibia.) Oum suggested to Bee in their language as his eyes widened. "บางทีเราอาจเรียก..." (Maybe we can call...)

"ที่รัก แม้ว่าฉันจะอยากช่วยชารอน เราก็ตกลงที่จะเก็บเรื่องนั้นไว้เป็นความลับ!" (Honey as much as I want to help Sharon, we agreed to keep that as a secret!) Bee replied as calmly as he could so not to startle Sharon. "สถานการณ์ซับซ้อนกว่าที่เราคิดมาก ฉันไม่อยากให้เธอผ่านเรื่องนั้น!" (The situation is far more complicated than we thought. I don't want to put her through that!)

"แต่เธอก็อกหักมากเหมือนตอนที่แอนหายตัวไป." (But she's heartbroken much like I was when Anne disappeared.) Oum pressed as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "เนื่องจากเรามีวิธีที่จะช่วยเธอได้ ฉันจึงบอกว่าเราโทรหามิสเตอร์เอ็กซ์และเทอร์รี่ เราแค่ต้องอธิบายเรื่องนี้ให้ดีที่สุดที่เรารู้." (Since we have a way to help her, I say we call Mr. X and Terri. We'll just have to explain this the best way we know how).

Unsure of how to continue the conversation with Oum, Bee looked around Oum slightly to Sharon, seeing how the woman was holding up as she sipped her tea.

"เราจะพูดคุยเรื่องนี้กันในภายหลังและตัดสินใจได้."(We can discuss this more a bit later and make a decision then.) Bee stated as he looked back to his wife. "ฉันไม่ต้องการที่จะพูดมากเกินไปเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนี้ต่อหน้าเธอและอาจทำให้เธอกลัวได้." (I don't want to say too much about it in front of her and possibly scare her).

"คุณไม่ต้องกังวลกับการทำให้ฉันกลัว แต่ฉันสนใจที่จะเรียนรู้ว่า Mr. X เป็นใครมากกว่า และเขาจะช่วยฉันได้อย่างไร." (You don't have to worry about scaring me, but I am more interested in learning who Mr. X is and how he can help me get Marcy back.)

A sudden silence fell over the room as Bee and Oum turned to Sharon who were eyeing the pair over her glasses just slightly.

"Marcy got me into the rom-coms." Sharon non-chalantly stated. "So who is Mr. X and Terri exactly?"

Newtopian Castle (Throne Room)

A frustrated sigh revibrated through the silent throne room as another scroll messily rolled onto the floor atop the pile next to the right arm rest of the throne. Scratching her left cheek lightly while being careful not to leave bruises from her manicured nails, Anne's eyes briefly shined a bright muted orange and red as she unrolled the next scroll and began scanning the tattered parchment with annoyed eyes. With a frown etching its way into the right corner of the thai's mouth, Anne's eyes scanned to the middle of the parchment as she released a sigh.

"And she couldn't read these herself?!" Anne griped with irritation as she continued reading the scroll. "No wonder the core was formed into a collective as reading these are practically putting me to sleep!"

Finishing reading through the scroll in her hands, Anne rolled it up and tossed it to her right, into the pile of scrolls on the floor.

"S̄eīy welā cring«!" Anne spat in her native tongue as her eyes shined their muted orange and red.

Placing her left heeled foot onto the ground, the thai stood up to stretch when the sound of shattered glass her caught her attention. Looking ahead of her, Anne caught sight of Andrias, who stood frozen as if he saw a ghost, the broken remains of his number one monarch mug in pieces in front of him along with what tea remained in the mug. Anne cocked an eyebrow as Andrias's mouth fell open at the sight of her.

"Can I help you?" Anne barked in annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips defensively.

"Not…not…you." Andrias stammered as he fell to one knee, the shockwave of his weight rippled throughout the room. Anne quickly grabbed onto the right arm of the throne to steady herself. "I thought it was just Marcy, but you…?"

"Complete sentences please!" Anne demanded as she straightened herself up and walked down the stairs to stop a mile from the giant salamander.

"Anne, how did this happen to you?" Andrias inquired, his voice breaking and sounding as if he were on the brink of tears. "One of Amphibia's greatest warriors has fallen! I…I just can't believe it!"

Seeing the giant in such a vulnerable state, Anne's eyes softened and briefly changed to their chocolate brown color before changing back as she kept her eyes on Andrias.

"It was not my first choice let me tell you, but I had to do what was best to save everyone on earth." Anne softly spoke to Andrias as she took a few steps closer to the giant. "Darcy really didn't give me much of a choice either."

The energy in the room suddenly changed as well as Andrias's demeanor, his breathing became heavier, almost shallow as he strongly inhaled a breath.

"Darcy…The core…My father!" Andrias growled as his voice deepened to dangerous levels. "That was not the plan when it was created! We needed a host for instructional and dominance purposes, but not….not this! There should have been another way to save earth without you being assimilated like Marcy!"

"Don't you think I tried?!" Anne's voice boomed, the voices of the core coming forth as well as the new host crossed her arms across her chest. "There were no other options but to do what I had to!"

Silence then fell over the room as Anne kept her eyes on Andrias while Andrias looked down in defeat.

"I should have destroyed that monster when I had the opportunity to!" Andrias growled as he looked to Anne with sorrowful eyes. "Then none of this would be happening right now."

Hearing Andrias state his prior plans to destroy the core pulled the thai in, hearing that her future plans were not too far from what was already thought of by the giant monarch.

"Andrias….I….I have something to tell you." Anne began as she took another step towards the giant salamander, her eyes briefly changing to her native chocolate brown. "About the core…."

"Andrias!" Darcy's voice screeched as Andrias and Anne turned to the entrance of the throne room, to the helmetless hivemind. "What are you doing in here with Anne!? Don't you see she's busy?! Don't you have other things you can be doing instead of bothering her!?"

"My lord." Andrias quickly spoke as he got to his feet, but quickly bowed to Darcy. "I did not know Anne was in here until…"

"Silence!" Darcy demanded as she waved her left hand at the giant, shutting him up instantly. "You are to keep watch on our army, not fraternize with a superior! Until you are needed, you are dismissed!"

With a deep sigh, Andrias nodded to Darcy in obedience. Slightly looking back to Anne, Andrias headed to the exit of the room to leave the two hosts to converse. As Andrias exited the throne room, Darcy's frown changed to a wide smile as she approached the thai with a scroll tucked under her right arm.

"I cannot tell you how long I've waited for this!" Darcy happily gleamed as she grabbed the parchment from under her arm and hugged the old tattered paper to her chest. "Or should I say WE have waited for this. Having a secondary host, my love, right alongside me, is my biggest dream come true."

"Well who said there only had to be on ruler?" Anne quickly quipped as her eyes briefly glowed a bright muted orange. "The more the merrier."

"Right you are love!" Darcy smiled to Anne as she opened the scroll in her hands. "Now down to business. Having already reviewed the ancient amphibian alphabet, aligning the scrolls to awaken the great soul of the core will be one heck of a challenge, but according to the prophecy, the one who possesses the purest of heart can awaken the great soul. You are considered Heart, which means that you and only you can awaken the great soul and command it to do our bidding!"

"Like taking power from every planet we conquer effortlessly!" Anne smugly spoke as an evil grin etched onto her features while opening her right palm to the ceiling as if she were reaching out.

"Don't you just love when an evil plan comes together?" Darcy fawned, but quickly regained her composure to continue her explanation. "Now, in order to summon the great soul, these instructions have to be followed to the letter as we cannot afford any mistakes."

Continuing to speak to Anne about the great soul, Darcy turned her back to the thai, missing the cynical smile that formed on the girl's face and the fireball that formed in the palm of her right hand.

"You're giving me that much more to work with, Darcy, to bury all of you!" Anne mentally stated as her eyes continued burning in the back of the raven-haired girl's head.

The King Neptune Suite

Having mentally completed part one of her ultimate plan, Anne showered, disrobed, and climbed in the bed for a night she can only describe as to herself. The candles were lit, Amphibia's moon was setting so beautifully on the horizon, and the night air was just the right temperature. Darcy would be walking the castle for hours, which gave the thai plenty of time to unwind her body and mind from a strenuous day.

Along with enhancing her plans to take over the core until she were able to enact her destruction, Anne's mind replayed where Darcy kept the music box and key, which were in the resurrection room hidden away in a conjoined room. If she could charm the depraved soul into letting her keep it permanently, she would have completed the second step needed to take over the core to destroy it at her leisure. A smile creeped onto the thai's face as she hugged against the fluffy pillow that she were laying on. Stretching out one last time, Anne felt her body relax as she began drifting into a deep sleep.

"In bed already?" Darcy's voice rang out as she entered the bedroom that, once belonged to Andrias, in her fluffy purple sweater. The hivemind flipped the foyer light switch on, illuminating the area she were standing. Anne opened her eyes and squinted as she sat up to face Darcy. The thai grunted in annoyance.

"Really Darcy?" Anne whined as she laid back down and placed the pillow over her head. "I told you I was tired when I left central command. Please turn the light out."
"Well I'm not and since we have the whole castle to ourselves tonight, I was thinking we can have a little fun." Darcy slyly suggested as she walked closer to the bed.

"Oh really? Fun like wh-?" Anne began, but stopped her thought as she eyed the chain of the music box key hanging from the left pocket of Darcy's robe. Anne then smiled as she sat up while wrapping herself in the covers. "What did you have in mind exactly?"

"Oh, anything I guess." Darcy flirted as she approached the bed and kneeled down. "I've been so impressed with your plans of how we are going to be rulers of the universe that I'm going to let you pick. Happy wife, happy life right?"

"Right." Anne replied in a flirty tone as she climbed to her knees and approached Darcy, who landed a kiss to Anne's lips. "I think I may have an idea."
"Good." Darcy whispered as she kissed the thai's lips once more. "Tonight, I submit to you, my lovely queen."

Anne planted another kiss to Darcy's lips as Darcy grabbed the edges of the covers to begin unwrapping her gift. Anne followed suit and began disrobing the hivemind while keeping her right hand very close to the pocket the key was in. Anne was mere seconds from grabbing it when she felt Darcy entangle her right hand in her hair, keeping her locked into the kiss that was quickly heating up.

Giving Darcy what she wanted, Anne quickly reached down, gripped the chain the key was on, and swiped the key from Darcy's robe. The thai then tossed the key back towards her night stand as the necklace landed under the furniture and out of sight.
"Got it!" Anne smiled as she de-escalated the kiss while still engaged.

"You certainly do!" Darcy continued as she pulled back slightly to take in the thai's image. Leaning back in to reignite the kiss, Darcy was mere inches from the thai when an explosion outside of the castle broke both hosts concentration! Andrias was heard shouting outside of the window below the balcony along with other familiar voices. Quickly wrapping herself up in the covers, Anne rushed to the balcony and what she saw caused her hair to flare a fiery red as rose throne stems emerged from her fiery hair.

"Unbelievable!" Anne shouted as her eyes shined an angry bright muted red and orange. Darcy quickly placed on her robe and rushed to the balcony alongside Anne. "How did he not keep them from escaping?!"

"Don't worry love, I'll handle it!" Darcy stated in a hurry.

"No, I'll handle it." Anne replied, her voice echoing those of the great minds she were possessed by. "It looks like I have to get my hands dirty!"

Stepping back into the room, the bedsheets the thai were wrapped in conformed to her body from head to toe, instantly changing her back into her core attire, her crown included. As her fiery red curls continued flaring, Anne extended her right arm as the flaming scythe appeared in it.

"I'm going to enjoy this!" Anne smirked as she phased out of the bedroom while leaving sparks of flames in her wake.

Looking to the bed, Darcy sighed as she mourned the missing three thousand count Newtopian cotton top sheet she looked all over Newtopia for to match the current nautical bed sheet scheme.

"That sheet was so hard to find!" Darcy lightly whined. "Now I have to search for another set."

A/N: The commissions described in this chapter are: The ancient Scrolls, The Ultimate betrayal, and Steamy nights/Anne's Betrayal, which are featured on my DeviantArt page! Stay tuned as more art is coming soon!

Chapter 10: And Your Enemies Even Closer!

Chapter Text

Chapter 10: ….And Your Enemies Even Closer!

‘The honeymoon for the two hosts was over just as fast as it started and now the prisoners have escaped! Looks like Anne must call in the calvary!’

Previously

Giving Darcy what she wanted, Anne quickly reached down, gripped the chain the key was on, and swiped the key from Darcy's robe. The thai then tossed the key back towards her nightstand as the necklace landed under the furniture and out of sight.

"Got it!" Anne smiled as she de-escalated the kiss while still engaged.

“You certainly do!” Darcy continued as she pulled back slightly to take in the thai’s image. Leaning back in to reignite the kiss, Darcy was mere inches from the thai when an explosion outside of the castle broke both hosts concentration! Andrias was heard shouting outside of the window below the balcony along with other familiar voices. Quickly wrapping herself up in the covers, Anne rushed to the balcony and what she saw caused her hair to flare a fiery red as rose throne stems emerged from her fiery hair.

“Unbelievable!” Anne shouted as her eyes shined an angry bright muted red and orange. Darcy quickly placed on her robe and rushed to the balcony alongside Anne. “How did he not keep them from escaping?!”

“Don’t worry love, I’ll handle it!” Darcy stated in a hurry.

“No, I’ll handle it.” Anne replied, her voice echoing those of the great minds she were possessed by. “It looks like I have to get my hands dirty!”

“I’m going to enjoy this!” Anne smirked as she phased out of the bedroom while leaving sparks of flames in her wake.

Looking to the bed, Darcy sighed as she mourned the missing three thousand count Egyptian cotton top sheet she looked all over Newtopia for to match the current nautical bed sheet scheme.

“That sheet was so hard to find!” Darcy lightly whined. “Now I have to search for another set.”

Currently

Song Played: Trying to Feel Alive by Porter Robinson

Undisclosed Laboratory (Earth)

“And I’m telling you sir, there is a major war coming!” Terri spoke with concern as she whipped around to Mr. X from her computer. “Anne’s stone is not supposed to look like this! That is pure corruption!”

“And what does her stone look like to be exact?” Mr. X curiously inquired as he raised his right eyebrow in confusion.

“It looks like any other flawless stone that was carved with exact precision but used to travel to other dimensions.” Terri explained as she grabbed her laptop and set the machine down on the desk with the screen facing the flamboyant FBI agent. “There are three stones that are embedded in a music box that, when a certain note is played, can transport the holder of the box and gem to another dimension, but in this instance, Amphibia!”

The agent remained silent as the scientist continued her explanation.

“The first stone is green, the second blue, and the last a reddish magenta.” Terri continued her explanation. “Each of these stones posses the same power, but is unique to the user. The blue represents heart or the ability of the gem holder to be empathetic to others, thus Anne who is very empathic to everyone she meets. The second is green, which presents wit or high intelligence. The holder of this gem is highly intelligent, good at complex puzzles, and other challenging matters. Lastly, the magenta stone which represents strength. The holder of this gem is exceptionally strong both mentally and physically. While I understand Anne’s gem, I am not clear who possesses the other two. Now when I informed you moments ago that the blue stone is looking not in the best shape, that is an indication of corruption of some kind, which is what I am doing my level best to investigate.”

The FBI agent’s attention shifted from the scientist to the computer screen before him, noticing a raging storm brewing inside of the cyan gem as it rotated counterclockwise on the screen. Memories then flooded back to the FBI agent when he cornered Anne, her parents, and those in kahoots with the Boonchuys at a warehouse laboratory as they tried to get Anne back to Amphibia. The glow the teen exhibited, the power that surged through the room, and the undeniable force that was one to be wrecked with.

Flashback

“No... we're so close!” Anne exclaimed in near defeat as the FBI continued to surround everyone in the lab.

Mr. X nonchalantly entered the lab as he clapped slowly and made his way over to Anne and the Plantars.

“Not bad, Anne.” Mr. X smugly spoke to the girl. “Not bad at all. Turns out, you were more capable than I thought.”

Mr. X then snapped his fingers at the teen as an even bigger grin grew on his features. “But... you still fail because no matter WHAT you do, you're still just a kid!”

Lowering her head, a cynical grin spreads across the cyan warrior’s face. With renewed confidence, Anne slapped X’s hand away, which stunned the agent.

“You're right, X.” Anne responded in a low tone. “I am just a kid, but today reminded me that with the right people by my side, I can do ANYTHING!”

A sudden change in the teen’s voice unearthed her gem’s powers.

Raising her left foot, Anne then stomped on the ground with tremendous force that caused Mr. X, Jenny, and the FBI swat team to fall further away from her and the Plantars. Quickly shaking out of his shock, X quickly adjusted his glasses to get a better look at Anne.

“What are you?!” Mr. X inquired while trying to keep his fear under control.

“ANNE, LOOK!” Sprig excitedly yelled as he pointed towards the portal while Polly and Hop Pop were just as shocked at what was in front of them. “THE PORTAL!”

Hearing the frequencies from the computer monitors that picked up on Anne’s powers, she looked to the screens and noticed the needles were moving erratically, indicating the gem’s power signature. Grinning, the teen pointed her right hand towards the portal and with her powers, made the portal even bigger. Everyone was shocked yet impressed at the display. Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy gasped at the sight, especially Oum who saw her daughter as more than her little girl, but a hero.

“The portal!” Dr. Jan gasped along with Terri.

“How is that possible?” Terri inquired.

“She’s powering it like some sort of....” Ally began.

“Human battery!” Jess concluded Ally’s thought.

Present

The display on that day was enough for X to realize that he was not dealing with an ordinary kid, but someone with immense power beyond his or anyone’s imagination.

“Sir? Sir!” Terri called out to the agent, whose mind was still in the past. “Mr. X!”

Mr. X then snapped back to reality and caught Terri’s vision.

“I have been calling you for the past 5 minutes.” Terri calmly informed the agent. “I asked whether you wanted to understand more about the music box?”

“Sorry about that, my mind just wandered.” Mr. X replied to Terri. “No, that is more your vernacular. But I do want you to continue your research and provide me with any updates you have regarding this impending war. The better prepared we are, the better.”

Grabbing her computer from X’s desk, Terri closed it while nodding.

“Also, please call Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy.” Mr. X requested. “I have a feeling their assistance will come in handy very soon.”

“Right away sir!” Terri confirmed.

Fungi Forest, Amphibia

Clashing swords against the heated metal of the scythe echoed throughout the forest along with grunts of exhaustion from the fight. Sasha fended off every attack thrown her way by the controlled thai who sought complete dominance over her enemy. Swinging the scythe towards the blonde from left to right, Sasha bowed backwards to the avoid the blade that was threatening to behead her.

“Anne, you have to listen to me!” Sasha tried reasoning with the angry thai as she narrowly avoided the flaming scythe that were mere inches from her right arm. “I know this isn’t you! Darcy has gained control of you and you have to fight it!”

“Whose to say that I didn’t want this control and this much power?” Anne taunted as she took a step closer to the blonde warrior, enjoying the intimidation she were able to pull from her. “And what’s this? The mighty Sasha is pleading with little ol’ me? Just what do I owe the pleasure?”

Feeling her fear beginning to empty from her pores, Sasha quickly gathered herself as she stood mere inches from who she considered her best friend. Anne, seeing the fear-inducing look in the blonde’s eyes, Sasha was determined to get through to Anne if that were the last thing she did.

“Sasha, I must say.” Anne began as took a step closer to Sasha as the blonde took a step back. “I really love the scent of your perfume. What is that? Fear?”

Breaking into a hysterical chuckle, Sasha’s temper bubbled to the surface as she grabbed her double heron swords from their sheaths and placed them at her side with anticipation of another battle with Anne.

“Anne, I don’t want to fight you, but I will do what I have to to protect Amphibia from your tyranny!” Sasha growled as she presented her battle stance.

Wildly grinning, Anne quickly and fiercely swung the flaming scythe in Sasha’s direction once more. The blonde warrior quickly blocked the blade of the weapon with her swords that were crisscrossed in front of her. Anne took another step closer while placing pressure on Sasha’s swords with the scythe, the heat from the scythe causing the blonde to sweat and nearly lose focus. Sweat running down the blonde’s brow, Sasha quickly uncrossed the right sword and swung it upwards, which knocked the scythe out of Anne’s hands. The flaming weapon landed into the ground like an axe a foot from both. With the host disarmed, Sasha swung the right sword towards the left side of Anne’s neck, stopping mere inches from the thai’s flesh. Cutting her eyes to the left to view the blade, Anne’s grin lessened as she looked back to the blonde.

“Impressive.” Anne simply stated. “And here I thought you would fold at the sight of me. What was I thinking?”

“I told you I would do what I had to to protect Amphibia from you and Darcy!” Sasha growled as she took a step closer to Anne. “Now if I were you, I’d perk those ears up and pay attention! The next thing you’re going to---”

A sudden frosty chill rushed into the area that caused Sasha’s form to tense up, replacing the usually humid forest air with an unusual cold front.

“Well, well, well.” Darcy’s playful voice rung out from behind the blonde. “Isn’t this an interesting turn of events?”

Sasha felt her blood run cold from hearing the original host’s voice behind her, not knowing what the deranged collection of the hivemind had up her sleeve. Seeing the helmetless Darcy behind Sasha, the thai cracked a twisted smile knowing what Darcy’s next move was going to be.

“You were saying something dear?” Darcy’s spoke in a cynically playful tone. “What was my beloved going to do again?”

Sasha’s breathing suddenly quickened, unsure of what her next move was going to be. With Darcy behind her and Anne trapped in front, she was literally stuck between a rock and a hard place!

“Spit it out!” Darcy demanded, her voice spoke in the numerous voices of the core.

“I---I—uh--” Sasha stuttered while trying to mentally formulate a quick plan to escape.

The blonde’s mind suddenly stopped on a dime as a stream of blood suddenly curdled up from her mouth and trickled out of the right corner of her lips. Her body beginning to horribly tremble, the blonde slowly looked down to find the flaming blade of Darcy’s dagger sticking out of her midsection.

“Oops, my hand slipped.” Darcy cynically stated as she broke into a hysterical chuckle.

Feeling her body becoming weak, Sasha looked back up to Anne to see the thai evilly grinning at her.

“Night night Sash.” Anne playfully greeted as she gave the girl a light wave.

Sasha opened her mouth to speak, but felt her eyes become heavy before she could make her statement. Too weak to hold onto her swords any longer, the weapons fell from the blonde’s hands. Not too far from the swords, Sasha’s body hit the ground of the forest with a low thud, the flaming blade still stuck in her abdomen.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

With eyes opening wide, Sasha sat up with a start, her breathing labored from the dream she had. Focusing her vision to scan where she was located, a sharp shot of pain rushed through the blonde as she grabbed her abdomen, hissing wildly from the shock.

“So it wasn’t a nightmare!” Sasha stated through gritted teeth as she struggled to sit up the wall she were laying against.

“Sasha! You’re awake!” Grime’s excited voice spoke from the blonde’s right. Turning her head to the voice, Sasha spotted her father rushing up to her. Kneeling besides the blonde, the toad hurriedly embraced the girl in his arms while holding back tears.

“Lieutenant! I thought we lost you!” Grime stated, his tone full of concern as he hugged the teen tighter. “I’m glad we found you when we did or there was no telling what would have happened!”

“So it wasn’t a dream after all.” Sasha whispered as Grime released the girl. “It all really happened.”

Quickly brushing off her impending sadness, Sasha turned back to Grime with a look of confusion.

“Wait, whose we?” Sasha inquired with a cocked eyebrow.

“Me and the rest of the resistance.” Grime replied. “We were alerted to where you and Anne were fighting and tried to get to you before Darcy did.”

Sasha sighed heavily as she continued pushing herself against the wall to sit herself up. With her back fully against the wall, the blonde released a heavy sigh as she hung her head down.

“I failed didn’t I grime?” Sasha quietly inquired as she placed her left hand on her bandaged wound while looking to the ceiling. “I failed to reach Anne and I failed to save Marcy, I failed.”

The toad positioned himself to sit next to Sasha and released a sigh.

“Of course not Lieutenant.” Grime replied with care as the blonde turned to him. “While I will say going after Anne after the jail break was a bad idea, you were doing what your heart led you to do, try to talk some sense into her. Even if it meant putting yourself at risk.”

“Why can’t I listen to reason or follow strategies that I give to others?” Sasha growled as she looked away from her father. “Why do I have to care so much when it’s abundantly clear that neither of them care any longer!”

“Because that’s who you are and the Sasha everyone has come to love, even Sprig.” Grime patiently replied. “When you turned over a new leaf, you showed all of Amphibia who Sasha truly is. You always had it in you, you were just too stubborn to show it.”

Sasha’s expression softened at grime’s explanation as a small smile appeared on her face.

“And Anne and Marcy are not themselves, you can clearly see that.” Grime continued as he clasped his hands together. “If Anne had not submitted to Darcy, she would still be the lovable commander that we came to love, but right now, things are very complicated. Once we get her back, she will be the Anne we all know. It’s just not possible right now.”

“I guess you’re right.” Sasha stated with a light sigh as she looked back down to her abdomen, to the intricate bandaging that was done to cover the wound. “She was so close Grime, I just wanted to hug her and tell her I’m not leaving her and that I’m going to help her and Marcy. But I couldn’t even get through to her by just talking. The way she looked at me with such contempt with those eyes. That image is permanently glued in the back of my mind!”

“I can imagine how scary that was seeing Anne like that.” Grime sympathized with the blonde. “But she is still in there and we will get through to her if that’s the last thing WE do.”

The small smile grew a bit wider onto the blonde’s face as she leaned over on Grime’s left shoulder.

“How did I get so lucky to have a dad like you?” Sasha asked with true sincerity.

“I could ask the same when it comes to having an amazing daughter like you.” Grime replied with a chuckle as the two leaned into the other while enjoying the silence of the bunker.

Newtopian Castle (Strategy Room)

“I told you to grab her, not stab her!” Anne fumed at Darcy, who remained calm at the thai’s tirade. “How did you manage to get those instructions mixed up?!”

“I understand my love, but she was mere inches from hurting you and I had to stop her at all costs.” Darcy calmly replied.

“I knew she were going to come after me once she managed that jail break!” Anne huffed as she threw her hands in the air, her fists becoming engulfed in flames. “If you had of grabbed her, that would have been perfect. If there’s anyone who can break that girl, it’s me!”

Darcy opened her mouth to speak but quickly closed it to continue listening to Anne speak.

“I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and Sasha can be very useful to us.” Anne spoke calmly as the flames around her hands rescinded. “She has that power that we can use and with her on our side, there would be nothing stopping us from taking over earth and draining it of all its resources! We would be unstoppable, but while she remains with the resistance, she is an obstacle to my plans.”

“I believe two hosts are enough.” Darcy replied. “We have all the power that we need to conquer earth and more. Plus, we are still newly weds and have plenty more bonding to do.”

“That can wait, this is much more important.” Anne stated as she waved her right hand in the air, dismissing Darcy. “In the meantime, have all the frobots recalibrated and sent out to search for the resistance. Leave no stone unturned and ensure Sasha is brought here unharmed and I’ll handle the rest!”

Darcy nodded to Anne as the thai smiled and stamped out of the room.

The muffling voices of the core began chattering as the loudest voice of the hivemind came forward.

“She is not going along with the plans already set forth!” Alrich’s voice came forward and stormed at Darcy. “You said she would go along with our plans if she became one of us!”

“Don’t worry, she will.” Darcy mentally replied to Alrich in a calm tone. “Right now, she is just becoming settled into her new role. Just give it time!”

“Time?!” Another elderly newt impatiently spat. “Time?! We don’t have time! We are on a tight deadline to replenish our resources! Did you suddenly forget that we cannot survive without them?! For that matter, neither can you?!”

“No, I didn’t.” Darcy replied with a deep sigh.

“You better get that girl on track or you know what will happen to you if you fail!” Alrich warned as he faded back into the hivemind consciousness along with the other newts of the hivemind.

Sighing while shaking her head, Darcy then left the room herself.

A/N: The holidays coupled with my surgery during the holidays created the extended timeline, but hopefully this installment was worth waiting for.

Chapter 11: In Too Deep

Chapter Text

Chapter 11: In Too Deep

‘Darcy’s plan for her beloved is not turning out how she intended with Anne calling the shots with the core! Will the raven-haired hivemind be able to reign in the new host or has she lost total control?’

Previously

“I believe two hosts are enough.” Darcy replied. “We have all the power that we need to conquer earth and more. Plus, we are still newly weds and have plenty more bonding to do.”

Darcy nodded to Anne as the thai smiled and stamped out of the room.

The muffling voices of the core began chattering as the loudest voice of the hivemind came forward.

“She is not going along with the plans already set forth!” Alrich’s voice came forward and stormed at Darcy. “You said she would go along with our plans if she became one of us!”

“Don’t worry, she will.” Darcy mentally replied to Alrich in a calm tone. “Right now, she is just becoming settled into her new role. Just give it time!”

“No, I didn’t.” Darcy replied with a deep sigh.

“You better get that girl on track or you know what will happen to you if you fail!” Alrich warned as he faded back into the hivemind consciousness along with the other newts of the hivemind.

Sighing while shaking her head, Darcy then left the room herself.

Currently

Song played: Years of War by Porter Robinson

Newtopian Castle (Strategy Room)

“Wrong! Wrong! This is all WRONG!” Anne screamed as she ripped a part what looked like a newly designed blueprint, her eyes shined a bright muted red and orange. “None of these plans will work!”

Darcy, who was quietly standing behind the new host, released a deep sigh as she kept quiet with her hands behind her back.

“Who, just who, developed these plans?!” Anne demanded an answer as she turned to the exhausted Darcy.

“My love, those plans were developed by the collective core and are or were, over a hundred years old.” Darcy calmly replied to Anne. “That was the outline to keep track of how we will conquer other worlds.”

“No wonder those plans would not work for me.” Anne quipped calmly as she straightened out the front of her outfit. “We will just have to make new plans under my direction that will ensure we get all of the resources we need while ripping apart the universe we will effortlessly conquer.”

The voices of the core muffled loudly in Darcy’s ear which caused the raven-haired girl to shake her head from an oncoming headache.

“Those plans took centuries to construct, and yet, they were destroyed in mere minutes by that wretched mortal!” Aldrich growled. “Do something or I will!”

“My love, why don’t we review the other plans laid out in the combat training room.” Darcy calmly offered. “I’m certain you will find those blueprints up to your standards.”

“If they are anything like I just read, likely not.” Anne nonchalantly spat as she turned away from Darcy’s vision. “The plans that I have are massive and ensure what we are looking for we will obtain effortlessly.”

With continued confidence, Anne waltzed to the balcony of the room as her eyes fell to the grounds below as a passing Newtopian quickly scurried out of sight at seeing the new host. Anne’s muted red and orange orbs shined bright with satisfaction at the fear she instilled within the city of Newtopia.

Take one last look at what you're leaving behind
'Cause there's no coming back once we go
We are the children of an innocent crime

“Our attacks will be massive and our soldiers will crush anyone who stands in our way like a bug!” Anne continued, her voice becoming deeply cynical. “We will be so powerful, no one will be able to stop us!”

Although their heads may shake
We'll set the city ablaze, for their treachery (oh)
We'll spill their blood and set our fathers free (oh)

Waltzing back in, the new host made her way over to the main computer and typed in a code that provided access to the computer’s system and resource target ranges. Gripping the joystick and shifting it to the right, the image of the earth appeared on the screen as Anne deviously grinned. Typing in a few more codes with her left hand, an area of the earth zoomed in, specifically the Los Angeles area.

“With so many places to choose from, how do I decide?” Anne continued as she shifted the joystick to the right once more. “Lets see, we have St. James middle school, Thai Go, and even that annoying skate park that I have come to loathe so much!”

Two hundred years of war
Fight 'til we are no more
A curse on the streets of gold, oh, oh
Just know, that mine is a hand to hold
Take back what the kingdom stole
A curse on the streets of gold

From Marcy’s memories, the memory of ten-year-old Marcy and Anne at the skate park came to the forefront of the hivemind’s consciousness, a frown growing on the raven-haired girl’s features. In that memory, Marcy and Anne stood a foot apart under the late spring sun while Marcy stumbled over her words, desperately trying to confess to Anne how much the thai girl meant to her. Once the confession came out, the thai girl then fell silent as Marcy’s body shook fiercely in fear as she anticipated rejection from her best friend whom she had a crush on since 4^th grade. A smile formed on Anne’s face as she embraced the scared girl, also confessing to her how much Marcy meant to her. As the two held fast in their embrace, young Sasha came along and separated them while unknowingly pushing Marcy behind her while grabbing Anne’s full attention regarding a bully she were able to take down without issues. Watching the blonde and the curly haired girls exchange conversation, Marcy took a step back as her heart slowly broke at the sight of her safe person being taken away from her moments into her pouring out her heart. The feelings of rejection, sadness, and depression swirled together like the perfect storm as Marcy continued watching the scene in front of her.

As if the moment just took place, Darcy felt jealously rush through her veins at the thought of the blonde taking away the only person Marcy ever loved and coming between them without bothering to acknowledge her feelings. Time after time, Marcy felt as if she came last to Anne due to the blonde consistently getting in the way of their bond. Every. Single. Time!

“So many choices, so little time!” Anne continued cynically singing, which snapped Darcy out of her thoughts.

Walking to the right of the new host, Darcy placed her right hand on top of Anne’s, moving the joystick back to the skate park as the bullseye landed on the patch of land.

“I’d start with the skate park my love.” Darcy calmly cooed as she placed a light kiss on Anne’s left cheek. “That will be where we begin to build our monument when we invade earth!”

Oh, two hundred years of war
Fight 'til we are no more
A curse on the streets of gold, oh, oh
Just know, that mine is a hand to hold

Take back what the kingdom stole
A curse on the streets of gold

Anne turned to her right to catch eyes with the hivemind, a devious smirk crawling across her features.

“Excellent choice.” Anne confirmed.

Undisclosed Laboratory (Earth)

The soft hums of the computers and outside generator filled the near empty room as the song “No Big Deal” faintly played on the radio behind the blue haired scientist. As Terri took small bites out of her cold cut sandwich that was shown no mercy with the mayonnaise coating, Terri continued to examine the various features and aspects of the music box as it spun on the laptop’s screen slowly.

“The one thing I can certainly say is whoever created this box is more advanced than any human I’ve ever met.” Terri quipped as she pressed the space bar key, which paused the box on the side where the three gems were in full view. Placing her sandwich down, Terri grabbed her mouse and drug the cursor across the lid of the box where the gems were to get them into one frame on the screen. Locking the gems in the frame, the gems were magnified, which gave Terri a better view of the stones.

“Ok, this is much better.” Terri stated with a nod as she quickly scanned the three gems on the screen. “Now let’s see what you guys really are and why these are so important. I know Anne’s gem is blue, but these other two are still a mystery.”

Moving the mouse cursor to her folder on her taskbar, Terri clicked on it and quickly found the still image of Anne’s cyan stone in its corrupt state as the raging storm in the gem turned the stone from cyan to a yellowish black. Terri then clicked on the image and compared it side by side to the stone’s original ocean blue cyan state.

“I knew the state of this stone was not normal!” Terri exclaimed in excitement as she continued her analysis. “Now, let’s see why this little beauty is going through so much.”

Pulling up a text box, Terri entered the information regarding the music box into the dialogue area and hit enter. The pictures of Anne, Marcy, and Sasha then popped up on the screen as Terri’s eyes widened at the sight of the three girls.

“Ok, this is getting interesting.” Terri continued precariously as she grabbed her pen to begin writing down the information on her screen. The blue haired scientist suddenly stopped in her tracks as she looked back at her screen, particularly to the pictures of the trio with wide eyes. Hastily grabbing her notebook, Terri frantically flipped through the pages of the book to find the flyer that was posted regarding the girls that suddenly went missing with information regarding who to contact if they were found. Finding the flyer, Terri scanned the paper quickly and placed it to her screen for a comparison.

“Holy science!” Terri nearly screamed as she looked between her screen and the flyer. “I knew about Anne, but her friends are also gem holders?!”

Placing the flyer down, Terri clicked on the top corner of Sasha’s gem and drug the pointer to the bottom edge of Marcy’s stone, highlighting both stones. Terri then right clicked in the middle of the highlighted area and then clicked on the information tab within the drop-down box. Information regarding the two stones appeared beneath the magenta and lime-colored stones, information about the gem holders and their inherited abilities.

“Ok so this one belongs to Sasha Waybright and is the magenta gem holder who possesses incredible physical strength.” Terri began as she read over the information. “The holder is a warrior both physically and mentally while being able to beat the impossible odds in any battle. Their opponents never stand a chance in battle with one of such incredible strength. Man, I never want to get into the ring with her.”

Terri then switched to Marcy’s gem to read the information that came up.

“Ok, this beauty belongs to Marcy Wu.” Terri continued. “The green gem holder is incredibly smart and can outwit their enemies in battles that require mental agility. They can calculate moves with ease, never breaks a sweat with mental calculations, and can utilize their environment to outsmart their opponents if needed. Wow, she’s a future scientist! After she’s found, I may offer her the position of my personal assistant!”

Terri then clicked out of the highlighted gems and clicked on Anne’s cyan stone. Right clicking on the gem, the drop-down menu that appeared with Marcy and Sasha’s stones didn’t appear. Right clicking on the gem once more, the drop-down box didn’t appear once more.

“Ok, why am I not getting the information about this one?” Terri questioned in confusion as she clicked on the stone once more. Clicking next to Anne’s stone, Terri hovered her mouse pointer on the stone with intention to click on it again when the screen suddenly went black. Terri felt herself go into a swift panic as she frantically clicked her left mouse button.

“No! No! No! No!” Terri screamed as she continued frantically smashing her mouse button. “I didn’t back up any of that data and now I lost it! Cmon, Cmon, Cmon! Come back on! I need that information! I’m trying to save the world here!”

With a quick flash, the screen suddenly came back on with a different image appearing on it. The image caught Terri’s attention as the scientist continued to hyperventilate.

“This isn’t the data I was collecting, this is….” Terri stammered until the image on the screen displayed differently as the woman continued trying to slow her breathing. “Wait a second…Anne?!”

On the scientist’s screen was an image of Core Anne with Darcy in the strategy room of the castle. Anne pointed to the computer screen as she turned to Darcy, who shook her head. Darcy looked away from Anne to behind her as Terri got a clear look at the raven haired girl’s face. Practically snatching the flyer off the notebook once more, Terri quickly scanned it and looked back at the computer screen just as fast.

“Oh my science! That’s Marcy and Anne!” Terri screamed as her voice reverberated throughout the lab. “But what are they wearing?!”

Terri felt herself becoming lightheaded and quickly slowed her breathing.

“Ok Terri, get yourself together.” Terri softly spoke to herself as she took a deep breath in and then a deep breath out. “You are seeing something out of this world that would normally fascinate you, but this is beyond fascinating to the point of twilight zone weird! You’ve got your orders from X and you know what to do.”

Leaning back in her chair, Terri released her mouse as she looked towards the phone on her desk.

“Orders are orders.” Terri stated as she reached for the phone. Picking up the receiver, Terri pressed speed dial 2 button as the other end began ringing.

Boonchuy Residence

A low fire was lit under a large tin pot on the stove as Oum stood before a cookbook while stirring contents of her latest recipe in a large purple mixing bowl. The elder’s vision was tunneled on the recipe before her while doing her best to block out the noise that came from the next room, Bee on his game. Knowing playing that game was an outlet for him, Oum tried not to scold him for being too loud, but the noise has been overbearing and was close to being overwhelming once more.

“Yea! Take that final boss!” Oum heard from the next room, which made the thai woman cringe as he shouted his victory out loud.

“Bee, Khuṇ ca kĕb mạn wị̂ nı nận dị̂ h̄ịm!” Oum yelled as she held tightly onto her bowl. “C̄hạn kảlạng phyāyām thī̀ ca mī s̄māṭhi!”

“K̄hxthos̄ʹ na thī̀rạk!” Bee yelled back as the elder thai sighed.

With the noise calmed down, Oum returned to her silence of working on her recipe. The woman then looked to the cookbook a little closer, eyeing a part of the recipe she did not have.

“I need the thyme seasoning.” Oum stated to herself as she gently placed the bowl down.

The thai woman started towards her seasoning rack when the phone rang out, catching her attention instead. Answering the phone, Oum happily greeted the caller on the other end of the receiver.

“S̄wạs̄dī kh̀a b̂ān buỵch̀wy res̄ si dêns̒ kh̀a!” Oum greeted the caller in her native tongue.

“Hi Mrs. Boonchuy.” Terri greeted, as she mustered up what enthusiasm she could to be able to break the news to Oum. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Oh hi Terri and of course!” Oum stated with joy, suddenly forgetting about the ingredient needed for her recipe. “I bet this is about how well my little girl is doing in Amphibia! Oh wait, she’s not my little girl anymore as she is my big girl now.”

“Yes, that’s what I called you about.” Terri replied as her tone changed from enthusiastic to near dreadful. “There is something you should know about my newest discovery….about Anne…”

Listening to the change in the scientist’s voice and the words she spoke, Oum felt the joy that enveloped her suddenly tear away at the scientist’s words. The very same girl that was seen off to save the one place she called her second home was the villainess that was destroying the lush amphibian land.

The elder’s thai’s body shook as she began sobbing uncontrollably, her legs giving way beneath her. The phone receiver slipped from the woman’s hand as she nearly curled into the corner at the news of her daughter. Bee, who overheard the sobbing, ran into the kitchen and quickly embraced Oum while trying to comfort her.

“It’s Anne Bee!” Oum choked out as she continued sobbing. “It’s our little girl!”

Holding his wife close as she choked out what Terri informed her, Bee rested his head on top of Oum’s as a few tears of his own slipped from his eyes.

A/N: Once more apologies for the late update. May is a very busy month every year for me plus I got hit with a slight case of writer’s block and a cold, but hopefully this update was worth waiting for! The next chapter is where trouble begins to brew in the lover’s paradise…..

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NotSoGoodFanWriter on Chapter 1 Mon 02 Jan 2023 08:59AM UTC

I’ve been waiting for this fic ever since I saw the art for it and so far. It’s pretty good. It’s a great start to the story and I can’t wait to see where it’s going.

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1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 06:05PM UTC
  
  Thank you so much. 😀
  
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2. 1. NotSoGoodFanWriter on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 07:30PM UTC
    
    You’re welcome 😉
    
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AnneSavisaBoonchuy on Chapter 1 Mon 02 Jan 2023 03:25PM UTC

I've just almost finished the first chapter of your fic and I have to say it's good and I don't know why but when I read it I felt like I was reading DAA and your fanarts are oh my god I didn't expect Darcy to want to marry Anne right away I can't wait when will there be next chapters and fanart because you have talent girl.

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AnneSavisaBoonchuy on Chapter 1 Mon 02 Jan 2023 03:30PM UTC

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER A FANARTS AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME AND AGAIN AWESOME.

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1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 06:05PM UTC
  
  Awe thank you. 😀
  
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Account Deleted on Chapter 1 Wed 04 Jan 2023 10:43PM UTC

YES! YOU YOU’RE DOING GREAT! CAN’T WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER!💜💜💜💜

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1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 06:05PM UTC
  
  Thank you and I love your stories as well. 😀
  
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2. 1. Account Deleted on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 06:09PM UTC
    
    AHHH!💕💕💕💕💕
    SAVISA
    
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Notchbrine on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 04:35PM UTC

OMG I just remembered what this AU is, I've been following your DA account as much as someone without a DA account can!

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1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Jan 2023 06:04PM UTC
  
  Hi and thank you so much! 😀 I strive to always do my best.
  
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WDBeldin on Chapter 1 Tue 04 Apr 2023 01:27AM UTC

Nice work so far!

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rikubattle on Chapter 1 Mon 25 Sep 2023 04:47PM UTC

Wow! Chapter one really does twisted the story. Now I am more excited for read the next chapter and find out what will happen :O
In all case, nice job!

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JohanTheUnknown on Chapter 1 Wed 27 Sep 2023 10:02PM UTC

Hm, what an interesting premise, I wonder how this will play out.
So, it said before All In, does that mean that All In is still going to happen in some way or will everything go in a entirely different direction, with a completely different Ending?

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NotSoGoodFanWriter on Chapter 2 Sat 04 Feb 2023 10:24AM UTC

Sorry for my language but
HOLY SHIT!!!!!!
The steaks are high now! I'm guessing that Darcy is now helmetless which makes this ten times better than it already was!
Can't wait to see, as Darcy quotes it, 'one of the best shows Newtopia has ever seen'.
Keep up the good work.

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1. DarkHououmon on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Feb 2023 05:26AM UTC
  
  Darcy is helmetless in their AU, yes.
  Here's one of the images that they had made for this AU. There's more on their DA page. I highly recommend checking them out.
  https://www.deviantart.com/alisi-christine/art/The-Honeymoon-Begins-924878825
  
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2. 1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Feb 2023 05:40AM UTC
    
    Hi and thank you for the comment. 😀 The fanart image you sent me is mine done by artist Ari-6 on DeviantArt. 😀 That's the link to my DeviantArt page. 😀
    Thanks once again for your interest. 😀
    
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  2. 1. DarkHououmon on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Feb 2023 05:49AM UTC
      
      You're welcome!
      I like the idea of helmetless Darcy and the one in your AU is my fav depiction of that.
      Btw what inspired the idea behind this fic? Were you inspired by any other works?
      
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    2. 1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 2 Sun 26 Feb 2023 05:51AM UTC
        
        Hi and my apologies for the late reply. 🙂 I was actually inspired by the episode TBOTE and All In as a what if. What if Anne never escaped Darcy and what if she was chosen by the core after Marcy. So my idea landed in between both and that is how I came up with The Last Versus. 😀 The Last Versus being having to save not one, but two of the leaders.
        
        Last Edited Sun 26 Feb 2023 05:52AM UTC
        
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Amph (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sun 05 Feb 2023 04:46PM UTC

Interesting

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Guest24 (Guest) on Chapter 2 Sun 19 Feb 2023 05:28AM UTC

What inspired this AU?

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1. Alisi_Thorndyke on Chapter 2 Sun 26 Feb 2023 05:51AM UTC
  
  Hi and my apologies for the late reply. 🙂 I was actually inspired by the episode TBOTE and All In as a what if. What if Anne never escaped Darcy and what if she was chosen by the core after Marcy. So my idea landed in between both and that is how I came up with The Last Versus. 😀
  
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rikubattle on Chapter 2 Mon 25 Sep 2023 05:19PM UTC

Dammit, this corruption attempt to Anne surprised me! Honestly, each chapter it's getting more and more interesting. I can't stop of read it.
Very nice job, Alisi. You've got my thumb sign of approval 😉👍

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Kebins_Cup_Noodles_Delivery on Chapter 2 Wed 12 Feb 2025 07:54PM UTC

First look at the specific chapter titles reminded me of some stuff and this one is Hamilton(i memorized all of the lyrics from the start to the end) 😭 🙏

Last Edited Wed 12 Feb 2025 07:55PM UTC

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NotSoGoodFanWriter on Chapter 3 Sun 02 Apr 2023 02:55PM UTC

Excuse me while I go scream into my pillow because this was so good!
I loved the scene with Dark Anne, having Anne find that image and being confronted with it was great.
Also, way to put in a sort of cliffhanger now It's going to haunt my dreams at 3 AM.

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deepSl33per on Chapter 3 Tue 04 Apr 2023 04:04PM UTC

cant wait for dark anne to happen damn and i also enjoyed the new chapter :>

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p3rc4rwby on Chapter 3 Sat 27 May 2023 03:32AM UTC

This is so interesting, I'm so glad that Deviantart recommended one of your images and got intrigue by it, I just CAN'T WAIT for the chapters were the girls turn evil (because, so far, you're the only one that I have found that will turn the girls into The Core variants and actually going through it).
You have made a excellent work with this story and can't wait for the next chapter.
Take care out there and see you around.

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rikubattle on Chapter 3 Mon 25 Sep 2023 10:29PM UTC

Wow! Core Anne made her pre-debut and all :O Just a little more. I must keep reading.

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GreenGoblin (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 02 Jun 2023 10:35PM UTC

Honestly i just feel bad for everyone in this fic

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[email protected] (Guest) on Chapter 4 Fri 25 Aug 2023 09:39PM UTC

Interesting

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rikubattle on Chapter 4 Mon 25 Sep 2023 11:00PM UTC

That has been the fastest wedding ever! OMG! XD Congratulations to Anne and Darcy <3

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