Fandom We're Not Broken, Just Bent (Amphibia Roleplay)

[MaskedNerd]

Chaos was an appropriate word to use when describing Earth after Andreas' invasion. Everyone was in complete panic with the frobots still flying overhead and taking all the resources from the once beautiful city that the three girls lived in their whole lives. After their best effects... they had failed. But it wasn't over yet. It couldn't have been over. No one in the Calamity Trio were going to give up that easily. All they had to do was find each other in the wreck and reunite again to come up with a plan to save the planet this called home.

Marcy ran down the street past a few people who were panicking during all of this. Rightfully so, given the circumcises. To any normal person, it would seem like they lost the fight. But Marcy was focused. Only a little while ago she was possessed by the Core, a little disoriented still but able to push through that feeling. Thanks to Sasha for cutting the wire, she was now free and fully in control of her own mind! At least.. she thought she was. She clung to the music box in her arms as she looked around frantically for her two friends. They had to be around here somewhere. "Anne!? Sasha!?" She yelled for either of them, hoping that maybe they would hear. Stopping in her tracks, she looked out onto the destruction and stared for a moment until-

"Mar-Mar!" Anne called out as she quickly made her way over to where Marcy was and wrapped her arms tightly around her. Both of them crying, even if it was only slight tears. "Are you okay?! I was so worried..." Anne waited until Marcy nodded in response to that question with a reassuring smile before moving on. "We have to go find Sasha to try fixing this." The two girls agreed that should be their next course of action. Finding out when Sasha was during all of this and then getting themselves a hideout while they made a plan. Heading off together, the two of them continued to try to get Sasha's attention where ever she was. All three best friends could fix this problem together.. they just knew it.

 

[vanisher]

Sasha awoke with a start, the feeling of something (or someone?) shaking her shoulders leaving her disoriented. Her eyelids felt too heavy, and it took a moment for her to open them. There was a blurry figure standing in front of her, speaking loudly and frantically; but sasha only hear a muffled sound. Everywhere in her body ached, but mostly her head. She groaned, raising a hand towards her forehead, stopping short when her fingers came in contact with something wet. Shaking her head to clear the dizziness, she got up from her position on the ground and looked at her hand. Blood.

"Oh my god, you're bleeding! We need to get you to a hospital! You might even have a concussion!"

Sasha jumped as she hear the voice, completely forgetting about the person standing in front of her. Looking up,she squinted her eyes and tried to focus on what was ahead of her. It was really hard with the pain in her head but she managed.

"Mrs.Boonchuy? What happened? Where are the othe-" She was cut off as another wave of dizziness washed over her, making her sway on the spot. "Woah, woah! It's okay, try not to move much. I didn't exactly see what happened but i think one of the robots smashed a building and you were in it. I got you out from there but are you sure you're okay? No broken bones or anything?" Mrs.Boonchuy asked as she grabbed the girls shoulders, steading her.

"I'm fine. I just need to find marcy and anne. We need to stick together. You and Mr.Boonchuy better find a safe place to hide. We'll come find you later." Sasha replied back and started walking down the street, or what was remaining of it. "Wait-" Ignoring the call, Sasha continued, stumbling around every once in a while. The pain made it difficult for her to walk, and the blood was pouring into her right eye, making her partially blind. But sasha didn't care. She had to find her friends. Wiping the blood from her eye, she searched everywhere she could.

After some fruitless searching, she heared two familiar voices coming a few feet ahead of her. "Marcy?Anne?" Sasha called out, and started running towards them, sighing in relief as she hugged them.

"Thank god you guys are okay! I was worried for a second that Andreas has captured you again! We need to get away from here as fast as we can tho. It's not safe." Sasha looked around as she talked, and winced as another wave of dizziness hit her. She needed to fix that.

 

[MaskedNerd]

Both Anne and Marcy looked overjoyed when they heard Sasha's voice, rushing over to her as they all joined together for a group hug. Compared to Sasha's injuries, the other two were mostly fine just... exhausted. Anne was still weak from using her powers in her fight with Andreas, while Marcy had just come back from being possessed by a hive mind. Neither of them were bleeding unlike Sasha but they weren't completely okay either. Needless to say that none of them were in the right condition to go back and fight. Although that wasn't going to stop them from trying.

"Sasha, oh my god... you're bleeding! We need to get you help!" Anne was starting to sound exactly like her mother. Guess the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. Now.. that saying would have worked better if there were any trees left around. Still, there were more important things to worry about than the trees.

One of those more important things being a secure place to stay while figuring things out, the first thought coming to mind was their school that they were using a hideout when everything started. Before everything went so wrong. If the school was still there, that is. "I think our safest bet would be to go back to the school. Then we can quickly get some stuff to patch you up while having a place to hide out for the time being. Hopefully, it'll be safe there.."

Marcy was unusually quiet during all of this, still holding the music box close to her as she nodded along to what Anna said. She felt... off somehow. There was this strange feeling that she couldn't quite pinpoint the cause of, but wouldn't go away no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. Her grip tightened around the box as she stared off into the distance, unable to hear anything else that was being said by her friends.

"Come on, we have to get moving. Andreas or one of those bots could notice us if we're just standing out in the open.. and we need to stop the bleeding so you don't lose too much blood." Anne walked closer to Sasha to help her walk if she needed it, glancing over at Marcy. "Marcy, aren't you coming?" No response. Anne tried again. "Mar-Mar? Let's hurry up and get out of here!" Again, nothing. Anne moved towards her and started to gently shake her. "You've got to snap out of it... we don't have a lot of time to spare here." Then.. she noticed the music box in Marcy's arms, reaching over to take it and hold it for her instead. As she reached toward the box, Marcy snapped back to reality and yanked it away in what seemed to be a knee-jerk reaction.

Blinking a few times, Marcy gave a nervous laugh before noticing Sasha standing there and running over to hug her again. "Sashy! Are you okay?! What happened to you?!" In her daze, she seemed to have missed most of what happened in the last few minutes. Even more worried about both of her friends at this point, Anne wanted to get out of there as soon as possible to get them somewhere safe while they all recovered. "We really need to get to the school so we don't have to worry about being caught." She repeated, causing Marcy to look over at her and let go of Sasha with the box still tucked under her arm. "Oh right.. sorry! I guess I got too caught up in everything." Marcy helped keep Sasha steady with her free arm while they walked, making sure she didn't fall down due to her dizziness. Then again, maybe Marcy wasn't the best person for the job since she was so clumsy to begin with.

Eventually, they all made it to the surprisingly well-intact school. Walking down the halls wasn't much different from when the Earth hadn't been taken over. Expect the lack of students. They stopped in the classroom they had been using earlier, some of the equipment still landed out on the desks. "You two stay here. I'll go grab some things that can help." Anne went off to raid the Nurse's Office for supplies to help with Sasha's wounds while leaving her and Marcy alone together in the classroom.

 

[vanisher]

The walk towards the school was surprisingly uneventful. Even tho Sasha was grumbling that she was fine and could walk on her own, she was extremely grateful for the help. If they weren't there, she would've fallen facefirst into the concrete. But they didn't have to know that right? After a while, the trio reached the classroom, and Sasha collapsed into a chair, sighing in relief. The dizziness got much worse whenever she moved, so she was glad to find a moment of respite. Lifting a hand towards her forehead, the blonde hissed in pain. The bleeding hasn't stopped yet, which was starting to freak her out. Standing up, Sasha walked towards the mirror that was hung up on the wall, eyeing her reflection distastefully. There was a large gash on the left side of her forhead, and almost all of her shirt was covered in blood. Her skin looked really pale, reminding her of the vampires she read in fictional books. That was so long ago....Sasha couldn't really remember how her normal life was like. As she was gazing at her own reflection, her eyes darted towards the other figure,



"Well, are you just gonna stand there? Come in, Anne will come back soon."



Speaking of Marcy, Sasha had noticed before that she was acting a little bit strange and disoriented. The short haired girl wasn't listening to what Anne was saying back there, almost like she was in a trance. Now that she was thinking about it, Marcy just recently got rid of that.....thing....inside of her. Sasha shuddered at the memory. Marcy's(or darcy?)smile was so unnerving that it'll remain in her brain forever. "Are you in there Mar-Mar? Did you also hit your head or something? You're really quiet and it's making me nervous." Sasha spoke, turning around to face the other girl; inspecting her from head to toe. She didn't seem to be physically harmed and was clutching the music box, like it was her life line. Sasha's lips turned downwards at that. She absolutely hated it. After all, it was what got them into this mess in the first place.



Her train of thoughts were interrupted by her phone vibrating in her pocket,making her jump. Oh right....her phone. She completely forgot that it existed. Was there any signal in the city? Shoving her hand inside her pocket, Sasha fished her phone out and answered the call, not bothering to check out the caller ID.



"Hello? Yes that's me.....you are? Ohhh Mrs.Boonchuy hi. Yes I've found them. Mhmm.... We're hiding in the school actually. Have you seen my parents? What about Marcy's?"she frowned at that,"Well that's unfortunate.....nahh I'll be fine. Yeah I'll call back later so we can meet. Bye."



As soon as the call ended, Anne came back into the room, a first aid kit in her hands. "Anne, your mom called and said they were doing okay. I didn't ask them to come here because only us can fix this situation. And it's dangerous to get other people involed." Her eyes then darted towards to the first aid kit, "Oh thank god you found one. I thought i was gonna die from blood lost!" She laughed nervously at that, the laughter dying in her throat quickly as she frowned. "You guys know how to use a first aid kit right?"

 

[MaskedNerd]

Once they arrived at the classroom, Marcy let go of Sasha as she went over to collapse in her usual desk chair. Which from the looks of it and that huge gash in her head, she might not even have realized was the one she used to sit in back when everything was normal. For Marcy, it seemed like only yesterday when the three of them would have been sitting in class and ignoring the teacher's lectures. Passing notes back and forth to each other. Doodles and stories that they would start, having the other two add on their own unique twists. She still longed for those days. Maybe that's why they felt so close. This whole mess was caused by her wanting so desperately for things to stay the same as they always were. Her two best friends that she was so afraid of losing, who might not even want to have anything to do with her after all this is over with. Her mind wandered off again while she just stood there and stared at Sasha, watching both their reflections in the mirror. As if she couldn't move from that one spot. A voice rang out in the back of her head while her reflection made eye contact with her.

Best friends? Please, don't make us laugh. This is far from an actual friendship and each one of you knows it in some sense. Do you really think they could care about you even in the slightest after what has been done? Forget these old memories... hide the box from the others and join us again to finish what has been sta-

Those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sasha's voice, causing her to turn her attention toward the blonde. With a hesitant nod, she walked further inside the room and took a seat at one of the desks. She tapped the tips of her two pointer fingers together, fidgeting with her hands as a nervous habit. In the moment she didn't think too much about the voice that was still in her head. Bits of remnant leftover from when something else inhabited her mind instead of her. Logically, it could have just taken a little time until that part faded away completely. It's not like there was a way that it was still there... the helmet was gone. She needed to stop thinking about it. She couldn't stop thinking about it. Everything was too loud. Shaking off the feeling, she glanced up at Sasha upon hearing her speak again. "Oh, pfff. I'm... fine. Don't worry about me! I don't want to make you nervous when you're already dealing with so much. I mean, that wound on your head looks really bad so it's a good idea to focus on that for now... But at least you'll get a cool scar from it!" She tried to look on the bright side, having a smile on her face that quickly faded when she noticed Sasha's turn into a frown. Saved by the ringing on the phone.

At the mention of her own parents, she looked off to the side guilty. She hadn't seen either of them since the music box worked. Were they even still in the same state? Maybe they gave up looking for her and moved out of town without their daughter... Her dad just got that new job so if they waited here for too long he might have lost it. And that's not even mentioning where Sasha's parents were. She wanted to ask what Mrs.Boonchuy had said about them before Anne walked back into the classroom.

"Oh, that's great! I've worried sick about them so it's good to hear they're mostly okay... but you're right, it's for the best not to get them more involved than they already are." Truth be told, Anne had been worried about everyone. Her parents. Sasha and Marcy. The Plantars. All of Wartwood. Those were the people she was still fighting for. That she would never stop fighting for. "You're not dying of anything while I'm here to have something to say about it!" Anne smiled lightly and set the first aid kit down on one of the desks, popping it open and starting to go through it. "How hard could it be?" She gave a nervous laugh of her own while starting to take everything they might need out of the kit and laying it all out. Looking between all the items, she quietly reached over and grabbed the first aid manual to start to read it while Marcy picked up one of the items laid out. "Ooo, look! An emergency blanket! That could be useful for-" She went over to Sasha and wrapped the blanket around her. "Emotional support cape!" Back to her old dorky self and much less quiet than before. Whether that was a good sign or a bad one couldn't be said for sure. But it certainly felt comforting to have two rays of light helping to make this all more bearable. Anne scooped up what the manual said they needed and made her way over to Sasha, laying out a cushioned area to have her lay down. Gently, she applied pressure to the wound with the gauze that she had gotten from the first aid kit. "This might hurt a little but try not to move your head.." For most of the time she worked on cleaning the wound, she stayed quiet to focus on what she was doing. Once she managed to get the bleeding to stop, then they could switch their focus over to coming up with a plan.

 

[vanisher]

Andreas sighed as a servant brought him some type of liquid that the humans call
'wine'. It was blood red, reminding him of the many times he has seen a few soldiers bleed around him, trying to keep him safe. The invasion on earth was going as well as it possibly could. There were many more cities for him to capture, but getting LA has satisfied him for now. Apparently, humans favoured this city much more, since it was bigger and much colorful. Marcy has shown him a few other cities as well as the sightseeing's, on the little box of magic she called 'cellphone'. The poor girl has tried many times to teach him how to use it, but given the kings giant hands, it was impossible. The thought of the human girl brought a frown on the giant newts face. The core had been successful in getting used to her body, but her friends has to came in and ruin everything. Darcy, as the core preferred to be called, was pressuring Andreas. He knew that his father has dedicated his life to this project, but the constant disappointed lectures didn't make him less angry. Raising a hand, the giant newt grabbed a glass from the serving tray, bringing it to his lips and taking a big gulp. It was bitter, just like the thoughts swirling inside his mind. At least he had some things to look forward to. The frobots have managed to take over almost all of the city, and no one, not even the girl could stop him. As he reached to put the glass back down, a tiny slot opened on the crown on his head. The blazing eye looked around as it whispered incoherent sentences, signalling that it wanted to talk. Andreas sighed and leaned back against his chair, closing his eyes as he mentally prepared for the meeting.


He found himself surrounded by darkness, the silence around him making the giant newt uncomfortable. After a few tense seconds, a portal opened and came in his father. He looked as he always did, tall and imposing, the darkness swirling around him almost like tendrils. "You wanted to see me father?"


Andreas nodded along as the former king spoke, "So,they're in the school now? What course of action do you suggest we take here?"


Gritting his teeth, the younger king tried to keep calm as he answered, "Yes father i am aware that i must make the decisions. But i just wanted to see your output on it. And i agree with what you said. We need the music box back, and the only way to bring them here is by capturing their families first. Poor creatures, letting themselves get advantage of by who they love most." He chuckled darkly at that, but immediately stopped as the core spoke again. "Yes, I'll keep in touch. Everything will work as we planned. You can count on me father." A bright light engulfed the giant newt as he found himself back on his chair and he grinned. Clapping his hand, he gestured a guard forward, "Fetch general yunan for me please. We have much to discuss after all."


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Sasha was startled as a blanket got thrown around her by marcy, but quickly appreciated it as some warmth went back to her body. The blood loss was making her shiver, but she was too busy to notice it till now. Reacting quickly, she clutched the blanket around her with one hand and grabbed the short haired girl's arm before she could move away,"Wait..." Dropping her head, she slide her hand down Marcy's arm until she reached her wrist, interlocking their fingers before speaking again.


"I'm just....so glad that you're okay Marbles. I was so worried that we wouldn't be able to get you back. I mean, for frogs sake; i held your limp body in my fucking hands. And-" she paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "That thing....darcy. It freaked both Anne and me a lot. We thought we had lost you forever. But like the stubborn clumsy idiot you are, you didn't give up and came back. Glad to have you back on the team."


Looking up, Sasha offered Marcy a genuine smile, meaning every single word that came out of her mouth. It was still hard for her to voice her thoughts and emotions, but seeing the kind and thoughtful gesture from her friend made her give it a shot. Releasing her hand, the blonde turned back towards Anne, smirking slightly, "You better not stab me Boonchuy. We can still have many more sword fights to work the anger out of you." She teased her lightly, glad that she could talk to her friend normally again. Anne rolled her eyes at that, pressing the alcohol soaked cotton to her wound in order to clean it up. Sasha winced at that, gritting her teeth and soldering on the pain as usual. Her time in amphibia has raised her pain tolerance a lot, but it didn't make it less painful.

 

[MaskedNerd]

Let her have a sense of control for now. We have other matters that need attending to at the moment. Distancing themself from the mind of their current host, The Core called out to Andreas. Incomprehensible words being thrown about as the hive mind communicated amongst each other while waiting for their invited guest to join the conversation. A family meeting between father and son.


Darkness filled the area. An endless void going on and on into nothingness. Silence adding to the chilling ambiance as the whispering came to a complete halt. Emerging from the portal that had opened, Aldrich stepped closer while towering over his remaining heir to the throne, his eyes hidden from sight. "Yes... I see that Earth's invasion is going well, but there are still a few loose ends that need to be tied up. I'm sure you already know what I'm referring to. Those three girls from the Olms prophecy, hiding away in that school of theirs as we speak. With our birthright as safely secured as it can be, practically in our own hands and ready to be transported back where it belongs. You will need to bring them all back here and then get rid of the other two, while our pawn and the music box arrive once again." Aldrich explained along with the rest of the minds collected in the Core, passing on the information that they obtained from spying on Marcy.


"Aren't you King now? Shouldn't you be the one making the decisions here? When I stepped down as ruler over this land, I was under the impression that the responsibility would switch over to you. Unless after all these years, you're still not ready to take on that role. Which, from the looks of it... I wouldn't say that's too far off from the truth. Atonement for your past mistakes of losing our music box is still needed." Aldrich mocked his son's question, leaving their course of action up to him as his duty being the present King of Amphibia. What a riddance sentiment from the one who was supposed to be leading their people. Expecting to be handed the answers on the same silver platter as that human liquid he partook in. Still having that old naive mind from when he was a child.


Hearing Andreas' decision to capture the girls' families in order to bring the music box back to them, Aldrich couldn't help but to smirk at the thought of it. Tugging at their heartstrings always had such a good effect on those humans. Their attachments to the ones whom they loved would be their greatest downfall in the end. "Perfect! What a wonderful suggestion to go through with." Aldrich clapped his hands together three times with a deep hearty chuckle, sending a rumble through the empty air around them. "See? I knew you had it in you to be independent enough as to come up with your own ideas. I just hope the ideas that follow this one are as good. Make sure to keep in touch in order to make sure all goes well. We can't afford another failure from you."


Upon seeing the King's gesture, the guard stepped forward and bowed before him, waiting for whatever order to be given. He quickly nodded and arose once more, heading off in search of General Yunan to inform her that Andreas had requested her presence. It didn't take long to find her and point her in the direction of the Throne room.


General Yunnan arrived soon enough to greet the giant newt with a half-hearted salute, Lady Olivia following close behind her even tho she wasn't explicitly told to make an appearance as well. "General Yunnan, reporting for duty! Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of Ragnar the Wretched, and the youngest newt to ever achieve the rank of general in the great Newtopian Army. Of course... you already know that, your royal highness. Which is why you called me here. Clearly the perfect newt for whatever job or matters you have in mind that you called me here to discuss." It wasn't entirely clear if she was just trying to stall for time since it was rather similar to how she would normally go about speaking. Either way, the two lady newts nervously waited to hear what Andreas was planning this time.


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Whispers in Marcy's mind started to die down eventually, finally giving her a sense of peace as she was able to hear her own thoughts not being corrupted by anything else. With this new feeling of freedom in her chest, she left out a sigh of relief and tried going back to her usual persona to lighten up the mood. She turned away from her friend after giving her the blanket and started to walk off to give her some space before feeling the hand grasping onto her arm. Her face went slightly red as her and Sasha's fingers intertwined together, staying quiet while she listened to the taller girl speak.


Tears began to form in her eyes as the corners of her mouth curled up into a soft smile, hearing the words that she knew were difficult for Sasha to actually voice. At first, she didn't know what to say back to that. Trying to fight back the feeling as if there was a frog stuck in her throat.. which in hindsight might not be the best idiom to use right after spending so much time in a land populated by frog people. She took a shaky breath, getting rid of the lump in her throat that prevented her from responding.


"Sashy... it's okay now! I'm here! We're... all back together again. I can't even begin to tell you guys how good it feels to be back on the team, even with everything falling down around us. And I promise we'll get through this together just like we always have. With no... Darcy or anything like that in sight. Just the three of us taking down Andreas for good!" Marcy rubbed her eyes to prevent herself from crying, still worrying about the blood dripping down Sasha's forehead.. but at least it was being wrapped up. Anne smiled slightly to herself as the two of them talked one on one, focusing mostly on the task at hand.


Marcy leaned against the window sill while Anne continued to clean Sasha's wound, trying not to listen to Sasha's winces since it hurt to hear her in pain, she stared out at the city that was falling apart right before her eyes. Like something out of all those Apocalypse video games that she would play and imagine what she would do in the exact same scenario. Wait... that's it! Jumping back up, she quickly turned around towards her two former(?) best friends. "I've got an idea! Do you guys remember Apocalypse of the Damned? Ohh, and After the Outbreak too. We can just follow what happens in those two games and we're good to go! It's foolproof, everything's already laid out for us. Step one.. we're going to have to raid a store to get equipment. With the city already in a panic, that shouldn't be too hard since some stores are probably already broken into or abandoned." They had already gotten Anne to shoplift the music box that caused the world to end up in this state of disrepair, so how wrong could it have been to steal a few things if it meant saving humanity in the process? "Then once we have all the supplies we're able to find, that will make us better prepared for when we have to take on Andreas and protect everyone from getting hurt." Marcy looked between the other two to see their reaction to this plan, Anne seemed open to the idea, willing to go through with it to save the people she loved. That and the fact that she had already stolen two frog artifacts so it wasn't like this was a new thing.

 

[vanisher]

Andreas perked up as the large doors opened, and General Yunnan and Lady Olivia came inside. He was surprised to see Olivia there too. But it didn't matter anymore. He didn't have to hide anything from them. Everything was planned and the only thing they needed was someone to execute it. And who's better than the youngest and one of the best General's in newtopia? Grinning widely, the newtopian king gave a heartfelt laugh, "Ah, General Yunnan. And Lady Olivia! What a pleasant surprise to see you dear Olivia. I actually planned to speak with you after having a few words with our General here. Since you're already here, you can wait till we finish." Andreas raised an eyebrow as he saw the young General rambling as she greeted him. It wasn't new that the General would gloat about her achievements wherever she went, but there was a barely visible nervousness in her gestures. So they didn't like what he was doing. It wasn't really a surprise, not everyone had the heart and wit to do something as bold as this. And it was only a matter of time before they decided to betray him and work against him. So he was gonna take advantage of the little time he has left.

"As you can see General, our invasion of earth has been going as well as it possibly could've. We have all of our robot armies and newtopian guards busy with handling the city. So there's only you. And who's better than our esteemed General? Can i count on you for a very important mission?"

As he waited for a response, the newtopian king smiled warmly at the General. There was a slight chance that the manipulation wouldn't work. But thankfully, the General agreed immediately, almost too eager. Funny how a bunch of compliments sway people's minds and morals isn't it? "Wonderful! I want you to go and capture these families that i mention. The Boonchuys, Wu's and Waybright's. Make sure that no harm comes to them please. We need them alive. After you're finished, come visit me again. You're dismissed." Andreas watched as the young General bowed and reluctantly left the room, leaving only the king and his advisor in the throne room.

Turning back towards Olivia, the giant newt clapped his hands excitedly, "As for you Lady Olivia, how would you feel about throwing a large party?"

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Sasha listened as Marcy voiced her opinion about their next course of action. After a few moments, her wound was successfully patched up and the bleeding has stopped, which made the color return to her skin. Sighing in relief, the blonde got up from her spot on the floor, " Who knew that your games would come in handy Marce huh?" She chuckled at that,"But yeah i agree. Without our calamity powers, we won't stand a chance against Andreas and his army. Lucky for us, i know a good place that we can go and get equipped up. Do you guys remember the mall that we used to frequent back in 7th grade? We can go there. But unfortunately, it's gonna be heavily guarded by those frobots. We'll go in and out as quick as possible. Sounds good?"

The other two nodded, seemingly fine with the suggestion the blonde made. Sasha grinned and clapped her hands, "Alright then. If everyone is ready let's head out. One more thing before we go tho...." Walking towards Marcy, Sasha gently told the music box from her hands and put it on one of the tables. Upon seeing the confusion in her friends eyes, she explained," We can't afford to lose the music box again. And our hands are gonna be full by the time we get back so it's better if we leave it here. Somewhere that it's safe." Sasha had noticed the short haired girl's resistance upon giving the music box over to her, as if the box was glued to her hands. She decided to ignore it tho. The last time Andreas had the music box, everything went to shit so she really couldn't blame Marcy for that. Still, the box gave Sasha a really bad feeling. It would've been great if she could've just smashed it against the wall, watching as the gems get torn apart. No invasions then. No running and fighting for your life. But they needed the box, so she ignored the urge; turning back and walking out of the classroom instead.

The short walk towards the mall was anything but uneventful. Smashed glasses crunched under their feet as they quietly and quickly moved forward,careful not to alert anyone of their presence. A bunch of buildings were on fire, a thick smoke covering the air around them making it harder to breath. No humans could be seen, only robots and soldier newts; stationed around every single step. Looking around the wall the trio were hiding behind, Sasha could spot the mall a few streets away. It was still intact thankfully, save for the broken windows. Turning back towards her friends, Sasha forced a smile, "Alright guys. We're almost there. Just a little more and we'll go in, grab as much as we can and go out. Ready?" Anne nodded, squaring her shoulders in order to brace herself. "As ready as we can be.Let's do this!"

Taking a deep breath, Sasha started quickly moving forward,Anne following close behind. What she didn't notice was the third member of the group, frozen in their spot with her hands shaking. The two continued as they reached the back of the mall, Sasha sighing is relief as she rested her back against the wall. Taking a moment to properly breath without fear stabbing her in the gut, the blonde looked to her right and saw Anne in a similar state. She frowned at that. "Where is Marcy?"

Anne startled at that, looking around for a moment before answering, "What? She was right behind me a few minutes ago!" Cursing under her breath, Sasha looked back the way they came from and spots Marcy on the same spot; seemingly frozen. "You were supposed to look after her Anne! What the fuck? I'm gonna go back for her. Go inside and don't let anyone see you. We'll meet you in the mall." Before Anne could open her mouth, Sasha was already darting forward. "Wait-" Anne sighed, biting her bottom lip nervously. Sending a last glance over her shoulder, the brown haired girl opened a window and climbed inside.

Sasha darted behind a garbage bin, seconds away from being spotted by one of the newts. Sweat was dripping down her face, her thoughts running a hundered miles per hour inside her head. Although her wound was patched up, Sasha was still a bit dizzy, a dull ache persisting in the left side of her skull. Shaking her head to get rid of it, the blonde dashed the remaining steps and reached her destination. Grabbing Marcy's hand, she tugged her forward as she hissed, "Marcy, what is up with you? I told you we needed to be careful or we'll be-" just as she was finishing her sentence, her head sent a sharp pain throughout her whole body, causing her foot to slip and sending them both crashing to the recycling bin. Groaning loudly, Sasha lifted her head just in time to see a newtopian solider come into view, stopping as soon as he spotted them. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"Oh shit-" The blonde didn't finish her sentence, instead scrambling up and grabbing Marcy' hand again. "Run!" She shouted as she ran as fast as she could, stumbling a bit in her haste as she dragged her friend by her hand, the newt hot on their heels. After dodging and hiding for a while, the two girls both collapsed down against the wall, the sound of their harsh and rapid breathing filling the empty space. "That...." Sasha wheezed, "was close....too close." Reaching out towards Marcy, Sasha spoke again,"Hey....are you okay? What happened back there MarMar?" Her voice came out softly, the worry in her tone visible even though she tried to hide it. She didn't want to alarm the shorter girl, but this was getting really out of hand.

 

[MaskedNerd]

General Yunnan mumbled a few quick words as she walked past Olivia and out of the throne room. This plan clearly wasn't thought through all too much. I mean.. how was she supposed to capture those humans' families without the music box to even get to Earth? Maybe she was too eager to take on this mission that she seemingly had no way of following through with. Just as she started thinking about just how impossible it was to get the humans without a way to get to the humans, the music box's portal opened up in front of her almost as if to call her bluff. "Well... that's convenient." She didn't question it as much as she probably should have. Who opened the box? How did they get their hands on it when the last person who had it was Marcy? Why did they open a portal and then not go inside it? Unless the portal was specially meant for her, it didn't make any sense at all. But with all that thrown aside for now, she stepped through to Earth and made her way to find the families of each of the three girls.

"A.. a party?" Lady Olivia stammered out after hearing what Andreas had said. She for one was in no mood to be throwing a party for all of this, worried about Master Marcy and her two human friends along with their families. But there was nothing she could do about that. She had no say in the matter. "Well, yes.. I do think a party is in order after such a successful invasion." Lying through her teeth, she forced a smile towards the king. Neither of the newts were very good at hiding the fact that they were nervous and not on board with this whole thing. Not that it mattered anyways. "I'll go get the preparation ready now for that party in question.." Saying that, she paused before adding a little more to it. "Unless you have something more specific in mind?" The thought came to her mind that this party could have been for another reason entirely, deciding to clarify exactly what Andreas was thinking in terms of it.

Back with General Yunnan, the Boonchuys were the easiest to find out of the three human families. Though they did put up quite a fight, Mrs. Boonchuys especially. But in the end, they were no match for the Scourge of the Sand Wars, Defeater of... blah blah blah, you get the point. She wasn't having fun doing this at all, thinking about the bond she made with the human girl that had landed in their city of Newtropia all those months ago. Fighting alongside each other against pirates. But now they were fighting on the opposite side. Plans of betrayal filled her mind as she thought about leaving the families run free. But for now.. she had to follow the orders that were given to her.

----------------------------------------

Before leaving the classroom, "Marcy" made her way over to the table where the music box was sitting, absentmindedly picking it up and pressing the gems to open the portal. She gently set it back down with the portal still opened, quickly walking out to join the other two with no memory of what she had just done.

Walking down the streets, the view could only be described as depressing. Their once scenic city was replaced by a dystopian wasteland. Smoke filling up her lungs, Marcy coughed lightly while staying close behind Anne as they walked towards the mall, basically clinging to her and Sasha for comfort. Hiding behind the wall, she took the chance to try pumping herself up for the raid they were about to do. "Ready." She managed to mumble out once she was as prepared as she thought was possible for her at that moment.

Soon she realized that she couldn't move. All she could do was watch helplessly while her friends ran off without her, unable to chase after them no matter how hard she tried to get her feet to move from their spot on the ground. Screaming out was to no avail either. Nothing worked, with the only two that might have been able to help her not even noticing that she had been left behind. Her hands began to tremble. Please... come back...

Her mind went completely blank after a while as she found herself back in that.. place. A false reality created by the collection of Amphibia's greatest minds. The Core's mindscape. Although, she wasn't greeted to the mystical fantasy land from before nor was it an eternal darkness that she had been locked in the last time she was there. Instead, she was face to face with an exact replica of the real world. It didn't even register to her at first that none of what she was seeing was real. Suddenly she became able to move again in this illusion while staying frozen solid in the true reality. Assuming she had just blacked out for a quick moment as her nerves got the better of her, she was quick to rejoin what she thought was the original version of her friends. "Sash! Anne! Wait up!" She called out quietly towards the illusions, careful not to alert any frobots or newt soldiers even though it didn't matter.

Catching her breath, let out a nervous laugh as she reached the spot where they both were hiding. "Marbles! What took you so long? We have to hurry and get inside the mall." False Sasha's voice left Marcy with a sense of unease. Something felt wrong with it but she couldn't figure out what that something was. Their raid of the mall ended up being an overall success, grabbing all kinds of useful equipment that would definitely help them win the fight to take Earth back. At least, it would have helped if any of it was actually there. Some of the things they were able to find seemed.. well.. didn't seem like something you would find in a normal human mall. One of those things in question being a laser scythe that particularly caught Marcy's eye for some odd reason. With how well this was going for them, not one frobot or newt soldier in sight, all the supplies that had no reason to be lying around at the mall, it should have been clear that there was no possibility of any of this being real. Marcy desperately tried to push that thought to the back of her mind, hating the other alternatives that much to the point where it was easier to believe in all of this. Her doubts calmed down a bit more when she noticed a lone frobot. Scythe in hand, she slashed at the frobot and watched it fall to the ground with oil leaking from where it had been cut. In a cruel twist of fate from the Core, the frobot faded out as it was replaced by a version of Sasha. Laying limp on the ground and bloody with the same wound in her chest that Marcy had just caused.

Covering her mouth with her hands and staring in an expression of pure panic mixed with shock, she started to move toward the fake Sasha before stopping in her tracks. Eyes that felt like daggers craving into her back. Slowly... she turned around to be greeted by an all too familiar face. "Welcome back... Wit." Darcy's grin sent shivers down her spine, her own face staring back at her with the same helmet from before only this time being cracked. Around them, the false reality faded away as well leaving nothing but the emptiness of the void.

"No no no no no no no..." Marcy glanced around frantically for an escape, knowing it was no use but doing so to keep just an ounce of her sanity in tack during this. "I... I can't be back here! Send me back! You... Sasha got rid of you!" Tears started to fall from her eyes once she had finally realized what was happening, her shaking getting worse by the second both in her mind and in her physical body still stuck to the same place in the real world.

"Unfortunately, we've tried to do things the easy way with you and yet you refused that offer. Now it's time to join us in a different game. Perhaps your friends will be spared if you play along. It would be a real shame if that Waybright girl got an even larger laceration in her head, by your hand no less." The Core knew what it was doing with this line. After all, it became much easier to get into someone's head when you were already mentally there in every sense of the word.

"W... what?" Her voice cracked, backing up away from Darcy although she was fully aware that there was nowhere she could run to in here. This couldn't have been happening. Maybe she had just... hit her head on some falling piece of a building and had a concussion, her own dreams warping into some kind of twisted nightmare. That was better than believing in the truth of the situation.

"You know, it really is a pity. Those old childhood friends of yours are holding you back from your true potential. Funny enough... Andreas was the same way for the longest of times. But there's something that you have that Andreas never did. Do you know what that is?" As Darcy moved closer to her, Marcy felt a tug on her arm with Sasha's voice breaking through into her mind. Darcy didn't seem too pleased by this. "Seems like we're being so rudely interrupted. Doesn't matter, we can continue this in time. I'll be seeing you again s-" Darcy hadn't been given the chance to finish that sentence before Marcy fell back with Sasha and crashed into the recycling bin, snapping her back to reality.

Without even a second to stop and collect her things about what had just happened, Marcy was once again grabbed by Sasha and dragged along all while they were chased. During their escape, she was still a bit too dazed to be of any help to the blonde, feeling like dead weight that was just slowing her down. Collapsing down next to Sasha against the wall, she clutched her heart and gasped out for air. Seeing Sasha's hand reach out for her from out of the corner of her eye caused her to flinch slightly before calming down upon hearing the sound of her voice. Even with the worried tone that managed to make its way through, it made her feel a little better compacted to the voice of the fake Sasha she saw in the mindscape. But she was painfully aware they didn't have much time to just sit around. Knowing that didn't stop her from breaking down into a fit of sobs, wrapping her arms around Sasha and mumbling through her sobs without a single word being able to make sense of.

 

[vanisher]

King Andreas nodded as he listened to what Lady Olivia said. He has expected the female newt to be skeptical, which gave him the perfect opportunity to explain the real deal with his plans. "I'm glad you asked! While we do deserve to celebrate our win, but it isn't the whole reason i want to throw a party. I'm going to use it as an excuse for the three human girls to let their guard down. And even if they didn't, they'll still be too distracted trying to save their familes that they won't even notice us taking the music box from them again." His high chair creeked as he leaned forward, his shadow looming over Olivia; as if mocking her to disobey. "This has gone too far. I've waited 100 years for the box to come back to me. I'm getting ready impatient. So, we are gonna get it back. And we're gonna win no matter what." His voice got cold in the end, seemingly making the temperature drop a few degrees.

An uneasy silence filled the air around them as a few moments passed. Andreas smirked as Lady Olivia bowed and leaved the throne room immediately, noticing the slight tremble in her slender figure. Looking at the guards in front of the large door, the giant newt's voice echoed as he spoke, "Send a frobot to saint james school with this envelope and give it to the humans. Tell it to not engage in any physical violence. Have it return as soon as possible." One of the guards nodded and bowed deeply, taking the envelope and leaving the room to execute the kings orders.

--------------------------------------------


Sasha's eyes widend as she felt two pairs of arms come around her, nearly tipping her backwards as it took her by surprise. Marcy's head was now resting on the crook of her neck, hidden from the taller girls eyes. Sasha couldn't see her friends face,but could tell that she was crying by the way her body trembled and shook with every sob. Throwing her arms around the short haired girl, Sasha pulled her closer; hugging her tightly and rubbing small circles on her back whispering comforting stuff to her ear. The blonde had no idea what caused her friend to act this way, but couldn't blame her either. They were all in a lot of pressure, and crying happens when your body just can't hold it in anymore.

"Shhh, it's okay Mar-Mar. I don't blame you for what happened back there. You've been through a lot, and your body is still trying to adjust. It's not your fault okay?" Pulling away a little bit, Sasha kissed the top of the smaller girls hair, all the while rocking them back and forth in a soothing pattern. "You're gonna be okay. And know that you can talk to me about anything." Sasha wasn't the best person when it came to physical affection, but she also knew that Anne and Marcy reacted the best to that. After a while, Marcy seemed to have calmed down, only a few sniffles heard every once in a while. "Anne is waiting for us at the mall. Ready to go in?" Pulling away after feeling the girl nod, Sasha gently took Marcy's face into her hands.

"I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you again. Or anyone that i love for the matter. We're gonna get through this. We just gotta be strong. Think you can do that for me Marce?" Sasha spoke softly, her eyes showing how much she meant those words.

Giving Marcy another smile, Sasha pulled away and grabbed her hand, tugging her along through the backdoor of the mall. Anne was pacing back and forth nervously, stopping in her tracks as she noticed the girls coming through the door. She rushed over to greet them, "Oh thank frog! I was starting to think they've captured you, or-or worse killed you! What the fuck took you so long?" The last one got directed at Sasha, making her frown, "A patrol spotted us but thankfully we lost him. That's why we're late. Let's just get the supplies and get back. I'm tired already." The other two voiced their agreements and they all seperated to get as much stuff as they can. Not many weapons around for them to take, but fortunately they still had their weapon from amphibia. After a while,the trio regrouped and headed back towards the school. Thankfully, they didn't run into any patrol on the way back and everything went smoothly. Or well, as smoothly it can go with Marcy tripping a few times, scaring the shit out of sasha everytime.

 

[MaskedNerd]

Lady Olivia's fake smile become more and more strained the longer that Andreas spoke, nodding along to what he was saying with clear distaste in her eyes. "How... wonderful." She prayed for this to be over quicker, awkwardly standing there as the eerie silence filled the room until she eventually broke it. "I shall hurry to go get everything really before their arrival!" Bowing before him, she hurried out of the room with a tiny shiver whether due to fear or the cold dip in the temperature.

While the three girls were busy raiding the mall, General Yunnan managed to capture each of their families, finally bringing the last one to the holding cell they were being kept in for the time being before she would be able to report back to the King. The Boonchuys, Wu's, and Mr. Waybright were all accounted for leaving the last one to be-

"Get your slimy, mucus-covered hands off of me you... disrespectful reptile!" Mrs. Waybright threw out a slew of insults at Yunnan as she was dragged through the halls of the Newtopian castle, tossed into the cell along with the rest of the human parents. Closing the cell door behind their last prisoner, Yunnan headed off towards the throne room to inform Andreas that it was done. "Have fun, don't fight.. or do if you really want to. I don't make the rules around here. I wish I made the rules around here." That last part was mumbled mainly to herself.

Tension in the air was thick between the six of them, especially after both the Waybright noticed each other. "Great, you're here too." Mrs. Waybright scoffed and turned away from him while looking toward the others. "Amphibian." Mr. Waybright responded simply referring to her previous statement in the insults while skipping over what she said afterward, making intense eye contact with his ex-wife. "That was a newt so the proper term would be amphibian, not reptile." This comment did not spawn a happy reaction, leading into a whole other argument between the two.

Mr. Wu stepped in to try to resolve the situation, which ended up being a bad choice on his part. "Shut it, Wu. You're part of the reason we're even here in the first place." Mr. Waybright turned his attention to him, Wu's helpful demeanor quickly changing at the sudden accusation directed turns him. "What exactly are you trying to imply?"

"Didn't Marcy run off because of you? On the exact day they all disappeared? Putting the pieces together, it's clear to see who's fault this all is. Speaking of which.. you didn't even take that job, did you?"

"You think so low of me that I would abandon my own child after she went missing all for a job upstate?! Of course I stayed to look for her!"

"Hey, I'm just connecting the dots here. No need to get angry with the facts and the fact is, you played a role in getting us locked up in this cell with the world ending back at home."

"Your daughter is the bad influence here! I wouldn't be at all surprised if she was the one who ended up getting the other two girls into this.. mess. Peer pressuring our innocent Marcy. You're only trying to spin this around on her to avoid attention being drawn to the real culprit."

"Oh, give it a rest you two!" Mr. Boonchuy jumped into the conversation to try to knock some sense into the two men who were clearly focusing on the wrong thing here. "This is not the time or the place for you both to be over there arguing like children. Our daughters are out there hiding right now, probably terrified from their lives, and you think passing around the blame is going to help them in the slightest?" This constant bickering between all of them seemed like it was going to be a theme.

--------------------------------------------

Marcy clung to the taller girl with tears still rolling down her eyes, telling herself that she needed to stop crying. She shut her eyes tight and tried to just enjoy the soothing embrace while forgetting all the worries clouding her mind. Sasha's attempt at physical affection actually did manage to make her feel a lot better, along with the words she was saying. She wished they had more time to stay like this but with everything going on around them that wasn't really a choice that could be made. Still... the small moment they had to spend meant the world to her before eventually, it came to an end.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she slowly nodded without saying a word since she needed a few more seconds to collect her thoughts and calm down. She stared back into Sasha's eyes with a weak smile forming on her face. "I.. I'll try, Sashy." With her hand in Sasha's, she got back up on her feet and followed her back towards where Anne was waiting for them. For now, she stayed quiet about everything. She wasn't ready to talk about it even with Sasha being so comforting, needing a bit more time. Greeting Anna with a tiny wave, she lowered her arm and held onto it with the other one. She let the two of them speak amongst each other while glancing off into the distance, speaking up only to voice her agreement as they separated to look around the mall like they came here to do in the first place.

Catching a glimpse of her reflection in a shard of broken glass on the floor in front of a store, she noticed that she had still been wearing the containment suit this whole time instead of her usual Newtopian outfit. Might be a good idea to change into something less... traumatizing, to say the least. Her glance turned up from the ground to the store whose window the broken glass had fallen from, greeted by the blinking neon sign with only a few of its letters missing. H_t To_ic. Almost immediately, she was able to fill in the blanks (although there was a quick moment there where she thought an a and an x might have also fit). She rushed in and picked out a quick outfit to trade out for her current armor that, while protective, didn't make her feel safe at all. What she ended up wearing was a green hoodie with a zipper, a t-shift referencing some obscure series that she's tried and failed to get her friends interested in, along with a simple pair of dark jeans. That'd do it for now. After searching around the mall a bit longer for more needed supplies, she regrouped along with the others and walked beside them as they headed back.

"I'm okay!" She whispered loudly after every trip, surprisingly not getting injured from any of the falls even with all the debris scattered along the street. With her usual clumsiness combined with the fact that she hadn't been in control of her body in a while, walking was made a bit more difficult than it normally should be. Honestly, it was hard to believe that she managed to help Sasha all the way back to the school without so much as stumbling but perhaps seeing her with blood dripping out of her forehead gave the needed adrenaline to focus on not letting them both land with their faces on the pavement.

As they walked through the school hallways back to the classroom, her mind started to wander. Wondering whether or not she should tell Anne and Sasha about what happened back there near the mall. She didn't want them to worry any more than they already were. That wouldn't boost the team's morale in the slightest. But knowing there might still be pieces of Darcy left hidden away in her mind, it felt wrong not to warn them of what could become of that. Taking a deep breath, she opened her mouth to speak as they walked into the classroom- noticing the frobot and open portal that was waiting for them.

Whatever she was planning on saying instead turned into a surprised yelp as she ducked out of the way of the opened door and hid in the hallway to prepare for what she assumed would either be a fight or a chase. But nothing of that such happened. Slowly peaking around the corner, she stared over at the frobot peacefully standing there while holding out an envelope towards the three of them. Even if it seemed harmless enough, it very well could have been a trap sent by Andreas to capture them and bring them back to be dealt with. An oddly friendly trap that wasn't attacking them and appeared on the surface to only want them to take the letter that was in it's metallic frog hands, but a trap nonetheless. One that Marcy decided to fall for on the off chance that the envelope contained some important information that they needed to know. She tiptoed her way towards the frobot carefully, quickly reaching out once she was close enough and yanking the envelope from it before backing up again. Bracing herself, she ripped open the envelope and grabbed the letter from inside to start reading what it said.

Her heart sank in her chest as she silently stared at the words in front of her, eyes widening and darting every which way across the paper. There was no doubt in her mind that she read it wrong but she couldn't bring herself to say the words out loud. With a shaky hand and glossy eyes, she handed over the letter to the other two girls for them to read for themselves.

 

[vanisher]

Andreas leaned back against his large throne chair, watching as servants ran around, trying to prepare for the up coming part per his orders. General Yunnan also visited him again, telling her success in capturing the mentioned families. Everything was going according to his plans. Now all he had to do was wait for the human girls to show up. Their meeting is gonna be ready interesting.

----------------------------------------

The trio reached the school in no time, but something felt very off for Sasha. The front doors were wide open,but the hallways were empty. Alarm bells rang in Sasha's head as her steps slowed. The classrooms door was closed, but she could hear a muffled wheezing from inside. Before she could tell the other two to be cautious, Marcy opened the door and went inside. A yelp was heared as the short haired girl immediately darted back towards the hallway, leaning against the wall as if to hide herself from whatever was inside the room.

"Marcy! What the hell do you think you're doi-" Sasha hissed but cut herself off as she saw Marcy's wide eyes. Deciding to just face whatever was inside, the blonde squared her shoulders and kick the door open again, startling the poor frobot (does it really deserve empathy tho?). As soon as Sasha saw the robot, she reached for her double swords, holding them in front of her forming an x. The frobot however, didn't try to attack them. It just let out a few confused noises, and held a red envelope towards them.

Sasha stared at the envelope, dumbfounded. Why wasn't the frobot attacking them? It was definitely from Andrias, and it couldn't be frobo, polly's robot. All the other robots she had seen has been incredibly hostile, not wasting even a second to beat people and smash the buildings. Thankfully tho, Marcy came to her senses and cautiously went over to the robot, snatching the envelope out of it's hand. As she started reading it, her eyes widend, shock clear across her features. Nothing was said as she handed the envelope back to Sasha. Noticing the slight tremble is Marcy's hand, Sasha slowly took the envelope from her, throwing another glance towards the frobot before unfolding the letter and reading it.


"If you think we're done, you're definitely wrong. It's about a matter of time before we take over the world. And it's all gonna be your faults. Oh, and your families says hi. If you ever wanna see them again,come unarmed and bring the music box."

-king andreas

Bellow it was an address, surprisingly not in amphibia but in earth. Of course Andreas would chose a place where they couldn't access their clamity powers. Darcy's tempering with the box has made the box act weird. Resulting in their powers disappearing on earth.
Sasha's eye twitched as she finished reading the letter. How dare a fucking lizard, newt or whatever kidnap her family and blackmail her for it? Yeah Sasha may not have a good relationship with her parents, considering that they were divorced but she still didn't want any harm to happen to them. Her mind reeled as she unconsciously crumbled the letter in her hands. How did they find them anyway? Mrs boonchuy said she hadn't seen them anywhere, so Sasha assumed they had fled the city. Panic started bubbling inside her but she forced it down. She had to be strong,for all of them. After all, she was the strength.

Sasha looked up and as she opened her mouth to speak, she spotted that Anne had walked behind the frobot, a tennis racket raised in the air towards the robots head.

Thwack!

The frobot fell to the ground with a loud thud. "Should we disactivated it or something? It's still dangerous. Who knows what other updates Andreas has made on it to make it even more dangerous?" Anne spoke, kicking the frobot lightly to make sure it had stopped working. "Yeah. I think we should just hide it in one of the classrooms. And there's something you need to know Anne. Andreas has kidnap all of our families. We have to come up with a plan to get them back safely. He also wants the music box." Sasha spoke the last sentence bitterly. All of their problems came from that stupid fucking music box.

A sudden surge of anger filled her as she went towards the music box, taking it in her hands and raising it high in the air. As she was about to smash it down Anne shouted, "SASHA WAIT-" and before she could react, it was plucked out of her hands. She blinked, shaking her head as if trying to clear it. "I'm sorry but this stupid fucking music box RUINED OUR LIVES! If it didn't exist, we wouldn't even be in this situation in the first place! And thanks to our dear marcy, our families are in fucking danger and we're going to lose the freaking planet!" Sasha spat, her eyes briefly flashing deep pink. Everyone went silent as a few moments passed and Sasha's words registered. Pulling her lips into a thin line, Sasha clenched her fists, taking a deep breath.

"I- I'm sorry marce, i didn't mean anything that i just said. I don't know what came over me-"

 

[MaskedNerd]

Hearing the sudden Thwack and the following thud of the frobot hitting the ground caused Marcy to jump before realizing what the noise was. This might be a good chance for her to be helpful, after feeling like she wasn't doing anything to fix the mistakes that she had made. "I could try deactivating it and seeing if any of the parts would be useful to us in defeating Andreas." With that, she knelt down by the frobot and carefully exampled it while listening to Sasha finish her train of thought.

Marcy turned to glance over at Sasha once she stopped speaking, freezing slightly as she watched her raise the music box into the air with clear intent to shatter it to pieces. Being too far away to actually prevent this from happening didn't stop her from trying as she quickly reached her hand out in the blonde's direction. "NO-" A second voice bled through while Marcy cried out desperately, causing the parasite-like entity in her mind to curse this simple mistake that may have alluded to their presence. Her breathing quickened, letting out a sigh of relief and lowering her hand once the box was taken away from Sasha by the other girl in their trio. Her eyes stared into Sasha's, noticing the pink glow that flashed from them. Connected to the box ever so slightly even with those Calamity powers of theirs nullified on this planet. Interesting, but not ideal.

Then... a moment of deafening silence, giving her time to fully comprehend Sasha's outburst. An outburst after a moment of weakness. Ironic seeing as how she was the strength of their group. Thinking back to everything else Sasha had said to comfort her, with that genuine smile on her face and the look in her eyes she gave while being held in her arms, she knew that the words thrown at her just now didn't have all too much meaning behind them. But that didn't make it anything less painful to hear coming from the same voice that had been so soothing in her time of need. Those words still cut deep.. as if she'd been stabbed through the chest. A familiar feeling. After all, there was some truth to what Sasha said and she knew it full well. Finding the box was her fault. Getting them trapped in Amphibia was her fault. All of this. Andreas' invasion of Earth, Sasha's head injury, their parents becoming forcefully involved to be used against them. Everything could be traced back to her. Everyone would be safe if it wasn't for her actions that lead them here.

"No, you're... you're right, Sash. This whole thing is all my fault and now the world's going to end because I didn't have the strength or the heart to let either of you to go." With her arms wrapped around herself, she stared down at her feet to avoid eye contact. But she didn't have the energy for actual tears after wasting so many in such a short period of time. It felt like all she's been doing for the last few hours has been crying. This time she just felt numb to it all, trying to come to terms with the cracks in their friendship that she had caused. Cracks that she had doubts could ever be fixed. Was she a bad person? A bad friend? Do.. bad people even worry about that kind of thing? Does Andreas question his own mortals or does he know he's evil? On second thought, maybe he believes what he's doing is for the greater good. Almost exactly what Marcy had believed when getting her best friends all trapped in another land to go on adventures together, never needing to be separated. "I thought that maybe it could be justified. That despite all the bad that was caused by this, all the good memories we had in Amphibia would cancel it out. Anne, with you and Plantars. Sasha, with you and Grime. You guys found a family! After being taken away from your real one... But I've realized something. The music box didn't ruin our lives... I did." Her voice faded off into more of a murmur than anything else. "You would have been better off without me around."

Where would they be right now instead if she hadn't found out about the Calamity box in that library book? Sasha and Anne would be living out their normal everyday lives while Marcy had been dragged off to another state, leaving them behind. Without any friends of her own anymore. Though, it felt as if she had already lost them despite them standing right in front of her. She didn't want to think about it. Daydreaming about what could have been wasn't helping. She tried to distract herself by looking around the room for something to take her mind off things so she didn't have a complete breakdown but that didn't help at all, noticing the paper once again.

Grabbing the crumbled note that Sasha had tossed aside, she straightened it back out to read the address that was given once more. Where ever Andreas wanted them to go, she didn't immediately recognize the location written. Somewhere on Earth. Close enough for them to get to fairly quickly but not a known area in their city. She could only wonder what awaited them there. Deep breath, she turned to the other two and waved the note in the air. "We can't just stand around and not go to help them! Who knows how long Andreas will wait before hurting any one of our parents.." At one point in time, she would have thought she knew Andreas well enough to be sure that he wouldn't harm anyone close to them. But now, not so much. Was it really a good idea to go along with what he requested? Reasoning with him didn't seem like an option at this point. And if they forked over the box like he wanted, their families would end up getting hurt anyway once the world falls apart even more than it already has. There wasn't a clear choice here. "...Actually, that might not be the best option. We still have time to sort everything out." After all of this was over, there was a good chance that she would still have to move away. If they somehow manage to win, that is. Deep down, perhaps part of her wanted to procrastinate for as long as they could to avoid letting that happen still.

"I... I don't know what we should do if I'm being honest." A shaky smile was forcibly plastered onto her face with eyes full of worry. Any ideas she had that could have helped them were replaced with The Core's quiet whispers mocking her and reminding her of her failures. Repeating Sasha's words, drowning out all the well-meaning things she had said. Out of the three members, she felt even less than useless to the trio. And somewhere in the back of her mind, even if she didn't admit it, Sasha shared that belief towards her... otherwise she wouldn't have blurted it out in her fit of anger.

 

[vanisher]

Sasha pulled her mouth into a thin line as she listened to Marcy. The short haired girl obviously felt guilty, and it was evident from the dropping of her shoulders and her hunched back that she was minutes away from bursting into tears. Oh how much Sasha wanted to walk over there and hug her as tight as possible. But that wasn't wise. She knew that she can't just blame someone and then say sorry as if nothing happened. The weird thing about this whole situation was Marcy's voice. If it wasn't so quiet around them she might've missed it but Marcy's voice had gotten deeper for a second, almost distorted. How was that even possible? Was it the side effects of being possed be other people? Sasha knew something was wrong with the shorter girl, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on it. Her train of thoughts were broken by Anne's voice.

"Mar-Mar no- don't say that! Yes you made a mistake but we're all humans. We all make mistakes! And it sure as hell isn't your fault that Andreas is a manipulative bitch who's willing to do anything to doom everyone.  Some people are forgetting that they were plotting to bring out a war in amphibia too. Did we blame them for anything?" Anne spoke, the last part of her sentence directed towards the blonde as she glared at her. Sasha lowered her head in shame. 'I guess i deserved that' she thought. If she were honest, she did blame Marcy for getting them stuck in Amphibia, but this? The whole earth invasion and kidnapping their families wasn't Marcy's fault. And as much as she was trying to do better, sometimes that ugly and selfish part of herself brakes through.

It still didn't hurt less seeing Anne so willing to defend Marcy, but not her. Because there is absolutely not way that after everything that happened to them, Anne hadn't blamed Marcy for anything. It was not possible. Sasha saw it with her own eyes how the brown skinned girl's demeanor got cold as soon as Marcy confessed. A hot and ugly surge of anger filled her as she clenched her fists. "Whatever. Can we just focus on the fact that our families are fucking captured by a giant newt? We have no choice but to go after them. Maybe we can hand the box over and then after rescuing them, steal it from him again." Sasha spoke bitterly as she shrugged, trying to appear as unbothered as possible.

"I already know where we should go because i recognize the address. Just gather your things so we can go. The sooner we leave the better."

The blonde watched as the two girls nodded. Her gaze lingered on Marcy. She seemed so small and fragile and it made Sasha's heart clench painfully. She truly regretted her words. But as much as she hated to admit it, her words cut deeper than her twin swords. Why couldn't she just stop ruining things for herself? Her relationship with the other two was already strained enough as it is. And just when she thought it was starting to repair itself.....this had to happen. Anne had always been kinder to Marcy that Sasha was. And obviously because of that, they were close. Their time in Amphibia without her only made their relationship stronger, while it made everything worse for the blonde. And so seeing Anne grabbing Marcy's hand to make sure she's okay before leaving the room didn't help the spike of jealously inside her. It made her want to do something as well.

As soon as Marcy started walking towards the door, Sasha blurted out, "Wait!" Her voice cracked at that, and she cleared her throat as the other girl turned out towards her. Taking a few steps forward, Sasha stopped in front of Marcy and looked down. "I uh- i just wanted to say that I'm really sorry. I know that it doesn't fix anything but i really want you to know that i didn't mean anything i said. You already know about my anger issues. So yeah. I'm truly sorry Marbles." She spoke, her fingers twitching slightly, wanting nothing more than to grab Marcy's hand. But she wasn't Anne, she didn't know how to handle people. So she stood motionless, only raising her head to meet Marcy's eyes. "I hope you can forgive me...." The last part was spoken softly, vulnerable. Sasha has already lost so much. She couldn't handle losing Marcy too.

-------------------------------------------------

Andreas relaxed her shoulders as he just got back from another meeting with the core. Darcy was getting really impatient and told him that the human girls were on the way to rescue their families. As usual, he told it that everything was under control. Which in fact, was true. Everything was going as smoothly as it possibly could. They had successfully caught the trio's attention, captured their families and throwing a fake party to help them with their plans. The only thing left to do was speaking to the human girls families. Andreas was aware of how the human emotions worked. Each individual had a sense of empathy for their loved ones, which would open a great opportunity for blackmail. And that was exactly what he wanted to do.

Standing up from the large throne chair, the giant newt stood up walking out the door and towards the prison. Unlike the other prisons, it was located on the top of building. The reason why was because the top building was too far away from the ground, forcing the prisoners to try and escape from the lower floors. And that was an impossible task, with the many royal guards stationed in every nook and cranny. Andrias has already seen how people managed to escape from underground tunnels, so he wasn't going to make the same mistake as them. After all,the people who went against the crown shouldn't leave the castle.

Most of the cells were empty, except three of them which contained the human girls families. Andreas smiled brightly as he reached their cells, spreading his arms as a greeting. "Ah, if it isn't our esteemed guests wonderful families. I've heard a lot about you from your daughters. Tho some of them weren't exactly pleasant. Guess not everyone who has children can named themselves a mother or a father." He laughed at his own joke loudly, his voice booming across the empty cells. Oh how much he loved making other people's blood boil and getting a reaction out of them. He always used to do that with leif and barrel. They obviously didn't like it, but since he was their friends, they let it go.

"Now now, there's no need to be hostile. I'm only here to have a chit chat with you all." His eyes glinted dangerously at that as he grinned. His figure was mostly covered in the shadows, only his twinkling eyes visible.

"When your kids come to rescue you, all of you are going to convince them to trade the box for your freedom. I can't guarantee their safety if you refuse to cooperate tho. So be careful and think about it. We'll meet again soon." With that, he turned on his feet and walked away, the sound of his laughter echoing in the dark corridors.

 

[MaskedNerd]

Marcy’s stare stayed locked on the ground as she listened to Anne’s voice attempt to make her feel better, that glance only breaking once Anne had directed her words at the blonde instead. Her head lifted up slightly with her eyes shifting over to Sasha, seeing the silent shame that the girl was displaying. Part of her wanted to speak up and say something as a way to defend Sasha but her nerves got the better of her. After all, what Anne said was true alongside what Sasha remarked. There wasn’t a single person out of the three that hadn’t made a mistake during this entire adventure of theirs. Between Marcy getting them trapped in Amphibia in the first place, to Sasha with both her betrayals, and even Anne with… nothing? No matter how hard she tried, Marcy couldn’t think of anything that Anne had done wrong. The one-shoed girl had flaws, of course, but none of the level of her or Sasha. Would Sasha even want to be her friend if it wasn’t for Anne keeping the group together, playing the role of the glue that binds the three of them? God, she didn’t want the answer to that but the blissful ignorance would keep eating her up inside.

Sasha’s second surge of anger caused Marcy to flinch slightly before becoming oddly comforted by it. That unbothered demeanor had always been a good look on the blonde, often inspiring the dark-haired girl to try following in her footsteps to be as cool and confident before failing every time due to her overwhelming anxiety. Even so, seeing Sasha so nonchalant about the simple plan put forth made it that slightest bit easier to have some faith that they could all work out in the end. Marcy accepted Anne’s hand reaching out towards her to check on her friend, giving a genuine smile and a nod to show that she was fine. Scooping the music box up to take with them, she started to make her way out of the classroom until-

Hearing the sudden cry with the voice crack that accompanied it, Marcy couldn’t help but flinch yet again due to being caught off guard. Understandably, she was a bit panicky and jumpy so it wasn’t Sasha’s fault for her skittish behavior even if it might have seemed that way at the first glance. She stopped midway through the door and turned to look at the one who called out, wondering what it was she wanted to say before they left. “Sashy… of course I forgive you. I’m just happy you’re saying sorry and, well.. I’m sorry too. Remember what you said to me at the mall? We’re going to get through this, we just have to be strong. You’re my strength. No matter what you say to me in those moments of anger, I already promised you I would stay strong like you. So you have nothing to worry about.” A gentle smile spread across her face as she started to reach over towards her friend before her hand stopped and dropped back to her side. Said smile faded a little, looking away with a hint of sadness hiding behind her eyes as she made her way out the door.

Buried deep in Marcy’s mind, spying on the trio, Darcy watched in silence as their friendship continued to crumble on their own accord. From what they had just seen, Darcy looked forward to meeting with Sasha again. Blood wasn’t all they wanted to see. Tears were the main goal this time. Breaking Strength to the point of hopelessness, shattering that facade of confidence. Seeing their strongest member crack under all the pressure? Ah, that would be a lovely sight to witness. Perhaps even more so than Earth’s invasion. This trio’s connection to their family relic pissed Darcy off to no end. But there was an easy fix. Together they were powerful, but alone they would finally fall. Each member lacked, to a certain extent, an art that another one of the three was gifted in. Strength lacking Heart, Wit lacking Strength, Heart lacking Wit. Playing into the weakness of each girl would lead to the collapse of their greatest skill. That’s when victory will be seen. Thinking of all the fun they could have once they were in control again made the entity grow impatient, stuck to the confines of the ever-so clever mind of its Host for the time being. Soon.

While they made their way towards the location Andreas called them to, following behind Sasha who knew had recognized the address they were being taken, Marcy held onto Anne’s hand with the music box held in her other while their third friend stayed alone in the front. Her hand slowly pulled itself out from the other girl’s gentle grip as she made her way over to the lonely blonde walking only a little distance a ways from them. Taking a moment to collect herself in hopes of not making things worse between them after that whole outburst in the classroom, she took a deep breath in and picked up her pace to walk beside her childhood friend. Both hands held onto the Calamity box, with a slight bit of hesitation while she stared down at it before placing it into Sasha’s arms. Free from the item's seeming hypnotizing effect it held on her before."I think you should be the one to hold this since it would be safer in your hands than it ever was in mine. Well, technically it's safest in Anne's hand since she's the one who has caused the least problems when she had the box but-" Cue awkward pause, Marcy pursing her lips nervously upon realizing how quickly her supposedly supporting prep talk was getting off track. "This isn't helping.. is it? I'll stop talking and just.. let you keep an eye on that." With her newly free hands, she shoved them into the pockets of the hoodie she had stolen during their trip to the mall. Quickly she picked up her pace again, leaving Sasha a few feet behind with the tiny box that had caused all the chaos around them. All three girls separated, merely a few feet from each other physically but miles away in an emotional sense. One ahead of the others following an unknown address.

-------------------------------------------------

Mr. and Mrs. Waybright had already split off into two sides of their cell, mirroring their failing marriage in a way. If they had access to a piece of chalk there would most likely be a line drawn down the middle of the floor by now. Mr. and Mrs. Wu were off to a better prisoner life than the Waybright family so far. Small chats between the two about how they hoped Marcy was doing alright and what they would do after all this was over. The Boonchuys, by far, had the most going for them. Those two weren’t messing around, they were already coming up with plans to try helping the three daughters take down Andreas. They’ve gotten used to dealing with this, unlike the other two families who were just now getting wrapped up in things. Everything wasn’t going too bad in the damp prison they were being held in. Or at least, it wasn’t going too bad until loud footsteps could be heard moving towards them. Greeted by a, not so welcoming, gigantic amphibian figure.

His “joke” wasn’t met with a happy reaction, definitely doing its job of making blood boil. "I'm not going to listen to a fucking oversized newt try to tell me that I'm a bad father." Mr. Waybright angrily stepped closer to the cell bars, glaring out at the King before his attention was drawn to one of the other cells when another father spoke up. "Makes sense that you would assume that thing was talking about your family.” Although it came out as a mumble under his breath, Mr. Wu was loud enough to be heard by both people that his words were directed at. “Excuse me?!” Mrs. Waybright joined in on this conversation between them, almost continuing to speak before Andreas shut it down.

"Take your chit-chat and shove it up your ass." Mr. Waybright turned and walked away from the bars further into the cell again after saying that. Meanwhile, Mr. Wu was covering his face with his hands. "Could you PLEASE stop trying to antagonize the giant lizard creature!?"

"Why? What's it going to do? Tell me how to save money on car insurance?”

"God, I'm not even your ex-wife and I wish I could divorce you again right now.” Mrs. Wu whispered a few words to her husband after that line, causing him to mumble an apology for making a joke out of a situation like this.

All of them had gone quiet to listen to the offer presented to them. Once they were left with only those words and the booming laughter echoing in their ears, the six of them discussed their best course of action regarding their daughter’s safety and the trade between the mentioned box and their own freedom.

 

[vanisher]

Sasha's eyes filled with tears as she listened to what her friend said. Marcy was too forgiving for her own good. Just like Anne was. 'I don't deserve you..' Is what Sasha wanted to say, but didn't because she knew the other girl would try to convince her otherwise. Honestly, she didn't know why her friends were still tolerating her. It's true that the blonde was trying her best to change and be supportive, but she still has a long way to go. And that sometimes scare her. She once made Anne decide to leave her. What if that happens with Marcy too?



Hope filled her insides as Sasha watched the dark haired girl reach for her, only to changer her mind and drop her hand back. Ouch. Sasha felt like she just got punched in the gut. It seems like she's fucked up more than usual. Putting on a weak but convincing smile, she nodded and walked out the room behind Marcy.



The trio made their way towards the address given to them in the letter. It was one of those aristocrats mansions that were left behind by wealthy people. Sasha knew about it because her family has dragged her there so many times, just to suck up to rich people and make them wealthy in return. It has worked tho. Her family was counted as top 20 richest families in LA. And tho it was definitely nice being able to buy what ever you wanted and have servants there at your beck and call, using Sasha as a tool back when she was a kid wasn't nice at all. Yes she was a cute and polite kid, but she absolutely hated being nice and acting all cutesy with those stuck up rich peeps. At least it teached her how to act and manipulate people. It didn't help her in the slightest tho. Just looking at how strained her relationship with her friends are, and how she's walking a few steps ahead from them spoke volumes. She sighed deeply, wondering why couldn't she have a nice and supportive family like Anne's. Her train of thoughts was broken by a figure quickly reaching her side, matching her pace. Turning her head to the right, she was surprised to see Marcy there. Sasha thought that the shorter girl wouldn't want to talk to her for a little while after what happened.



Eye's widening, Sasha quickly scrambled to catch the music box that was dropped into her hands. "A warning would've been nice yknow? And why are you giving me this? You've been practically glued to this thing for a while now."



Raising an eyebrow, she listened as Marcy rambled nervously, letting out a bark of laughter despite herself. "It's alright Marce. I get what you mean. And that's very wise of you. I'll hold on to it for now." Sasha spoke, grinning at the brunette in amusement. Marcy quickly walked away after that, and that made Sasha shake her head fondly. Marcy always had trouble voicing what was inside her head, and to Sasha that was weirdly comforting. Because she had that problem too. Specially when it came to talk about her feelings.



The rest of the walk was uneventful. None of the girls talked as they were all lost in their own thoughts. Reaching the mentioned mansion, Sasha rolled her eyes at it. Ofcourse the oversized newt would want somewhere fancy to meet them. She wondered how they found this and how was the building unscathed. As far as the eyes could tell, every 8 out of 10 buildings has crumbled to the ground. After scanning the mansion for a few more seconds, the blonde turned towards her companions, rolling her shoulders. "Alright guys. This is it. Either we rescue everyone and get out safely or they'll throw us in the prison too and take the music box. Assuming they won't kill us." An awkward silence filled the air around them as Sasha finished speaking, making her want to smack herself on the forehead. 'Really waybright? Is this how you give a pep talk to people who might not make it out alive? Real mature.' The voice inside her head mocked, making her gritt her teeth in frustration. She pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, "Look guys, what i meant to say is, that we can do this. There is strength in number and we've all survived in a world much more dangerous than this. A rescue mission would be a piece of cake. Now, who's with me?" She sounded so stupid; just like those hero's in movies trying to convince people that they're not walking right into a death trap. But the feeling quickly went away as she heard the other two whoop and cheer, making a genuine smile rest on her lips. They all laughed at their stupid antics and for a moment, just for a moment everything seemed normal. Like they were 3 normal teenagers, acting exactly like their age. Grabbing both of their hands, Sasha made eye contact with each of them, her gaze lingering on Marcy, "Both of you better come back safe and alive. Or I'll find your ghosts and haunt them forever. Okay?"



Anne snorted at that and Sasha, unable to keep a straight face, broke into fits of laughter. It felt good to laugh with her friend. Really really good. She couldn't remember the last time they laughed together like this, with no awkward tension between them. And she was forever grateful for that. "Don't worry about us Sash. If anything,   We should be worried about You. You're the one who throws herself into danger at every chance she has Y'know." Anne replied, rolling her eyes playfully at the taller girl. "Alright, enough chit chat. Let's just get this over with." And with that, Sasha turned and walked through the front door, the other two following close behind.

As soon as they went in, they were met with dozens of servant newts scrambling around. Her mouth fell open as she looked around. Dozens of foods were placed on the long table, speakers around the room blasting music and at least 20 wealthy looking amphibians talking and schmoozing among themselves. 'What the actual fuck?' Sasha thought and she turned around to face her friends. "He invited us to a fucking party?! When he kidnapped our families?! I swear I'm going to wipe that stupid grin off his face when i see him again!" Sasha spoke, fuming silently as she glanced around. Just as she was about to give up, a servant came forward and gave a small bow. "Esteemed guests, King Andreas welcomes you into this party. Unfortunately his majesty can't attend this party for a while because of some important matters. But he will privately see you by the end of the night. Please, do try to enjoy yourselves for the time being." He gave a small smile as he bowed again and left in a hurry, disappearing around a corner before either of them could speak.

Ofcourse Andreas wasn't around. The giant newt wasn't stupid. And he clearly wasn't trying to get unwanted attention. It was obvious the party was just a distraction while the real thing happened elsewhere. Judging by the oblivious important and wealthy people, Andreas didn't trust any of them. Resulting in him doing his mission where no one else could suspect a thing. Oh how wrong he was. Sasha was going to get to the bottom of this, and take that fucking giganic newt down with it. "Well, i suppose we're forced to enjoy ourselves in the party. And we should blend in if we're gonna snoop around later. Don't want anyone calling the guards on us. Any ideas on what to do?" Sasha spoke, pointedly looking at a bunch of wealthy newts throwing them suspicious looks.

Suddenly, the music got caught off, and a slow song started playing from the speakers. 'How convenient! ' she thought. " I'm just gonna go get something to eat. I'm starving. You guys want anything?" Anne spoke, gesturing to the long table filled to the brim with delicious looking foods. "Yeah. Grab some for us, we'll be back later."

As Anne walked away, Sasha turned towards Marcy, executing a perfect bow and offering her hand.

"May i have this dance Mar-Mar?"

 

[MaskedNerd]

Lost in her thoughts couldn’t have been a truer statement for Marcy as she silently walked, listening to the sounds around her and the footsteps heard not too far behind. Although her words from earlier didn’t come out exactly the way she wanted them to, hearing Sasha’s
laughter in response made her feel better about the little slip-up. Hopefully after this was all said and done that sound wouldn’t be so rare to hear. If she would even be able to hear it anymore in the first place.

Victory and failure both had equal chances of leading to the one thing she’s been dreading this entire journey. But that was a selfish thought, wasn’t it? Thinking only of herself while trying to cling to all the memories she made over the years with her two best friends. That train of thought ended up getting them into this mess, which is something she still needed to change and grow from. Sometimes you just have to let go, no matter how hard that might be. She knew that there was still time before then so she took the moment of silence she was given to try coming to terms with the eventual goodbye. Though that outcome was looking on the bright side of things, ignoring the possible ending of them losing to Andreas entirely despite their best effects. One can only hope it doesn’t come down to that.

Seeing the mansion in the distance as they walked closer to it, Marcy wasn’t all too surprised at the chosen location. Andreas was a King, makes sense that he would want to make his supposed guests feel welcomed in the fanciest way possible. After all the ballroom gatherings that she attended in Amphibia on his behalf of the King and the pleasantries that Lady Olivia had attempted to teach her met with varying degrees of success, she had gotten used to the formal nature of this type of thing. Nostalgic for a period not too long ago that felt like just yesterday. To be honest, it was weird to think about how she was living in such luxury while Sasha was being held in the Toad Tower prison and Anne was sleeping in a bug-ridden basement. Normally it would seem like she was the one who lucked out, but a case could be made against that idea now seeing where they had all ended up with their different experiences.

Her glance turned down away from the mansion and towards Sasha once she started to say something. A deafening silence followed. First outcome they were given was certainly ideal but the thought of the second outcome suddenly hit her like a ton of bricks. Right, getting killed was a possibility. Being thrown into the prison together? They probably could make the most of that if worse came to worse. But death? God, she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything else went wrong… maybe death wouldn’t be so bad in that case. Marcy nervously fidgeted with her hands, a shaky smile on her face as she tried to nod along with the poorly worded prep talk. Sasha’s revamped version of the prep talk, although cheesy, was definitely an improvement over the last one. Definitely gave off the vibes of those movies they used to watch together during sleepovers and the like. Against all odds, the heroes rise up and defeat the big bad after an aspiring speech. A familiar line popped into her head, one the other two never heard despite how many times she’s tried to get them interested. 'You'll never defeat us, Lich King, not when we have the power of friendship.' Always with the power of friendship saving the day. That was one of her favorite tropes, after all. But would the power of their stained friendship be enough? That was yet to be seen. Still, a dorky smile spread across her face as she started to cheer, a battle call if you will. “Woooooo! We’ve got this!” Her fists raised up in a pumped stance, trying to get hyped up for their quest to save the world… again. Laugher surrounded them, warming Marcy’s heart upon hearing that beautiful sound without any nervousness behind it. Just a wholesome moment between a group of friends. “At least I won’t be lonely in the afterlife if anything does happen then.” Sasha’s fit of more laughter made the smile on Marcy’s face widen, joining in with her own laughs. “I agree with Anne. Stay safe and don’t get into any trouble, Sashy! Or maybe I’ll end up haunting your ghost. Well, I don’t think you can haunt ghosts unless you’re also a ghost but- yeah chit chat over!” She was quick to follow as Sasha walked into the mansion.

Esteemed guests… to a party thrown by Andreas. Not the first time Marcy was invited to one of those but this time was certainly under different circumstances. She was better dressed the other times too, her baggy green hoodie paling in comparison to the purple dress she used to wear to these things. Listening to both Sasha and the servant that ran up talk, she wasn’t paying attention all too much as she looked around the place. She spotted an old friend walking through the group of wealthy newts, waving her arms in the arm and calling out towards her. “Lady Olivia! O-liv-ia! Over he-” Clearly the lady newt wasn’t able to hear the human over the blaring music, and it probably wasn’t a good idea to draw attention to them like this. Still, Marcy noticed the nervous, almost sad look on the normally calm and collected face of the noble. A sense of unease washed over her, wondering if Lady Olivia knew what Andreas was planning and that’s why she seemed so off during what was supposed to be a party. That sense of unease calmed down when she heard Sasha’s voice, trying to forget about it and continue with what they were here to do.“Ooo right.. good idea. Blending in! That’ll be easy, right?” Cue music change, immediately after she finished her sentence conveniently enough. Her attention turned towards the table of food once Anne gestured to it. One thing in particular that stood out were the red velvet cupcakes with ube frosting, her favorite. Was that something she told Andreas about? She didn’t quite remember.. but if he thought he was going to be to win them over with food, he’s not as smart as he is. Or, wait, that doesn’t make sense- “Oooo, you guys should try the bug appetizers! They’re actually not as bad as they sound, trust me. Anne will agree with me, she used to eat bug dishes all the time in Wartwood.” She watched Anne walk off to go eat, turning back over to look at Sasha as she took a bow and offered out her hand with the offer to dance.

"I thought you'd never ask." A slight giggle escaped her lips as she reached out and accepted the hand she was offered, following behind the blonde as they made their way towards the ballroom floor. Their fingers became intertwined with the shorter girl’s other hand resting on the taller one’s shoulder as they started to move in rhythm with the music. Her eyes met with Sasha’s gaze, a… feeling of sorts developing in her chest as she stared longingly back at the other girl. A feeling of friendship, perhaps. Ah yes, what good friends they were. Slow dancing together in the dark being illuminated by only a dim glow. Each movement they made was perfectly synchronized, swaying in turn with the sound of music filling the air around them. That feeling stayed the whole time, her heart pounding with what felt like butterflies in her stomach. Ironic, since Anne hadn’t come back with the bug appetizers yet. Catching her off guard, Marcy was spun around and then dipped by her dance partner. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red as she was pulled back up to be greeted by the blue eyes of the blonde. Thankfully Sasha decided to take initiative with that part since she would most likely be too clumsy and end up dropping the other on accident if she tried. Honestly, it was surprising that Marcy hadn’t tripped and fallen on her face yet while they were dancing together. Seemed like she was trying hard to keep focus and have this go as smoothly as possible. And speaking of smooth- “Have I mentioned that you look lovely this fine summer’s evening?” A soft smile followed the line, stepping to the side with Sasha as they continued to dance. “Well, I mean, you look lovely every fine summer’s evening! Even when it’s not a fine summer’s evening you would look lovely. Because.. you always look lovely, of course.” Right. Real smooth Marcy. Yet again her awkwardness has failed her. But who knows, maybe Sasha would find it more charming than just the normal line on its own.

Eventually, the slow song faded out, leaving Sasha and Marcy holding onto each other in a brief moment of silence. Her fingers brushed against Sasha’s as her hand slipped away from the gentle grip. “That was… fun! Thank you for the dance, fair maiden.” With another quiet giggle, her gaze lingered on the taller girl before it was broken, looking around the mansion at all the other guests. There was a pause before she looked back at her friend. “Do.. do you think we’ve done enough blending in to go snoop around now? I could go try to find Lady Olivia and see if she can tell us anything, I’m sure she’ll be on our side!”

 

[vanisher]

Sasha grinned as Marcy took her offered hand,grabbing her offered hand and taking her in the middle of the sea of other dancers. Resting her right hand on the shorter girl's hips, Sasha used it to bring Marcy closer, far closer than it was necessary for the dance. She has to admit, this was nice. Despite the odd circumstances they were in, one could almost forget about the invasion of earth Andreas has forced among them. Her heart started beating fast as their eyes met, getting lost in the other girls eyes. Sasha didn't know why she was feeling this way. As long as she remembered,the blonde has acted normal around the brunette. But now as the neon lights shined on them, Sasha couldn't take her eyes of the girl in her arms. Have Marcy's eyes always been this beautiful? Has she always had the lopsided smile on her face? Sure, she looked really beautiful, even tho she was literally wearing a hoodie and jeans; but the blonde was sure that that's how you think about your best friends (friends? she sure hoped so). Right?

As the music took a turn, Sasha saw the perfect opportunity to grab Marcy's waist with both hands, dipping her low towards the ground. Their faces came close, and even tho the light was dim, Sasha could perfectly see the blush on the shorter girl's face. Blue eyes met green, and it was like the world stop functioning for a moment; as the two girls stared at each other. Unfortunately, the moment had to finally end and the song slowed down once more, making Sasha pull Marcy back up. The blonde was pulled away from her thoughts as Marcy spoke. "My, my! Is our little Marbles trying to flirt with me?" Sasha teased, a smirk appearing on her lips. As Marcy tried to save her lame flirting ( It wasn't lame at all. It was just so Marcy, and Sasha loved it for that reason alone) the blonde laughed, squeezing her hand in hers. "Relax. I'm just kidding. It wasn't lame at all. But thank you for noticing my beauty." Sasha winked, laughing once more as she got stomped on the foot by Marcy. "Ow ow! Okay okay I'm sorry. You look really beautiful aswell. And not just in the summer." Sasha grinned as she got rewarded by a soft smile. And oh what that smile did to her heart right there and then. It wasn't unknown to Sasha that Marcy was pretty. She just hadn't payed that much attention before.


Neither of them moved away from each other, and they continued to sway as the song slowly faded away; signalling the end of the dance. A brief silence followed as the girls continued to look at each others eyes, as if in a trance. Marcy was the first one to recover from it tho. Sasha took a deep breath as she nodded to what Marcy said, giving her a genuine smile, "Yes it was. Hopefully we can do it again in much happier circumstances." Those little giggles coming from Marcy's mouth made the taller girl want to grin stupidly. Oh how much she loved that sound. She wanted nothing more than saying dumb things just to make the brunette laugh. But unfortunately, there were more pressing concerns.Taking a look around the room, Sasha noticed Anne walking over to them with two plates in hand. "Yeah that would be a good idea. Anne's walking over here and I'm starving, so let's eat before anything else. That's what everyone else is doing anyways."

 

[MaskedNerd]

Once Sasha had mentioned noticing their third trio member arriving with the food, Marcy quickly turned around and waved her hand in the air to motion for her to join them. Deep down, part of her was hoping for some more alone time between just her and the blonde but having the three of them back together just seemed right. Can’t have a trio with only two members after all. As Anne finally reached the spot where they were standing, Marcy peeked over to get a good look at the two plates she was holding. Admittedly, she wasn’t very hungry despite how long she had gone without anything to eat. All the stress and anxiety had started to make her feel sick to her stomach. But a few bites wouldn’t hurt, right? She would be missing out by refusing any of it with how delicious it looked. Then the thought hit her. What if Andreas poisoned all the food in hopes that they would eat some and get sick from it? That theory quickly fell apart seeing as how all the wealthy-looking newts were happily feasting on their food and not dying from a poison that might be in it. Then again, it could be a human poison that didn’t work on newts. Or maybe she was just overthinking it. For the sake of her sanity and her starving friends, she decided to go with that option.

With that thought out of the way, she focused on the plates of food in front of her. Both plates seemed catered to one of the two girls, without a third plate from Anne for some unknown reason. “Hang on, weren’t you going to get yourself a plate Anne?” Marcy asked followed by a small chuckle from the one being questioned. “Mar Mar, I only have two hands. I can’t bring my plate over while carrying yours.” Anne handed over the two plates and started to walk back to grab a plate of her own to eat alongside them until…

“Wait-” Quickly grabbing a couple glasses of apple cider from a newt butler that had walked past them, Marcy gave each of her two friends a drink. “We should make a toast before you go! To... old friends and hopefully new memories!” Marcy grabbed a glass of the age-appropriate cider for herself and raised it into the air, clinking it against the other two glasses before taking a refreshing sip of the beverage. The taste could be described as tart with a slight hint of sweetness, remaining her of a certain friend. A warm feeling filled her chest as she went back for another sip. Odd how a drink could feel so nostalgic during the first time tasting it. A little while after the toast Anne headed off again to bring over her food with her glass of cider still in hand, drinking some of it as she walked.

Yet again Marcy and Sasha were left alone together. Only moments earlier did she yearn for a little while longer with just the two of them, but now that she had gotten what she wished for... she didn’t know where to go from here. Anxiety crept up from behind her and stabbed through her heart, the beating in her chest getting faster and faster while she stood in silence next to the taller blonde. Why was she suddenly so nervous around Sasha? Those feelings she felt during their dance together… had she felt them before in all the years she’s known the other girl? Hidden deep down inside her soul, perhaps it had always been there. Locked away waiting for the right moment. Friendship had been enough for her, so she didn't dare dream of anything else for fear of ruining what they already had. But that was in the past, their friendship had already been damaged. Broken… or was it just bent?

Taking a deep breath in, Marcy tried to calm down and act normal with her newly discovered feelings. Her attention was drawn back to the plates of food that they were holding in their hands. Food would help to soothe her nerves, right? Picking a lone strawberry off one of the plates, Marcy gently placed it between Sasha’s lips for her to take a bite. A soft giggle followed as she grabbed another strawberry and took a small nibble of it herself. After finishing the strawberry, she decided to try the one thing she couldn’t pass down; a red velvet cupcake with specific frosting. As she took a small bite from the cupcake, a bit of the ube frosting was left behind on his cheek. Before she could react, she felt a hand gently wiping away the icing. Her eyes locked with Sasha’s and for that brief moment.. it felt like the world wasn't collapsing around them. That moment passed by far too quickly, leaving Marcy with the realization of how likely it was for this to all be gone if they failed. Never being given an opportunity to fully understand her unexplored feelings. Why were these feelings only now rising to the surface? Why when they didn't have any time left? This period of time she shared with the blue-eyed girl in front of her might be the only chance she would get to express something. Who cares if it was the wrong time if it was the only time she was going to get.

"I just wish we had more time. Without the thought that this could be the end of everything.. you know? I've been trying not to think about that but it's hard not to. All the things I was hoping I would get the chance to accomplish in life. Having someone I could share that life with… I might not be able to experience any of that. Hopes and dreams that will never see the light of day. I feel like I only have myself to blame. All because I wasn’t able to imagine my future without you. And now… there’s a chance that none of us are going to have a future at all.” Her quiet sorrow-filled voice faded out for a moment, green eyes tearing up as she lifted her hand up to her face and rubbed her eyes to prevent herself from crying. Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, she started to regret her decision to say anything at all. “I’m… sorry. I know that’s dumb... Let's just wait for Anne to get back again and then we can figure out a plan from there...”

 

[vanisher]

Sasha's eyebrows raised,as she saw Marcy gulp down her beverage. It was weirdly bold of the smaller girl. Usually, Marcy wasn't fond of drinks. To see her so eager to drink one was unexpected. Which meant the girl was nervous. She couldn't blame her tho. All of them were on edge. Raising the glass to her lips, the blonde took a few big gulps. It was really refreshing. They hadn't had anything to drink or eat for hours. Speaking of eating, Sasha's train of thoughts were broken as Marcy placed a strawberry in front of her lips, urging her to eat. Opening her mouth, Sasha took a bite. It was covered in chocolate and it tasted like absolutely heaven. Her taste buds haven't had something as good for a while as they were stuck in Amphibia. All they ever ate was bugs. 'Or more like me. I'm sure the plantars gave Anne lots of good food and Marcy was in a fucking mansion.' The thought made her roll her eyes. The blonde was actually curious as to how was Marcy's life in the huge mansion. The brunette must've had lot's of tasty things like chocolate while Sasha almost forgot what chocolate even was.

Focusing her attention on the girl in front of her, Sasha smiled as she heard the shorter girl giggle. To think about how much her friend went through.... It was painful. Sasha used to hear Marcy's laugh all the time, sometimes even getting mad at her for that. But now, the sound was incredibly rare. And the blonde longed to hear that sweet sound again. The food on her plate was long forgotten as Sasha continued to watch her friend, as if she were to look away, Marcy would've disappeared. Raising her hand, she gently wiped away the frosting from the smaller girls face. Their eyes met, and her hand lingered on the girls face before falling back to her side. In that small moment, Sasha felt all the world melting away, leaving only her and the bright green orbs she always adored. Sasha never admit it but she always loved how full of life Marcy was. It always made her forget about the shitty life with her dad. Sadly all moments have to end and the harsh reality crashed back down on her. As she was about to open her mouth, the brunette beat her to it, speaking up first.

Listening to what Marcy was saying, Sasha pulled her lips into a thin line. Her heat ached as she heard Marcy talk about her hopes and future. Or the lack of it. And the fact that she was right, and everything could blow up in their faces wasn't helping at all. She nodded as the girl finished speaking, " It's not dumb at all.I didn't know you felt that way Marcy. And even tho Andreas has a huge army and we might have a small chance against him , we're not gonna give up. I'm not gonna give up. We've been through so much together and I won't let anyone hurt my Mar-Mar again." Pausing her sentence, Sasha grabbed Marcy's hand gently in her own, " And just look at how much you and i have grown. Look at what we have right now. I don't think it would've happened had we stayed on earth. So, we're gonna do everything we can to make things right. And I'll make sure we all have a future to look forward to. I won't let him take you away from me ever again..." Reaching out towards Marcy, Sasha gently wiped the tears away, cupping her face gently with one hand and offered a reassuring smile. She wasn't convinced by her own words, but everyone was counting on her. Marcy was counting on her. She was the strength after all. And she'll be damned if she ever gives up.

Someone then cleared their throat, making Sasha jump as she let go of Marcy's hand. Sasha breathed a sigh of relief as she saw who it was. "Am i interrupting something?" Anne asked, amusement visible in her voice. "What? No not at all! We were waiting for you actually. It's about time we go snoop around. We still got a few hours to kill before meeting Andreas. Maybe we can locate where they're keeping our families." The blonde quickly answered, chuckling awkwardly. The other two voiced their agreements, and together, they walked towards the door. As they reached the door, Sasha turned around, facing the other two girls, "I think it'll be better if we split up. That way we can find where they're keeping our parents faster. Our meetup point will also be here." She then turned towards Marcy. "And please be careful and don't do anything stupid. Okay?" The blonde didn't mean to sound harsh, and in order to soften her words reach out and squeezed Marcy's shoulder. "And Anne you're coming with me. Marcy can go and find Olivia as well. Tho i doubt she'll be on our side. Let's go."

The duo started walking right, into a long and dimly lit corridor. Luckily for them,there were no guards stationed around. And that made Sasha hesitate. Her lack of movement made Anne stop too and turn towards her. "Why did you stop? We still haven't searched anywhere." Sasha shook her head, eyes alert as they darted around every nook and cranny, as if expecting some kind of ambush. "Something's off. Andreas never leave any place unguarded. You've seen his castle, it crawled with the newtopian guards." She whispered, hands darting to the hidden knife tucked into her belt. Anne's eyebrows furrowed, as she looked around herself. " Um... isn't that a good thing for us? No guards mean it's much easier to sneak around without being seen. And I've seen plenty of guards in the ballroom where the party is being held. So I'm sure it's nothing." She whispered back, looking back towards Sasha. Her eye widend as she saw the knife in the taller girls hand. " Woah woah...hold on for a minute. First of all where the hell did you get that knife?! And second, put it away! We're not harming anyone unless it's really necessary." Rolling her eyes, Sasha's grip on the knife handle tightened. " I brought it for a fucking reason Anne! What if something happens to you, or Marcy? I can't protect you with my bare fucking hands okay? And I won't hurt anyone unless they're harming someone else!" She spat, shoulders tense as her breathing came out harshly. She couldn't believe the other girl. Now was not the time to be the better person. The guards, or Andreas for the matter, wouldn't hesitate to stab them through the heart.

"Drop it Sash."

"No...."

"I'm fucking serious. Throw it away or I won't take another step with you."

" I said NO! Don't fucking tell me what to do Boonchuy. I've already told you I've changed. I'm not just gonna murder every fucking body! What the hell in up with you?"

" Sasha! Just do it or I'll come over there and throw it away myself.... "

Sasha's eyes narrowed as a sense of deja Vu hit her.Anne was challenging her again. But now was not the right time to care about morals and being good. It was kill or be killed. And Sasha sure as hell wouldn't choose the latter. But she had to play along for now. She needed Anne. "Fine!" She spoke through gritted teeth. She feigned throwing the knife away, dropping a coin instead. The dull thud echoed through the hallways, and apparently it was enough for Anne because she nodded, gesturing for her to move forward. With a scoff, Sasha started walking again, tucking the knife safely into her belt again. They had no luck, only finding a bunch of empty rooms with nothing interesting. And that brought them to the place there where in now. In the front of the ballroom, with no signs of the brunette. "Where's Marcy?" Anne asked, looking around the room full of people in search of the missing member.

" I don't know. I'm going to try calling her. She has her phone with her right?" Sasha replied and fished out her phone, fumbling with it as she pressed the call button. It rang and rang, but no body picked up causing the anxiety in her stomach to twist and roll painfully. "Fuck! Why isn't she picking up? What in the frogs name are we gonna do now?" Sasha asked, her voice wavering slightly. The last time she got seperated from Marcy, it resulted in her getting possessed. So obviously she was freaking out. " It's gonna be fine. We can go look for her. I'm sure she's okay, probably talking to lady Olivia and ignoring her phone." Anne replied, squeezing Sasha's shoulder in order to reassure her. Nodding her agreement, the blonde took a deep breath as she squared her shoulders. They started walking towards the left side. Their search was fruitless and Sasha was about to give up when they approached two doors next to each other. They had a different color on them and looked like they were used recently. Sasha went towards the last door, grabbing the doorknob and turning it. Locked. Of course it's locked, what else did you think smartass? Ignoring her mind trying to be snarky with her, Sasha turned towards Anne and gestured towards the other door. "Go through there, and I'll search this door. Text me if you find Marcy and in case I don't answer, we'll meet back up in front of the ballroom. Okay?" Anne nodded, too nervous to question how Sasha was going to open the locked door, "Yeah. I'll see you on the other side. Be careful. I don't think Marcy will ever forgive me if something happens to you." Sasha chuckled at that and made a mock salute. "Aye aye captain. And you too. See ya!"

Waiting a few more moments after the door closed, Sasha took out her knife and started playing with the locks. She wasn't that good with lockpicking but het time in Amphibia made her much better. After a while of fiddling and trying every twist and turn, the lock turned with a satisfying click. Grinning in victory, the blonde hid the knife away again and turned the doorknob, opening the door and walking inside.

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King Andreas stood in the far side of the spacious room, the sound of machines beeping and shuddering filling the room and not allowing a moment of respite. According to his guards, the three human girls left the ballroom 10 minutes ago, so one of them might arrive there soon.He could only hope it was Marcy, the one that really mattered. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the door opened and came in exactly who he was waiting for. Marcy looked wary and tired, far dirtier than she had been back in Amphibia. Andreas couldn't help but feel pity for her. He wondered if that's what his friends- or ex friends as one might call it felt when they betrayed him. He wondered if they felt sad and guilty, or not having any sort of complicated feeling about it. Now that he thinked about it, the human trio reminded him so much of his own childhood. And that only infuriated him more. Marcy was the young Andreas in that part, and he wondered if she'll even snap and turn against them. Because, from what Darcy told him, they weren't exactly the bestest friends to be around with. His thoughts came to an abrupt halt as Marcy's voice rang out throughout the room, echoing strangely despite the machines. Putting on his best friendly smile, Andreas stepped forward towards the light. "Marcy! What a great surprise to see you here. I thought i told the servants to tell you to wait until midnight, but it seems like they forgot. Nevermind that though! I've been meaning to speak with you, and now that I have that opportunity, let's have a little chat shall we?" He clapped his hands, and the servants started bringing two chairs, one extremely large for the giant newt and one small for the human girls.

"Would you like anything to drink? Tea maybe? Ooh, or maybe this circular things you humans call macarons. They are absolutely heavenly!" He laughed at that, gesturing towards the table full of food that was set in front of them. He listened as the brunette spoke, chuckling slightly, "Ah, not a fan of pleasantries i see. I'll cut straight to the chase then. You see, as we've already made a deal before, i would like to propose a new one. Give me the calamity box, and i free yours and your friends families. It's a simple deal actually. And one you'll benefit greatly from, seeing how protected in the place that they're held in. It's save you much trouble." He finished, giving the human girl time to think it over as he grabbed a macaron off the table, popping it into his mouth. He laughed loudly as he heard what the brunette say, drawing himself to fill height as if he wasn't already towering over the poor girl.

"If you refuse? You know the answer already Marcy. I'll kill those precious friends of yours. Anne is already captured as we speak, and Sasha.... Well, she'll come barging after you as soon as she figures everything out. And we'll be ready for her. So-" He moved forward in his seat slightly ," -What will it be master marcy? "