Calamity Tales: The Age of Dragons

by Gunslinger245

Marcy Wu left Amphibia behind to embrace the new changes in her life. No more running, no more fantasies, just her life and the reality that comes with it. But things change for her once again when a series of events leads to mythical creatures being summoned from another world and start terrorizing the streets of Los Angeles. What could possibly go wrong?

4. Chapter 4: House Party Disaster

Warning: Before reading this, go back to chapter 2 and re-reading it. I made some changes earlier and didn't want to create confusion. Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! How to Train Your Dragon belongs to DreamWorks, and Amphibia belongs to Disney.

---

Los Angeles, 4:30 pm

It was late in the evening as Marcy continued to write in her journal, which was like the one thing that gave her comfort that was not Sasha and Anne. Her latest topic was all the igneous lore of her favorite game, 'Vagabondia Chronicles.' A game she considered to be the most fantastic JRPG of all time. The game's features had everything she ever loved, from brave knights to swirling magic, the fearsome beasts, to an evil overlord planning to conquer the universe with their undead horde.

She wrote about how much she loved the world it created: detailed and complex, full of mystery and intrigue, terrifying yet beautiful. And she especially loved the protagonists: three fierce, loyal, determined young warriors, each having strengths and weaknesses in their unique ways, yet still lovable and relatable. And the best part is that she would be free to choose which direction her characters go and determine what type of destiny each of them meets by the time it's over.

Plus, despite the many troubles and hardships the protagonists face in their endless adventures, not once have they fallen into the trope of threatening their friendship with some contrived fight over a boring, cut-and-paste drama that puts them in harm's way. Instead, the game takes the opposite direction, bridging the lines between good and evil, testing their knowledge, and honing their skills against the unknown. Allowing growth and development as the game progresses.

Most of all, they focused on each other and their friendship, defending one another from the horrors unleashed by the evil overlord.

Even risking their own lives for one another and constantly rebounding when all seems lost. And their destinies would end with them standing together and victorious before it is over. Maybe it was just Marcy projecting a little, but every time they fought side-by-side, bandaged each other's wounds, or teased and poked fun at one another, she saw in their friendship what she had with her two friends Sasha and Anne.

Seeing how close she was to them, even before her time in Amphibia. It was like the three of them were destined to be together forever. However, fate had other plans and changed everything. Was it her fault that they were there in the first place? Yes. But in the end, it only strengthened their friendship in many ways she could imagine—something she wanted with all her heart.

However, that was now part of history. And all Marcy could do now was hope for the best, no matter how crazy or cruel the world was. A world that she needed to be more confident to face. Though speaking of being ready, the alarm from her phone unexpectedly went off, signaling that it was time for her to prepare for the big party her friends promised to take her to. One of which she was no doubt expected to mingle with other strangers. Oh, the fun they'll have.

"Gotta pick out what to wear first," she said. "Let's see..."

She opened her closet door and started digging through the massive pile of clothes she had inside. Only to find many school uniforms that she had worn in the last week. Though she figured that since there was no dress code, there was no need to rush. Though she kept digging through the rummage that infested her closet, she finally found the ideal outfit that would fit well for her at the party.

It was nothing too serious, nor was it too fancy. It was a denim jacket with two pins on the left side of the jacket collar, along with a white t-shirt with the symbol of the Taiwanese girl's favorite college adorned in the front to go underneath it, a pair of green pants, and brown converse sneakers. It was a simple outfit, but no doubt it was one she could see herself wearing at this party.

"Perfect."

Afterward, she took the outfit out of the closet and shut the door to close it. But before she could, she caught a glimpse of something still inside. She opened it a bit to take a peak, revealing her old ranger outfit and satchel. From which was neatly stashed in the back corner of the closet, having gone untouched for months. She took a moment to admire her old suit and smiled as she reflected on all her good times with it. The memories the priceless attire carried and all the magic that came with it were unforgettable to the Asian girl.

And even though it happened a while ago, it felt like yesterday to her.

But that was all in the past. And no matter how much Marcy wanted to go back and revel in all the happy moments she had in Amphibia with her friends; she had now accepted that there was no going back. Still, though, there were times when she wished she could go back and start over. And not have to deal with all the stress and homework that keeps bombarding her every chance it gets. Before she could further bask in happy memories, she snapped and realized she was on borrowed time. She finally shut the closet door and sauntered to the bathroom to get ready.

After about five minutes of cleaning herself up and putting on her outfit, Marcy was almost prepared to take off. The only thing she needed to do was make sure that she looked good. Or at least look more appealing to other people, especially around kids that go to her school. She brushed a small strand of her hair back, staring at herself in the bathroom miCore'sShe took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling drastically. As excited as she was for this party, she couldn't begin to comprehend the anxiety that sizzled in her chest.

As far as she was concerned, she was not ready for this.

More accurately, she was not ready for what she was about to put herself into while attending this party. The thought of being around a crowd of people, one of which she would have to mingle with, without looking wholly dorky and awkward, sent shivers down to the bone, which was not something new to the Taiwanese nerd. She had already told Anne she had trouble looking people in the eye. But that was only half of the issue regarding her socially awkward personnel. The other half was a lot more complicated to explain.

She smoothed her hair out for the third time, mentally chastising herself afterward. She didn't wonder why she was trying so hard to make herself so well-groomed for something that was going to be so casual. Heck, it wasn't going to be that big deal. Maybe it was her fear of what Anne and Sasha would think of her when she stepped out of the house. Sasha, in particular, did have a habit of nitpicking her and Anne's outfits whenever they wore somethCorestupid or too out-of-date. And this was their idea, after all. The least she could do was look more presentable for them.

This is so stupid.

She should grab her phone and tell her friends to go without her and be done with it. Sure they'd be disappointed, but they already made it clear that they didn't want her to do anything that she wasn't 100% sure she wanted to do. Plus, they had years of experience talking to people and making good conversation. As for her, she only had what seemed to be months in Amphibia, making friends with Maggie and Lady Olivia and even King Andrias himself. But alas, that was in Amphibia, not Earth. And people here were not as friendly and generous as the latter. Then again, only three of her few friends were her actual friends, and they didn't end up stabbing her in the back.

However, she was still knowledgeable regarding socializing. Marcy had been well-known to be a quick learner. Her experience with the Barbari-Ants had been proof, but the stakes felt much higher than the other times. Even the first temple in Amphibia was not this stressful and unsettling. But at the same time, she also hadn't felt so excited, knowing her friends would be there, laughing and partying along sider her. Now that she thought about it, that is, undoubtedly, what she wanted 100%—more than anything in the world. And if she said no to that, she'd no doubt come to regret it later.

Yet still, the anxiety that quelled her nerves gave her mixed feelings about this. One of which only escalated her dilemma even further.

'Oh, just do it,' Marcy told herself. 'For them. It won't be perfect, but it doesn't have to be. Just go out there and be yourself.'

She then silenced her thoughts by continuing to smooth out her jacket before staring into the mirror. As she did, she began to commend herself for a bit. She never considered herself super attractive in terms of her body image. But just looking into the mirror, she couldn't help but admit that she looked good. Aside from the outfit alone, she looked astonishing with her curved hips and pinchable cheeks. One of which Anne no doubt gushed over silently. Along with her short beautiful locks that were that glistened in the reflection of the mirror.

She even wondered what Anne and Sasha would think if they saw her like this. However, she recalled how gorgeous Sasha looked over the past couple of weeks, with her muscular arms and six-pack that she never really talked about. But it's also what she liked about her too. Her form alone was much more appealing to her. The same went with Anne, too, with her messy hair and skinny legs. However, she'll never admit it to them.

It only made her smile, giving her a semblance of confidence in her appearance alone. As she stared into her reflection, a faint image crossed her mind. One of which showed four spikes surrounding her head. Yet when she blinked, it was gone. The Taiwanese girl rubbed her eyes and squinted at the mirror again. This time, seeing it again, a third glowing eye appeared at the center of her four heads. She blinked again, this time seeing another look appear. And then, another appeared. And another, and another. Until it became more evident to her than ever before, and before she knew it, Marcy was left staring at an image of herself through the mirror that she wished she'd forget.

An image that would take the form by which she became the Core's vessel and nearly killed her friends. Or as it called itself, 'Darcy.'

She slowly backed away from the image. Releasing a small gasp as she saw the image smile menacingly at her. The next thing she knew, she heard the walls of the bathroom start to the creek. And the lights began to flicker. Like in those horror movies she used to watch with Anne and Sasha whenever they had sleepovers, and it was Sasha's turn to pick a movie. And then, out of nowhere, Marcy felt a sharp jolt run across her mind. She winced in pain as she grabbed the side of her head with her hand.

Shortly after that, she could hear the voices in her head starting to whisper and constantly gnawing at the back of her head, scolding her and saying mean things to her. And before long, she could hear her screams. Screams of the very agony she had endured on that day. The day from which she had been scarred for life. She then took both of her hands and covered her ears with them in an attempt to drown them out. But to her misfortune, it was no use. And the voices just started getting louder and louder.

She looked at her reflection one last time, still revealing Darcy smiling at her. Before moving its lips in a chilling yet terrifying manner.

"You cannot hide from us forever," it spoke from the mirror. "Accept your destiny!"

Marcy panicked. Yelping, she rushed out of the bathroom and slammed the door shut, causing a loud smacking sound before pressing back against it. The nerdy teenager then took a few deep and valid breaths before deciding it was best that she get going. And luckily for her, this would genuinely be the case. Cause at that moment, she heard a loud honking sound from outside her house. She quickly rushed to the window and opened it, only to see Anne and Sasha waiting for her in what turned out to be Anne's parent's car. Right on time, like Sasha said they would be.

"Mars, you coming or what?!" Sasha shouted from outside the back window.

"Be right there, girls!" the Taiwanese girl answered.

Shortly after that, she closed the window and rushed out of her room to meet with her best friends. As quick as a cheetah and as swift as an eagle, she descended the stairs and was just about to open the front door. Yet before she could lay a finger on the nob, she was stopped by a seemingly familiar voice.

"Woah, now, young lady," someone said from behind her. When she spun around, she came face to face with her father, who was seemingly expecting her. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Oh, hey, dad," she nervously greeted. "I was just about to go out with my friends."

"This late in the evening?" he questioned further.

"It's for a party," she backed up profusely. "But don't worry, it's for a birthday from one of the kids in my classroom."

Her father, a tall, middle-aged Chinese man, approached his daughter in a severe and inspecting manner. The expression on his face was incalculable to Marcy's eyes, making the more minor, half-Asain girl more nervous than before. However, it didn't help when he squinted his eyes.

"Did you do these dishes?" he asked.

"Yes, dad."

"Homework?"

"Just finished it a couple of hours ago."

"Brushed your teeth to avoid bad breath?"

"When do I ever not do that?"

"U have your cellphone with you in case you get lost?"

"Always."

"And pepper spray in case you get attacked?"

"Dad, I'm not going to a bar."

With each question, Marcy gave her father her most honest opinion. However, the expression on his face remained unchanged. She has been with her family long enough to know how strict her father was regarding taking care of her. Let alone teaching her how to take care of herself. But after seeing the truth in his daughter's eyes, he relented. And instead, he resorted to giving her a smile before letting out a sigh.

"Sorry, honey," he spoke softly. "I just want you to be careful."

"I'll be fine, dad," Marcy reassured. "Now, I have to go before I'm late."

She reached the door for a second time. But she was again stopped when her father gently grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to look back.

"Marcy, are you listening to me?" he implied. "Accidents can happen. You could easily get hurt-"

"Hurt or stepped on, or even get lost," Marcy impersonated as if she knew what he was about to say before he said it.

"And remember," her father began to remind her. "I want you to stay in touch with us."

"-at all times," she impersonated again, this time more sarcastically. "I know. And if I see any strangers, I don't talk to them. And once it's over, come straight home. Okay, okay, can I go now? Please?"

She then put on her most enormous puppy dog face. And in return, she got a chuckle from her old man, amused by her playful expression.

"Very funny," he commented.

By then, her mother, a tanned, middle-aged Taiwanese woman, came up from the kitchen and joined up with her dad.

"Mind your father, Marcy," she told her beloved child.

Only for Marcy to reply, "Yes, mom."

"But most of all, call us if you need anything," her dad further reminded her. "Even if it's just to say hi."

"Of course," Marcy once again reassured. "Now I have to go. You know how I am about being late."

"That we do," her mother stated before opening the door. "Now go out and have fun."

"Thanks, guys," Marcy stated as she hugged her parents. "You guys are the best."

And with that, she rushed out of the door and ran to the car, but not before being stopped for the third time.

"Marcy," her dad called.

Looking back, she saw him giving her the most genuine and sincere expression she could ever imagine. And the same goes for her mother too. They were giving her that 'watching their kid go away to college' vibe. Though she figured it was for a good reason.

"We love you," he told her honestly. "You know."

"We always have," her mother added. "And we always will."

Hearing those words filled Marcy's heart with butterflies. Before Amphibia, she didn't have the best relationship with her parents. There were times when she fought with them and argued for the prettiest things. And it would always end horribly for her. It was why she came up with that crazy idea to take the music box.

But deep down, she always questioned whether they truly loved her. She always figured that her father put all those expectations for her in terms of school so he could transform her into this perfect student. More importantly, she thought he never truly cared about her self-interests and instead wanted what was best for her.

Her mother was no different in terms of expectations. Heck, she remembered one time when she was little that she would have her dress up like a doctor and go around the house taking their temperatures. It sounded fun at first but became seriously annoying as she grew older.

The Taiwanese girl always wondered if her parents loved her for who she was instead of what they wanted her to be. But just hearing that, that single 'I love you, laid all those questions to rest. She couldn't help but smile, shedding a tear before running back to the front porch to hug them.

"I love you guys too."

In return, her parents hugged her tightly for what felt like minutes. But before the moment could continue, they released her from their touching embrace and looked to the car in front of their lawn before considering it was time for her to go.

"Alright, now go have fun," her father told her, ushering her to run along.

And with that, Marcy finally took off. She ran to the car in front, where the left rear window was rolled up, revealing the other two girls waiting patiently for her. Anne was wearing her usual outfit: a white t-shirt with pink sleeves and an orange flame symbol on the front, light blue jean shorts, white socks with pink colors at the bottom, and a pair of purple and white sneakers. As for Sasha, she wore a light-red jacket, a white t-shirt with a patch of her two heron swords adorned the front, a short pink skirt, and her usual pair of Mary Jane shoes she wears to school.

Though she was glad to see them, Marcy couldn't help but think she had overdressed, considering how casual her two best friends looked. Then again, she didn't try that hard.

"Well, wasn't that something, Wu," Sasha complimented in a sarcastic tone. "Nice jacket, by the way."

"Oh, that?" Marcy inquired. "It was nothing."

"I don't know, Mar-Mar," Anne added. "I think that was pretty sweet."

"Ah, thank you, guys," Marcy expressed.

"Sure, but can we put a lid on it," Sasha said, almost running out of patients. "We're already ten minutes behind."

"Oh, sorry."

Then, Marcy opened the door and got in the car. In the front, she saw both Mr. and Mrs. Boonchuy, Anne's parents, further implying that Anne somehow talked her parents into taking them. Before she could get in, she turned back to her parents and waved.

"I'll text you guys when I get back!" she told her parents.

Her parents nodded before watching their only daughter leave while entrusting that her friends would keep her safe.

After that, Marcy got in, squeezing in the back with her friends. With Anne in the middle and Sasha on the other side of the car.

"Why hello there," Mrs. Boonchuy greeted. "You must be Anne's other friend."

Marcy quivered. Chuckling nervously after realizing this is the first time she's met Anne's mother.

"Hi, Mrs. Boonchuy," she addressed tentatively. "I'm Marcy."

"Oh, we know who you are," Mr. Boonchuy responded. "Anne has told us a lot about you."

Hearing this made Marcy laugh anxiously for a second time. It was no secret that Anne's parents knew about her and Sasha. Both the good and the bad. However, it was still much to take in seeing them in person.

"She did?" she asked.

"All the time," Mr. Boonchuy replied. "She even told us how adorable you look when you sleep."

"Dad!" Anne butted in, with cheeks glowing as bright as a strawberry. "Can we not talk about that here?!"

"Oh, relax; I'm just playing, honey," he reassured. "Now, are we all ready to go?"

"Yes, dad, can we please just go already?!"

The parents looked at each other, giving each other raised eyebrows before shrugging it off. Anne's father then started up the engine and drove off. All the girls, including Marcy herself, look forward to having the time of their lives.

---

Ten Minutes Later

Maggie's house was not far from her own. Maybe a couple blocks away from where Anne lived. Sasha had already briefed Anne's parents on the directions before picking up Marcy, though it took them longer to get ready than expected. Anne said it was because her dad spent ten minutes trying to start the car's engine. Throughout most of the trip, they listened to Anne's parents talking about their lives and work. Though her father probably got too into-depth with his.

"So then, I take the tank," he explained, probably referring to the online gaming that he talked to Anne so much about. "Fly it up to the General's palace, and I'm all like, 'Boom! You looking for this?'"

There was a moment of silence shortly after. As if the three girls were expecting him to go further into depth with the story and were surprised when he stopped.

"That's it?" Sasha asked. "That's the whole story."

"Pretty much," he answered. "You like it?"

"Oh, yes, that's a pretty good story," the blonde teenager answered. But not before muttering, "For three years olds maybe."

"Hey now," Anne's mother scolded. "We don't insult each other in the car."

"Oh, sorry, Ms. Boonchuy," Sasha quickly retracted.

That being said, the older woman couldn't help but emphasize Sasha's muttering insult. And she was taking into consideration that it was true.

"Though I do agree," she added. "Husband, I will never understand you and your online gaming."

"But you still love me for it," Mr. Boonchiy joked. "Don't you?"

Ms. Boonchuy blushed, knowing that it was also true.

"That I do."

Meanwhile, Marcy couldn't help but squeeze her hands together between her knees, knowing that if she didn't, she would've tried to smooth out her shirt again. Yet it only resulted in her fidgeting attentively. As far as her anxiety went, the Taiwanese teenager found it staggering. It was mainly because she was close to her best friend, but it was still out of anticipation of what may go down at this party—knowing how unpredictable the outcome may be. However, much to her dismay, this display of uneasiness had not gone unnoticed.

"Is everything okay with you back there?" Mrs. Boonchuy asked, having spotted Marcy fidgeting from the corner of her eye. "You seem very anxious tonight."

"Oh, sorry," Marcy apologized. "I'm just nervous. That's all."

"Is it about this party we keep hearing about so much?" the taller woman questioned further.

"Yeah, or something like that?" she answered, her hands shaking tensely. "It's the first time in a while since I've ever been to a party."

"I know the feeling," Mrs. Boonchuy emphasized. "When I was about your age, I used to go to parties all the time. And this was after I moved from Thailand. There was this one guy in our school who offered free drinks but would only allow his friends to come over. And so-"

"Oh, I remember this party," Mr. Bonchuy cut in. "It was when we-"

"Don't interrupt!" Ms. Boonchuy shot back, silencing the other parent before he could spoil the fun. "Anyway, one of the friends was supposed to bring brie. But instead of that, he brought the whole school! Isn't that crazy?"

"Yeah, you were wearing that cute dress, and all the boys had their eyes on you," Mr. Boonchuy commented. "Heck, I remember a few trying to hit you."

"If I remember correctly, you were one of those boys."

"Yup, and I don't regret it one bit."

That whole time Anne tried so hard not to cringe as her face pinkened with embarrassment again. At the same time, Sasha silently snickered at her in the background.

"This is a normal feeling," Ms. Boonchuy reassured the younger nerd. "It'll work out in the end, sweety. Trust me when I say this."

"Yeah, sure, you'll have that occasional party crasher," Mr. Boonchuy added. "But it's nothing to worry about. The trick is to approach it slowly and steadily. Like how I'm easily turning the steering wheel, and-"

"WATCH OUT!"

Anne's mother briefly had to yank the steering wheel to the right to avoid hitting a passing car. They heard a honk and the person screaming at them from a distance. Afterward, Anne and her mother gave him a scornful look. From which he responded with an innocent smile.

"Oops, my bad," he chuckled nervously.

Ms. Boonchuy groaned, which was followed by a facepalm.

"This is why I don't let you drive!" she scolded.

"You rarely let me drive, honey," he shoots back.

"That's because you drive like an old man!"

"I do not!"

"Oh yeah, then what was that back there?!"

"That was me trying to."

"Hey, I'd hate to bring down the room or the, ya know, outside..." Sasha cut in, hoping to de-escalate the argument before they risk crashing into another vehicle again. "But I think we're here."

Their voices were as muted as ever in the night as the group finally pulled up at Maggie's house. The street they were across from was already backed with cars, and Marcy could see several kids hanging out by the entrance. From looking at it alone, there was no doubt within any of the girls' minds that this was going to be an insanely loud party currently raging between the four walls of that four-story house.

The lights behind the curtains of the windows were flashing different colors. And the brick walls surrounding the house were visibly shaking with all the thumping music that echoes into the street and could be heard from miles. Marcy wouldn't be surprised if Maggie got a series of noise complaints from her neighbors in the future.

The nerdy teenager watched as Anne's father shifted the car into park, then looked over and beamed at her, Anne and Sasha, gushing with toothy grins.

"Okay now," Mrs. Boonchuy said. "Have fun, you three."

"Text us when you want us to pick you up, Anne," Mr. Boonchuy added.

"Okay, thanks, guys," Anne said as she began shoving Sasha out of the car, with Marcy getting out from the other side. "Love you, too. Bye!"

Afterward, she shut the door to her car and rushed Marcy and Sasha to the house as quickly as possible, leaving her parents somewhat confused.

"She'll be fine," Mr. Boonchuy said. "Now, let's start this-"

Mrs. Boonchuy put her hand on top of his. Stopping her partner before he could start the car.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!" she said, shaking her head. "This time, I'm driving!"

Meanwhile, the three girls vacantly made their way to the house; Marcy had been contemplating all the ways this may go sideways. Sure, she had already thought about this before she stepped out of the house, but now that she was here, it made her even more anxious.

For starters, there seemed to be a whole lot of people. And this is just from the outside. She would only dread to think about how many are inside. It made her feel that pretentious spike of anxiety crawls up from behind her eyes. However, it didn't help when she thought of the possibility that she would be there, which was the last person she wanted to see here.

It was bad enough that she would pin her against the wall of her locker and nearly humiliate her during class; she dreaded thinking about what she would do to her if she saw her at the party. That would be the last thing she would want. However, before she could further drown in a puddle of her solicitude, she felt a gentle tug on her free arm. She turned to see that it was Anne tugging at her.

"Doing alright, Mar-Mar?" she asked. "You're quiet."

"Oh, hehe," she chuckled with angst. "Like I said earlier...Just a little nervous."

"It'll be fine, Marce," Sasha reassured, propping up from Marcy's left. "I promise."

"I know, it's just..." the Taiwanese girl paused midway. She was looking at her two best friends before pinning her eyes to the ground. "Thanks for doing this with me, you guys. I don't know if I would do this without you."

In return, Anne and Sasha smiled. They knew what kind of difficulty Marcy had with it came down to this sort of stuff. But in the end, they would always have her back. No matter what.

"Of course," Sasha replied, followed by a wink. "We'd do anything for our Queen."

The two girls were then caught in a snickering spree as Marcy buried her face in her hands. Her face lit up as she heard a groan leave the back of her throat. She was still not over the nickname her best friends had given her. And quite frankly, neither were they.

"It'll be great Mar-Mar. You gotta go in there," Anne followed up. "And be yourself. And things will work out. Besides, what could go wrong with someone's 13th birthday party?"

That being said, a booming sound came from one of the windows, followed by someone opening it to unveil smoke from the inside. When the dust cleared, the person who of which had opened it was revealed to be a Caucasian girl with ginger hair, which was braided into pigtails, freckles plastered all over her cheeks, and a gap in her top teeth. This was topped with a backward-facing purple baseball cap covering her head.

It was revealed to be hers, indeed, Maggie, who was now seen coughing from all the smoke before turning her attention back inside.

"Dammnit, Molly!" she shouted. "What did I tell you about using firecrackers inside?!"

There seemed to be an inaudible apology coming from inside. She responded with an exhausted groan before leaning up against the window. The three girls looked at each other in confusion. Not sure what to make of any of this. Before they could second-guess themselves, Maggie turned her gaze to the front yard. Spotting them in the process and had the biggest smile on her face.

"You guys came!" she exclaimed, with the excitement in her expression visibly evident.

"Sure, did we come at a bad time?" Anne asked, seeing the stress in her body language.

"No, you're just in time," Maggie reassured. "Don't go anywhere! I'm coming down!"

She then quickly closed the window. She nearly bumped her head before rushing out of the room to what they assumed would be the front door. Marcy looked at Anne, unsure of what was going on, only to receive a shrug from her before the three girls decided to go along with it and proceed toward the front door.

Upon approach, they passed a group of boys hanging out on the front porch. One of which eyed Sasha hungrily before the blonde girl glared at him in return. Anne was close to ringing the doorbell when the door suddenly flung open, followed by an enthusiastic Maggie leaping forward and wrapping her arms around Anne with a vice-like grip of a hug.

"I'm so glad you guys came!" she said, tightening her grip on the Thai girl.

"Uh, yeah, me too, Maggie..." Anne replied, finding it hard to inhale oxygen with her iron grip. "Now, if I can just...breathe.."

"Oh, sorry," Maggie said, finally releasing her grip on the other girl and planting her feet back on the floor. "I just didn't know if you would show up."

"Well, we're here now. Speaking of which, how are you holding up?"

"It's exhausting..." Maggie responded with a groan. "My little brother got word that I was throwing a party and decided to invite some of his friends. For the last hour, he's been driving me completely insane—they're acting like mental cases. I don't know whose worse. Them or the others. At least with the others, you can kick them out if they start breaking stuff. But, one wrong move and that little twirp will rat me out to my parents! Who will probably ground me for a week if they see the house like this? "

This entire rant left the three girls wide-eyed and shocked. Mainly from the perspective of listening to what Maggie has to deal with. The amount of pressure she's under in terms of managing the party, along with having to deal with her younger sibling. From what they could tell was already a handful for the poor girl. Not to mention all the other people he may have invited along the way.

"Woah, that seems like a lot," Anne commented, looking down on Maggie with pity. "Do your parents even know that you're throwing a party?"

"Yeah, they know," Maggie answered. "They gave me the green light after I got my grades up last week. They figured I was 'responsible' enough to manage things while they went on their weekly trip to San Francisco. I have to make sure nobody breaks anything."

"I feel ya' Maggie," Anne related. "Can't imagine what it must feel like to come home and see your family portrait all mashed up and turned to woodchips."

"I know," Maggie sighed. "But at least now you guys are here. I've waited so long for this."

"Me too," Anne then gestured over to her two friends. "Now, you remember my friends, Sasha and Marcy, right?"

Marcy nervously waved hello while Sasha put up a peace sign.

"Oh yeah," Maggie said, turning to Sasha first. "It's good to see you, Sash."

"You too, Margo," Sasha replied, coming up to shake her hand.

"Hey, wasn't it almost a year ago that you threatened not to invite me to your house party?" Maggie recalled.

"Oh...heh, you remember that?" Sasha chuckled, feeling uncomfortable that Maggie had to bring that subject up.

"Yeah, what was it that you said?" Maggie continued to recollect before she began to resight what the blonde teen had said to her that day. "It'll be really sad when the whole class is enjoying the pool without you."

Sasha couldn't help but cringe. It was bad enough that the caucasian girl had to remind her of that specific day that changed her and her friends' lives forever, but to be reminded of the person she was before didn't sit well with her. And it didn't help her even further when she found the irony in all of this, from once being the girl who invited everyone to her supposed house party to now being the one to be invited to an actual house party.

"Yeesh..." she said, slinking down to her shoulders and feeling somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry about that...We're not all proud of the things we did back then."

Though to her surprise, Maggie agreed.

"Same," she told the blonde girl. "But that's all behind us past now."

"Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Shortly after that, Maggie smiled before turning her attention to Marcy, who slowly felt her muscles swell with tension.

"Oh, I remember you," she told the Taiwanese teen. "You're that girl who hacked the P.A. system that one time. That was pretty rad, dude."

Marcy responded with a laugh. Feeling her anxiety spike a thousand percent.

"Well, it wasn't that hard, actually," she admitted. "I'll be sure to lay out the details if you want."

"Maybe next time," Maggie declined respectfully. "But for now, come on in! I have so much to show you!"

The trio then watched the overly excited girl skip inside, motioning them to enter. When they stepped into the walls of Maggie's house, they could hear the intense sound of the music from inside, blasting at total volume. And the house's atmosphere was swarmed with overwhelming, young teenage exuberance.

They weaved through the countless party guests, who were seemingly everywhere. The walls were decorated with streamers, and there were glowing lights on every corner of the main floor of the house. When they reached the living room, it was complete chaos, as Marcy had suspected.

The main base of the living room had a dance floor, from which it was lit up at the bottom. At the center was a sizeable digital setup, the source of all the music. Vince, the school's guitarist, is the D.J. To the right of them, there was a door that led to the backyard. From this, the girls could spot a pool where most of the guests were seen around.

Among the guests, the girls could see a few familiar faces. Through the enormous crowds, there was Gabby, Cheyenne, and even the two noisy gossip bloggers, Desi and Rico, who Anne caught from the corner of her eye taking pictures of them. Only to glare at them and watch them scurry off out of fear of being seen.

There was also a concession stand, a snack bar, and large flat screen tv, where a group of kids was seen playing Smash Bros. Heck, as much as Sasha didn't want to admit it, she would safely say that she was impressed with Maggie's party design. She did a much better job at decorating than she ever did. It almost made the blonde teenager envy her.

"Wow, how did you even manage to set all this up, Maggie?" Waybright asked.

"Eh, my parents helped me out before they left," the ginger replied. "I was lucky enough even to afford all this stuff."

"We should hang out more often," Sasha added.

"Yeah, but that'll be for another time."

Maggie rushed to the stereo speakers, quickly grabbed a microphone, and pulled the three girls up so everyone could see them.

"Alright, everyone, listen up!" she spoke through the mic. Everyone in the house immediately stopped what they were doing and gave the party girl her undivided attention. "I want to take a moment to welcome a special guest for tonight's party. Now, you all remember that crazy incident a couple of months ago, right?"

The crowd instantly answers her with a series of 'yesses' and 'yeah.'

"Well, guessed who just showed up in town?" she implied. "Coming in from West L.A., please give a special welcome to the hero who kicked all those aliens' butts and sent them back to outer space, yours truly, Anne Boobchuy!"

The crowd went exceptionally silent to the point where the music stopped playing. Maggie looked over, seeing the disappointed scowl on Anne's face. Sasha and Marcy followed her. She felt slightly puzzled until she finally got the memo. And let out a slight gasp in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry," she retorted, slightly blushing. "I meant to say, please give a round of applause to Anne Boonchuy."

The crowd then roared with cheers and applause, giving the Thai girl a more subtle but warm welcome. She was never one to be applauded for anything in her past life. But here, this was something else.

"And I also want to give a special shoutout to her best friends, Sasha Waybright and Marcy Wu," she added. "Who, I believe, had done their parts in kicking those nasty aliens' butts."

The crowd screamed with more cheers for the second time in a row. They were leaving the three girls wholly mesmerized. Especially Marcy, who was the reason those aliens came to Earth. But it was still a lot to take in, considering how badly she wanted to be noticed by the people around her, even her friends.

"And as a special thank you for all their hard work and sacrifice," Maggie added for the third time. "Next few root beers are on the house!"

For the third time now, the crowd shrieked with excitement. This time revolved around the news of free drinks than the three heroes as the music resumed its usual blasting, followed by Maggie going off the join the party. They usually would feel disappointed in that title, but that didn't matter to them. Cause now, it was party time. Sasha was the first to jump in as she went to the concession stand to get a drink. Probably taking advantage of the fact that Maggie had just said the following few drinks were free. Before she could take the opportunity to scatter just as Waybright did, Anne caught Marcy fidgeting from the corner of her eye.

The Taiwanese girl was still feeling pretty nervous about this whole thing.

"Okay...this is...a lot, " Marcy admitted unwillingly. "Maybe I should have-"

"Marcy," Anne stopped her. She took a few steps toward the nerdy teen and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Don't overthink this. Just go and have some fun."

"But, what if-"

She was cut off when Anne wrapped her arm around her shoulder before gesturing to the crowd.

"You see all these people?" she asked her rhetorically. "They all love us. Or rather, they love me for all that we've done in Amphibia. I'm sure someone there will be glad to hang out with you. And who knows, maybe they'll lend you in on a few things they do in their spare time. Maybe even invite you in."

"I guess that makes sense," said Marcy, having thought of her best friend's words of wisdom. "But-"

"But you'll never know unless you go out there and offer yourself to them," Anne added. "And it all starts with taking the first step. Sound good?"

At first, Anne's comment sent Marcy to utter silence for another few seconds. But as usual, her messy-haired Thai best friend was right. She would never have had a chance to meet a new friend if she had just stood there looking like a bustling idiot. Nor would she ever have any hope of branching out if she didn't start talking to other people.

And this was a party, for Frog's sake. A birthday party at that. So what better way to enjoy this different scenery than to spend the remainder of the day partying like there was no tomorrow?

"Well, I don't have much to lose," Marcy shrugged.

"That's the spirit!" Anne hollered before immediately turning to the snack bar. "Now, who's hogging all the ice cream?!"

---

Later...

They didn't know how long it had been since their arrival at the rocking, red-bricked, and well-decorated house that was Maggie's humble abode. But already, the girls had been having the time of their lives as the party had well and truly settled into full swing.

The music had been pumping loud as usual, and the levels of party craziness were at maximum volume. As she took the dance floor, Sasha was the first to dive headfirst into the fun-filled party animal mess. Marcy had managed to slip her way into playing Smash Bros on the flat screen tv. And during that time, she had bested several other gamers in a seven-round winning streak. And then there was Anne, who had gotten into a deep conversation with Maggie, Gabby, Cheynne, and a few others.

Most of what they talked about were about her adventures back in Amphibia. Or more specifically, on that particular day when the invasion kicked in.

"So I'm there, starring King Andrias down," she says, with the others listening closely. "Ready for the battle of the ages. I step up to make the first move, and what does he do?"

"He starts monologuing?" Maggie guessed.

"He starts monologuing!" Anne exclaimed. "He starts like this prepared speech about how inferior I am to him. About how inevitable my defeat is. About how our world will soon be his! Yada, yada, yada."

This got a chuckle out of the other girls.

"So he goes on, yammering?" Gabby added, taking a sip from the drink she had in her hand.

"Yammering nonstop!" Anne answered after downing her fifth root beer. "This guy has me up for a fight, and he won't shut up! Like, come on, dude! You're either going to fight me or not?!"

"Damn girl," Cheynne butted in. "And I thought Tracy was the one with a big mouth."

"Yeah, well, at least she didn't have to dodge a hundred missiles shooting your way," Anne bolstered. "Nor did she have to fight an entire moon."

"You fought a moon, too?!" Gabby exclaimed, practically spitting out her drink.

"Yeah, you guys should've seen me," Anne gloated. "Marcy and Sasha were there too. There were lights, fire, and a great deal of exploding things. I think I died at one point...but I don't remember."

"Girl, it must be amazing to be you right now," Cheyenne complimented. "Hearing everything you did, makes us girls wish we were just like you."

"Eh, I wouldn't overthink about it," Anne dismissed. "I'm still human like everyone else."

"But you've done some awesome things," Maggie tried to press. "It's not every day you get to go to some faraway land and fight tyrannical aliens."

"That's only cause I was the only one capable of doing it," Anne defended. "But trust me, ladies, I'm just like everyone else. Watch."

She then took a mega cup filled with fruit punch and chugged it down, not stopping for a second before smacking it back down to the table with a loud clang, followed by a loud burp that left the girls somewhat impressed.

"See?!" she implied, thus proving her point.

Though to her amiss, Anne had been filled with so much pride within herself that she had barely caught a glimpse of Sasha wobbly approaching her. With a half-empty root beer can in one hand and another unopened can in another. And also had a party strapped on the top of her head. It turns out the blondie has had too much to drink. Or maybe it was the ice cream. She couldn't be entirely sure about it.

"Hey Anne," she chirped as she stumbly sat next to her best friend. "I got you another root beer."

The Thai girl, in response, just stared at her. She was looking somewhat confused.

"You okay, Sasha?" she asked.

"Never better," Waybright answered before handing her the drink. You going to take it or what?"

Instead, Anne stood there. Unsure of whether or not to take the drink. The other girls observed, taking in the excitement of what the Boonchuy would do. Anne had always put a limit on herself when drinking anything involving sugar.

"I don't know, Sash," she hesitated. "I already had a bunch of drinks before."

"Oh, come on, Anne," Sasha complained. "What's one more drink gonna do to you?"

"Just from looking at you, I think I have an idea," Anne said.

"Well, isn't a girl's duty to drink at someone else's party?"

"Yeah, but you seem like you-"

"Hey, girls, Sasha said, turning her attention to the other girls at the counter. "Wanna know a secret about Anne?"

"Umm, I don't like where this is going, Sashi," Anne replied, feeling nervous as she sweated profusely.

"Did you guys know Anne used to have this weird frog dance when we were stranded in Amphibia," Sasha confessed? "She didn't tell Marcy and me about it, but it didn't take me long to figure it out."

"Did she now?" Maggie questioned, looking at the Thai Boonchuy with an intrigued smile. The Thai girl blushed for the fifth time.

"Yeah, it goes a little like this-"

She gets up to mimic the dance when Anne jumps in to stop her—grabbing her by both hands before she can be given the opportunity.

"Okay, that's enough!" Anne exclaimed, hoping Sasha would drop it before she could be further embarrassed.

At the same time, Anne had been so focused on keeping Sasha from telling one of her most personal secrets that she didn't see a pair of twins appear from behind her, giving her a frightful scare when she turned around and noticed them. The first one seemed to be a boy with light orange hair poling out the edge of his green hat. He also wore a moss green jacket and a pair of black shorts.

The one to the boy's right was a girl with light skin and ginger hair tied in a ponytail with a blue scrunchie and a yellow bow on top of her head. She wore a pink collar shirt that matched her pink skirt and boots well.

"Oh my gosh!" the boy exclaimed. "It's the Anne Boonchuy!"

"We're your biggest fans," the girl followed up, with the biggest grin smeared all over her face.

Anne stared at the feeling, puzzled. Though similarly, as Anne looked the twins up and down, she started to notice that there was something familiar about them. Way too familiar. Like if she had seen them before but couldn't remember. Which almost gave her deja vu in a sense.

"Okayyyyy," she started. "Wait, do I know you guys?"

"Oh, sorry, we're new to L.A.," the boy said. "My name's Twig, and this is my sister Molly."

"We've seen a lot of footage of you fighting those bad aliens," the girl dubbed 'Molly' added. "You're like some local superhero. Except cooler."

"Well, that sorta makes sense," Anne replied. Still not sure what to make of this.

"Hey, is it okay if we get a picture with you?" the boy, now dubbed 'Twig,' asked, pulling out his cellphone.

Anne hesitated momentarily, looking back at Sasha's rather woozy form. She knew very well that she would open her mouth when she turned her around on her best friend. That's just how Sasha was sometimes. Then again, if all she had to do was take a selfie with these two fans of hers. Then what was the worst that could happen?

"Why not," she replied.

The twins squealed in excitement. However, Twig seemed more enthused by this.

"Thank you so much!" Twig said."This means so much to us. Or rather me anyway."

"Sure, dude," Anne responded.

The fraternal twins positioned themselves on opposite sides of Anne. Each smiling and holding out peace signs as Twig held out his cell phone.

"Okay, everyone, say Thai girls rule and Aliens Suck!' Anne declared.

"Thai girls rule, and Aliens Suck!" both twins shouted.

The light of the phone lit up, and the screenshot was taken. Twig flipped the phone over to reveal the picture. From which was taken flawlessly. As the three teenagers peered over the electronic device, Anne started to smell something that seemed to be either cooking or burning.

"Hey, does anybody else smell that, or is it just-?"

Then suddenly, Anne looked up to spot a firecracker planted on the top of her messy hair. And before she could do anything, it set off.

Pop.

A tiny explosion was triggered. And all the Boonchuy girl could do was scream. When the dust cleared, her face burned, and her hair was messier than it already had been. Half a heartbeat later, Molly, the twin girl, collapsed to her knees, howling deliriously. Anne's eyes started twitching as she finally realized what had just happened. As it turned out, the girl had been the culprit behind this little stunt.

"Gotcha!" she exclaimed, unable to control her devious pleasure. "You should see the look on your face!"

At the same time, the twin girl had seconds before another familiar ginger took notice.

"Dammit, Molly!" Maggie scowled. "What did I say about playing with firecrackers in the house?!"

"I'm sorry, Maggie," she apologized unceremoniously. "I just couldn't resist."

Anne responded with a groan. Her face went from charred black to hot red. She was frantically about to smack the ever-living Frog out of the younger girl. However, she was deprived of doing so when she was so rudely interrupted by a familiar blonde girl.

"Hey, did you guys also know that we used to roleplay whenever we played that weird game Marcy would force us in?" Sasha butted in. Not the best time in Anne's case. "What was it called? Creatures and Caverns?"

"Not now, Sasha," Anne quickly dismissed, still eyeballing Molly with murderous intent. "I don't think this is the best time for"

"Yeah, it was," Sahsa answered. "We used to have these awesome roleplays. I was always the hero, and Anne was my sidekick. Marcy always played the princess that always needed saving. We had soo much fun. Hey, what did we call ourselves?"

"Sasha, can't you see that I'm a little-"

"Oh, now I remember," Waybright kept pressing on. "I was Captain Warhammer! And you were Lieutenant Heartstrong. Heck, I think I had a hat similar to this one."

She pointed at the party hat on top of her heart to prove her point.

"You know what, that's what I am," Sasha suggested. "For now on, y'all can just call me Captain Warhammer."

At this point, Anne was already having enough of Sasha's rambling. She knew that the blondie couldn't be serious about this. But she was too fed up with this farce even to think straight. And all she could think of now was getting Sasha away from these people before she could embarrass her even further.

"You know what, I think you've had too much to drink," she finally put her foot down. She grabbed Sasha's hand and tried to usher her to the nearest bathroom. "Why don't we just get you to..."

"Don't you get it?!" Sasha exclaimed, ripping her arm out of Anne's grasp. "You see the hat?! I am Captain Warhammer!"

The blonde laughed hysterically, which was amusing to the other girls. The twins were somewhat confused by the situation. Though, Molly seemed to be enjoying herself as she watched the scene. And as for Anne, she stood there, expressionless. She was about to reconsider rushing Sasha to the bathroom and taking Sasha home. But instead, she gave in and bowed to the inevitable.

"You know what, screw it," Anne shrugged before taking the unopened root beer can from Sasha's. She was surprised that she was still holding it. "Might as well put more liquid in our bodies before I die from a stroke."

"That's the first thing you said all night that wasn't frogging nerdy!" Sasha exclaimed before dropping headfirst onto the table.

---

Meanwhile, Marcy had gotten off the big screen to relieve herself. So far, the Taiwanese teenager was having a fun time. Playing Smash bros and occasionally jump in with some card games. The only catch was that she didn't meet anyone personally. The other gamers were usually brief during the matches, and most stormed out in disappointment at losing to her, which was so much for being socially interactive.

Another positive aspect was that she didn't have any episodes most of her time at the party. And not once did she hear the voices inside her head whisper to her, which was a big deal to the young girl considering that it was her main goal to relax and have fun.

Though as she exited the bathroom, she was so fixated on smoothing out her jacket that she didn't see a person waiting for her to her right. And was alarmed the moment said person said,

"Sup."

This caused Marcy to yelp back as she tripped over herself and landed facefirst into the solid ground. The intruder backed away and covered her mouth, surprised by the sudden action.

"Oh, oops," the person said as she jumped in to help the Asian teen. "Sorry about that; I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," Marcy reassured.

When she looked up, she was met by the interloper, who turned out to be a girl that was just about her age. She wore a dark purple hoodie with pink drawstrings with lighter purple stripes over a pink shirt underneath the hoodie. Her right wrist was adorned with a blue bead bracelet, and a rubber band covered her left. Underneath her hoodie was a purple plaid skirt with a black belt covering it with a silver buckle at the center. She also wore a pair of black high-top shoes. And had two band-aids strapped on her left leg, possibly from a recent injury.

The girl suddenly lifted her hoodie to reveal her face. This showed that her right eye was hidden by her pinkish-white hair, with her left eye having an eyeliner underneath it, almost giving a goth-like impression.

"Say, you're that girl from history class," she said, giving full recognition from the other girl. "The one who told off Tracy about Aegon, right?"

Marcy laughed. Her anxiety is already spiking up.

"Yeah, that's me," she declared, giving an uneasy smile.

The other girl started to notice her tension. And could see that she was making her uncomfortable. At the same time, though, Marcy could see the other girl's expression change. And instead of taking a step back to give the Taiwanese teen some space. And perhaps make her more comfortable.

"Sorry, let's start over," she said, holding her hand out. "I'm Haddie."

The nerdy female hesitated but then accepted, considering that this could be her only chance to meet someone new the entire night.

"Marcy."

The two girls then shook hands. Before the other girl, now dubbed 'Haddie,' leaned against the wall. Marcy did the same thing on the other side, trying her best not to look awkward.

"So..." Haddie started. "Is it true what you said about Aegon having three dragons?"

Marcy's eyes perked up. That's the first time anyone has asked her about anything school related. Moreover, it was more of a surprise for anyone to ask her about her interests.

"Uh, sort of," she replied. "While he had three dragons, his two sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya, were the ones who rode them."

"Oh, got it," Haddie said with a pause. She seemed slightly disappointed but then looked back at Marcy, more curiously this time. "Do you also happen to know if he had any others?"

"Are you kidding?" Marcy replied, her geek mode turned on with this question. "I've read every single novel of A Song of Ice and Fire five times. And let me tell you, there's more to where it came from."

"Really?" Haddie canvassed, feeling intrigued. "How many?"

"Well, Aegon started with three dragons," Marcy explained. "But there were so many after he took the Seven Kingdoms. And we're talking, like, 20 dragons."

"There was Caraxes, who was considered the Blood Wyrm, and then there was Meleys, the swiftest dragon right next to Vhagar. And then there are others like Vermithor, Silverwing, Dreamfyre, Sheapstealer, Quicksilver, and many more. Aegon also had many eggs incubating underneath his home island of Dragonstone."

Which dragon that Marcy named, Haddie, started getting giddier and giddier, taking in the information with a surprisingly good interest. And she was exceptionally intrigued by how Marcy described them. Hearing names such as Seasmoke, Caraxes, and Sunfyre almost made the goth girl faint.

Though it didn't take that long for Marcy to notice, she briefly stopped when she saw the girl zoning out during her short but brief explanation of the forming of the Dragonpit.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

In an instant, Haddie snapped back into reality. And she had just taken notice that she had been staring for too long.

"Oh, sorry," she apologized. "I have this huge fascination for dragons. I don't know what it is about them, but they're cool. Their body structures, colorful patterns, how they fly swiftly in the sky, and how they roast their victims alive and turn their bodies into cinder and ashes."

Marcy cringed at that last part. Which made the goth girl blush in embarrassment.

"Anyway, I'm kinda new to this school and don't have that many friends with similar interests as me," Haddie confessed. "I've been looking for anyone at school with similar interests, but they're too busy talking about boys or how pretty their hair is. Which is so overrated if you ask me."

For the first time all night, Marcy was impressed. For most of her life in L.A., she only had two friends, and neither had the same interests. And now, she could see without a shadow of a doubt that she had finally met someone she was in common with. Let alone, that said, someone with a particular obsession with dragons.

"Wow, no one's ever been interested in what I do," she said. "They usually get bummed out and leave."

"Girl, I'm heading towards you," Haddie replied. "How do you feel about that?"

"I'm feeling like a beautiful friendship is about to start," Marcy replied, simultaneously feeling something familiar about it.

In return, Haddie smiled. And so did Marcy. And for once in a long time, the nerdy teen had been pleased. She had waited all night to talk to someone other than Anne and Sasha. Was it scary? Yes. Did she almost not want to do it? Yes. Did she trip on herself and almost make herself feel awkward doing it? Yes. But here she was, about to have another friend outside her current friend group. One of which she can safely talk about her interests without being ignored.

By then, the two girls went back downstairs where the main party was. Unknowing to them, a familiar group of girls just up the stairs took notice of the Taiwanese girl's presence—one of which their leader had a devious score to settle with her and her friends. And had already formulated the perfect plan to do so.

As they descended the stairs, Marcy finally took this time to converse. This time is asking a question that Haddie would no doubt answer.

"So, tell me more about this fascination for dragons," Marcy inquired. "You seem so enthused as I am about them."

"I love them," Haddie answered. "They're so amazing to look at. Sure, they can sometimes be intimidating and sweet and gentle."

"Huh, since when has there ever been a dragon that's been kind or gentle?" Marcy questioned.

"All the time," Haddie replied. "Everyone says that they're evil and associated with the Devil. But I don't think that's true. And they're highly misunderstood creatures."

"Fair point," Marcy agreed. "I do admit, though, they are mighty."

"Sure, dragons are creatures of fire, after all," Haddie said, followed by a sigh. "Kinda makes me wish I had one of my own. And then everyone will stop making fun of me for a change."

"Really?" the Taiwanese girl asked.

"Yeah, sometimes I picture myself with an actual dragon," the goth girl admitted. "And what it would feel like to be with it. Soaring in the clouds on top of its back and roasting your enemies with it. Nobody would mess with you then."

For what was like the second time, Marcy cringed at the whole 'roasting your enemies' comment. But then her expression changed from slightly disturbed to slightly intrigued. Now that she thought about it, she never really imagined dragons being around, especially in real life. She was no stranger to the fact that dragons exist in entertainment and mythology.

Then again, if alien frogs could exist, along with a magic box that could teleport people to other worlds, there was also that possibility.

"Huh, never thought of it like that before," she wondered. "Seeing a real-life dragon. I mean, I've read stories about them. But I never would've thought if they could exist. "

"Yeah, me neither," Haddied followed up. "But unfortunately, they don't. And even if they did, we'd probably destroy them."

"You think so?"

"No doubt, we humans have a killer mindset. Whatever we can't control, we end up wiping off the face of the Earth. Either that or nasty billionaires exploit them to make themselves even richer."

Haddie then let out another sigh.

"It's still a shame, though," she added. "Having a dragon would be awesome."

"As someone who goes hard with her interests, I relate," Marcy added. "But, wouldn't there still be a chance for both species to cooperate peacefully if given a chance?"

"Maybe," Haddie answered. "But that's one chance out of a million. And that's also if you can persuade the dragon not to kill you when it looks at you."

"Yeah, well, if I ever met one in real life," Marcy said, looking at an optimistic perspective. "I'd give it all the love and affection it deserves. I'll even give it a belly rub to show how appreciated it is."

"Hah," Haddie laughed. "I'd pay good money to see that."

The two turned the corner and went straight for the snack bar, eager to get drinks. As she approached the bar, she noticed Anne and Sasha sitting at the counter. A series of empty root beer cans were scattered all over the place. Anne spotted her while talking with the other girls and waved. From which Marcy responded with a wave of her own.

She turned to the bar and saw that Haddie had already gotten them two cups of fruit punch. She then handed one over to Marcy, who so heartily accepted. They were about to head for the flat screen when someone turned up the moment they spun around, which was revealed to be no other than Tracy and her posse, which consisted of five other girls.

"Well, well, well, the snobby girl declared. "Look who it is. It's the teacher's pet."

At first glance, Marcy's heart sunk to her abdomen. If she recalled correctly, she had hoped that Tracy would not be here before she even stepped foot in this house. She was already having so much fun. And the last thing she needed was Tracy ruining it with whatever schemes she had going on.

"Uh," she said with a laugh. "Hey, Tracy. Didn't expect to see you hear tonight."

"Likewise, Wu," Tracy said bluntly. She then turned her gaze to Haddie, who was also nervous about the spoiled teen's presence. "Who's your friend?"

The goth girl gulped before speaking.

"Haddie."

Tracy, in response, smirked.

"Looks like that makes two dorks we've run into tonight," she said, looking back at her posse. "Wouldn't you agree, girls?"

The Taiwanese nerd could her murmurs and silent nods coming from the girls behind Tracy. Afterward, she let out a sigh. She was not doing this with Tracy. Not tonight, and indeed not here. She had already been through too much to deal with whatever treacherous schemes she had in mind. Or if she even had any.

"Listen, Tracy," she started. "About earlier today, I-"

"Oh, there's no need to apologize," Tracy cut off. "I should be the one to say sorry. It was unfair for me to treat you the way I did. Even if I was right in the end."

Marcy cringed. She knew that Tracy was not one to be trusted, even when it came to telling the truth. Her fake apologies were not new to the witty teenager. She had already known many people online who were good at lying.

"I'll tell you what; why don't we start over?" Tracy proposed. "Let's be friends. For real this time."

"Yeah, best friends even," Courtney added from behind.

Of course, Marcy would've been comforted with the idea of making new friends. That was if she didn't already know that Tracy was up to something. Despite having known her for a couple of months, she could already tell how devious and deceitful the snobby teen could be. She had a clever way of manipulating people into doing what she wanted. And these included methods without being aggressive about it.

Heck, she even had some experiences with it in the past herself. She and Sasha alike. So it was natural for her not to trust other girls' judgment. But at the same time, if there was any way she could convince Tracy to put aside her past deeds and strive to be a better friend, then that was something she could not say no to.

"I don't know, Tracy," she hesitated. "I'm kinda a little busy with-"

"Come on, friend," Tracy cut off for the second time, grabbing Marcy's hand instantly. "Why don't we hit the dance floor?"

She then pulled the dorky teen toward the dance floor though Marcy remained hesitant.

"But, what about my-?"

"I'll hold that," Gwen interrupted, grabbing the fruit punch Marcy had in her hand.

As Tracy started dragging Marcy over to the dance floor, Haddie attempted to follow her. Unfortunately for the goth girl, she was cut off by two of Tracy's friends, who were in her way. She tried to go around them, but they followed her every move. Thus preventing her from catching up to Marcy, who, at this rate, was on her own.

When they first reached the edge of the dance floor, the snobby teenager was busy weaving through the crowd while still holding onto Marcy's hand. At the same time, the Taiwanese teenager was already anxious about this. As it turned out, Tracy had a knack for being unpredictable. Nobody knew her intentions or her motives with other people who crossed her. And that's what made her dangerous and more distrustful.

"Why are you so nervous?" she asked when she turned to look back at Marcy.

"Yeah," Gwen said from behind her. "We're just having fun."

Marcy didn't answer. As much as she wanted to believe the other girls, there was no way she was convinced that they were up to any good. But then again, the only thing keeping her from pulling out now would be Tracy's vice-like grip on her hand. From which, she had to admit, was pretty intense.

She looked over her shoulder to see if Anne and Sasha were nearby. But her view was blocked by the other two girls, which was a significant inconvenience. Meanwhile, Haddie made many more attempts to reach her but was still cut off by Tracy's friends. And could only do nothing but watch the scene unfold.

When they reached the center of the dance floor, Tracy briefly let go of Marcy's hand. And instead held out another to stop her from doing anything impulsive.

"Stay put, now," she told her before looking up at the D.J.

In an instant, the music was cut off, and Vince was forced to step down by another D.J. momentarily, who had tanned skin and astonishingly beautiful hair. The house went quiet in seconds, and the new D.J. gleefully took out a microphone while looking at the two girls in front of him.

"Alright, everyone," he announced. "The next song is dedicated to the infamous Marcy Wu, the local teacher's pet."

At that point, the D.J. flicked a switch, and all the lights went out. Save for a singular, white-shaped circle that hovered above the Taiwanese girl's head. Half a heartbeat later, Marcy's entire form shook. The pupils in her eyes shrank until they looked like tiny marbles. At this very moment, she finally realized what Tracy's game was.

It was a trap.

And she walked right into it without even noticing it. Before she could even move, the music started playing again. This time it was much louder, and it was to a song that she knew Tracy had picked beforehand. Which turned out to be dubbed 'Wipe out' by the Surfaris. At the same time, other kids started entering the dance floor from all sides.

Marcy's anxiety continued to spike as they closed in on her. They were surrounding her on all fronts, with no hopes of escape. As the Taiwanese girl continuously looked over her shoulder, the other kids began to taunt her. Coming up from behind her and giving her a little shove. Many called her names and said things like,

'Go home, freak!'

'Loser'

'Go back to where you came from!'

All of which was now starting to scare Marcy. She felt like a small puppy cornered by a pack of pit bulls, with the other kids laughing at her and continuing to call her names. And what made things worse, she saw one girl videotaping the whole thing. All the while, Tracy stood before the crowd, taking great pleasure in the scenery.

"She's like a baby!" one girl called.

"You gonna cry, baby!" another one cried.

At this point, Marcy was on the verge of freaking out. She was surrounded by people that now tended to harm her, and Anne and Sasha were still nowhere to be found. She was exposed and vulnerable. She covered her ears to drown the mean comments out, but to no avail. And her mind was going in circles on what to do until she did the one thing she could only think of doing.

"Anne!" she called out. "Sasha! Help!"

Meanwhile, Anne continued to mingle with the other kids sitting at the table when a familiar voice reached the Thai girl's ears. In an instant, she turned her head toward the dance floor to take notice of the scene, with Haddie rushing over to the D.J. to attempt to stop the music immediately.

"Sasha," she said, shoving her blonde friend to get her up. "Sasha, wake up!"

"W-what?" Sasha clumsily uttered, taking a second to register exactly what was happening.

"Look."

Sasha lifted her head and was instantly alert. Her eyes widened in shock to see most guests surrounding the dance floor. And was more shocked to see Marcy at the center of it.

"Oh no," she said, frantically looking at Anne.

Half a second after that, both girls jumped from their seats and quickly made their way to the scene, leaving the other girls slightly confused before following suit after getting a glimpse of what was happening. As they ran to the dance floor, the two girls stood in their way. Similar to how they stood in Maggie's way just a couple of minutes ago.

"Dude, get out of the way!" Anne urged as she tried to get past them.

Though the other girls said otherwise.

"Sorry, you can't come here!" one of them declared.

Anne scoffed. There was no way these two nosey bottom feeders would stand between her and her best friend. She then tried getting past them again but was blocked for a second time.

"Didn't you hear her?" the second girl questioned. "You can come here. Its off-"

"Move!" Sasha pressed on.

Being the more ill-tempered girl, Sasha chose a more straightforward way and shoved the two girls backward and out of the way. Anne was tempted to question her method but was more focused on helping her nerd friend to even think about it. They pushed their way through the crowd.

They were trying their best to get to Marcy. But at this rate, there were so many guests that it made it harder for them to reach her. Though what was worse, some of the kids purposefully squeezed into each other to prevent them from getting closer. Yet that didn't stop the two friends from getting to their third.

"Marcy!" Anne called out in an attempt to get her attention.

As Marcy was continuously getting bombarded with hate comments and relentless name calls, voices from her two best friends reached her from a distance. There was so much noise going off that she couldn't tell where they were. She kept spinning around, trying to see if she could find Anne and Sasha. And to her luck, she was able to spot them heading her way.

"Sasha! Anne!" she shouted, waving her arms up so they could see her.

"Marcy!" they both shouted back.

Meanwhile, Haddie managed to get through the crowd on the other side and quickly rushed to the D.J. to get him to turn off the music. Though to her dismay, he already had a pair of headphones attached to his ears. Which did not make things any better for the goth girl or anyone trying to stop this.

"Hey!" she called out. "Turn it off!"

"I can't hear you, dude," was his only reply.

She turned back to the crowd to see Marcy trying to call her friends, who were trying their best to reach her. At the same time, she noticed Tracy whispering to another girl, who then ran off to who knows where which could only mean one thing. She planned something more terrifying and was about to put it into motion.

She turned back to the D.J., yanking his headphones out so he could hear her loudly and clearly.

"Turn it off, dammit!" she screamed.

This time, the guy listens to her.

"If you say so."

Though, the moment he turned it off without a clear warning, a creaking sound came from the ceiling. And before anyone could even guess what it was, Marcy was suddenly bathed in what seemed to be the last fruit punch. And in addition to that, two girls turned up from opposite sides of Marcy and flung two more cans of fruit punch at her, causing the poor girl to slip and trip on herself.

There were a couple of 'ohs' going around before the whole house quieted for a second time. Marcy, who was now on the floor, lay there, breathing heavily—trying to register what in the absolute Frog just happened to her. Anne and Sasha, who had just gotten through the crowd to witness what went down, stood there, expressionless. All the while, Tracy walked up to her from the crowd and stood her over.

"Looks like you just got Wu-ed, freak!" Tracy declared.

From there on, the Taiwanese girl was met with roars of laughter, followed by the number of screenshots taken by her posse.

"Bet you didn't see this coming, dummy," she mocked. "So sad."

Despite all the shock, Marcy struggled to climb up to her hands and knees. Looking at the ground as the laughter continued to increase. After a moment, she sat up, looking at her completely stained hands. It had already become evident to the Taiwanese girl that her outfit had been ruined. And there was nothing she could do about it.

And it had also been evident to her that her dignity was ruined. As well as her confidence. All that build-up, all those talks she had with Anne and Sasha about relaxing and having fun, had been put to the torch before her own eyes. But worse was that she could already see what the next few weeks would be like for her.

She can already see everybody laughing at her at school the next day. She'll be the laughingstock of talk for who knows how long. And Tracy, she'll never let her hear the end of it. She'll use this to make her feel even more miserable than she had already been.

And speaking of Tracy, she felt a finger touch her chin and lift her head, forcing her to look up at the culprit behind this absurdity. Who in return looked at her with mocking eyes.

"You're mine now, freak!" she declared. Marcy, in return, glared at her, silently cursing the other girl for doing this to her. Tracy scoffed. "What are you going to do? Are you going to cry? Or call your friends again for help?

She then turned to the direction Anne and Sasha were watching this, knowing they would witness this.

"Go ahead, she then challenged. "Call to them. Call on your knights with shiny armor to your rescue!"

As she looked past Tracy, she spotted Sasha and Anne, who were just as shocked as she was about the situation. She could see the looks on their faces. Anne was devastated. At the same time, Sasha was shattered beyond belief. She didn't want them to see her like this. So broken, so fragile, so weak. But Tracy offered them no choice. And they both were without words.

She looked over to Haddie, who, too, was in shock. And she looked around to see everyone continuously laughing at her. Calling her 'freak' and 'nerd.' It was almost unbearable. She could feel the tears running down her eyes and hitting the ground. She looked up for a second time to see Anne slowly approaching her, eyeing Tracy simultaneously.

"M-Marcy," was the only thing that came out of Anne's mouth.

Humiliated in front of her friends, she does the only sensible thing she can think of doing right now.

Marcy runs.

Out of the living room, out of the house, and out into the street. She ran and did not look back until she disappeared into the darkness. Anne attempted to chase her, but by the time she could make it outside, she was gone. And could only make one last desperate call to her best friend.

"Marcy!"

At the same time, Tracy followed her out the door and watched her leave. She was aiming to mock her further to fulfill her sadistic pleasure.

"That's right, girl, you better run!" she shouted. "And don't ever come back! Freak!"

Her venomous words reached the ears of both her and Sasha. When Anne turned around, she saw that Sasha was fuming with fire. And as for the blonde girl, she could feel nothing but rage fueling inside her body. Witnessing one of her best friends be humiliated by her rival right in front of her eyes was pretty damning.

And the fire was so bright that she could no longer take it. As Tracy took one last evil smirk at the dark end of the street, she turned back inside to continue with the party. Only to find a raging Sasha storming toward her and reeled back her fist.

Pow!

Sasha brought her fist back and landed it square in Tracy's face, striking her in the nose. The spoiled brat froze, holding a finger out to feel blood coming out underneath until it became very evident to both girls that Sasha had just broken her nose.

"Dammit, Sasha!' the snobby bully responded. "I'm shooting a nose spray ad tomorrow!"

The blonde girl responded with another punch. Letting out a shriek as she tackled Tracy off the porch and onto the front yard. The two girls rolled for a bit before they came to a screeching halt, with Sasha on top of the other girl as she started punching her with more strikes.

"I'm gonna kill you!" she shouts.

Strike after strike, Sasha aimed to give her the rightful beating she deserved. Anne finally turned back to get a glimpse of the scuffle and was the first to act, briefly rushing to the two girls to ease Sasha off the other girl.

"Sasha, no!" she cried, grabbing one of her arms to pull her off.

Instead, Sasha shrugged Anne off her and continued to lay blows on Tracy. After three more blows to the face, she wrapped her muscular hands around the spoiled bully's throat. She was tempted to strangle the entitled brat until her face turned purple. Other members of her posse tried to rush in and aid her but were stopped by Maggie and Cheynne, who were trying to give Anne some space as she attempted to defuse the scuffle.

For a second time, Anne rushed in to try to break up the fight. And for the second time, Sasha refused to back down as she tightened her hold on Tracy's neck. Desperate, Anne attempt to calm Sasha down by grabbing her face and forcing her to look into her eyes.

"Sasha, please!" she pleaded. "You don't want to do this!"

Yet these pleas and cries for mercy ran on deaf ears to the blonde cheerleader. And instead, she reverted her attention onto Tracy and continued to strangle her. Though as their scuffle continued, a bright light started coming into view. And the only one who seemed to notice it was Gabby.

"What's that?" she questioned.

This caused Sasha to let go of Tracy and look up to Anne finally. Who then started to notice the bright light and looked her right. As Sasha followed suit, Gabby's thoughts became more evident. And a bright light was revealed west of them, peering more into the direction of the city.

As seconds passed, the light began to glow brighter and brighter, almost to the point where Sasha and Anne had to cover their eyes. Along with everyone in the house. As the light began to illuminate further, the street wires and every single morning on the block started to flicker on and off. Most began to crack, while others turned off completely.

Finally, at the apex of the irradiation, the light started to die. Until it eventually disappeared. Half a heartbeat later, a massive electromagnetic pulse was triggered. From which sent a shockwave that went on for miles. And everything in the city was automatically shut off, bringing the entire city of Los Angeles to a blackout that lasted for ten seconds.

Though within those ten seconds, no one had any idea that things were about to change for better or worse. And it is from those ten seconds that fate will finally do its part. And begin the ultimate test to determine the future for all.

---

Hello everyone! Here's chapter 4. Few things I want to get to before I end this. Firstly, Happy Thanksgiving! I know it's a little late, but I wanna wish that before the holiday ends. Secondly, it's almost the end of the year. And that means Marcy's Journal will be around the corner. I urge every single Amphibia fan who is reading to buy it as soon as it comes out. I'm doing the same myself. Thirdly, I must confess the number of times I cringed writing this chapter. I almost reconsidering writing it at this point. So, I hope it was all worth it. Fourthly, this marks the one-year anniversary of my latest story, 'Marcy and the Black Knight.' So feel free to check it out if you want. And finally, please continue to write in the review section. Your opinions are highly valued. And feel free to ask questions if you want. I'm always happy to answer them. And that's about it. Alright, that's all for now, folks; gunslinger signing off!

PS: Shoutout to Fanread123456, Guest, and OMAC001 for your reviews on the story. I appreciate them and hope that you continue to write more reviews.