Chapter 7
"You know Marbles… this really is nice." Anne said as she looked over at the farm.
"Yeah, I know…" Marcy said. "Hey, did you know that the average Amphibian tomato is ten times bigger than tomatoes in our world?"
"Actually, yeah! I did!" Anne said. "We uh… may or may not of tried making a pizza before."
"Oh no… how did you get the tomatoes?!" Marcy asked. "It's supposed to be really dangerous!"
"Well… we may of tried to get the tomatoes and uh… got eaten ourselves… and then ate our way out of the plant's stomach." Anne explained sheepishly.
"PFFT. Seriously?!" Marcy asked.
"I was desperate ok?!" Anne asked. "I really wanted to enjoy a pizza with the others… and we also really wanted to win a Potluck sooooo…"
"Typical competitive Anne kicked in?" Marcy asked.
"Oh big time."
The two of them laughed at this.
"Sure, Marcy laughs, but how many times has she gotten eaten so far?" Sprig muttered to himself as he finished the song.
"Hey Sprig, thanks a lot for doing this, but we'll be fine on our own now." Anne said. "Go back to the others, and we'll be in soon."
"Ok, enjoy you two!" Sprig said as he began hopping away.
"So… we'll finally be going home tomorrow… huh?" Marcy asked.
"Yeah…"
"… It's gonna be rough saying goodbye to them, you know that right?" Marcy asked.
"Y-yeah, I know… but hey! We have the music box now… we can always come back!" Anne pointed out.
"True…" Marcy said.
"… Ok Marcy… I need to ask you something." Anne said suddenly.
"Huh? What's up?" Marcy asked.
"That's what I want to know." Anne said. "I… I think there's something you're not telling me… something you're really worried about."
"What? Don't be ridiculous!" Marcy said, suddenly very nervous.
Anne's look told her everything she needed to know.
"… Was I that obvious?" Marcy asked.
"Kinda… really, what made me sure of it was when we had that talk after that whole situation with Hop Pop and the box." Anne explained. "You… don't normally ask questions like that without a reason."
"Oh…"
"Marcy, you can tell me anything, you know that right?" Anne asked.
"I know… I know…" Marcy said. "It's just… I did something here… and I… I'm scared about how you would react… really scared."
"Marcy…"
"Like, I'm worried that this would ruin everything between us! Like, you'd never want to see me again!" Marcy said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Marcy… stop…" Anne said. "I am not going to push for you to tell me… really."
"You… you're not?"
"Of course not… if it scares you that much, then I shouldn't push you to say anything." Anne said. "But just know… no matter how mad it makes me, no matter how much it hurts at first… I would always want to be in your life, no matter what."
At this point, Anne pulled something out of her pocket.
"I was planning on giving you this when we got home… but this is a good time."
She revealed a pair of bracelets, each having one of their names on them.
"Uh… Loggle said this is something some frogs give to their significant others… it means that we'll be loyal to each other, no matter what!"
"O-oh!" Marcy said. "… Kinda sounds like a promise ring though."
"… You want to make it like that?" Anne asked.
"I… I don't know." Marcy said. "I mean… that's a BIG commitment…"
"Then these bracelets just symbolize our loyalty to one another. To stick together and have each others backs, no matter what." Anne said. "Sound good?"
Marcy smiled at this. "Sounds good."
Anne handed Marcy the bracelet.
Marcy put it on, and just stared at it, then, she took a look at Anne.
"Anne… I'll tell you." Marcy said with newfound resolve.
"Huh?"
"I'll… tell you the truth…" Marcy said. "Just know… I am really… really sorry about it."
"O…kay?"
Marcy took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"I knew about the music box!" She said quickly.
…
…
…
Silence.
Dead silence.
Marcy slowly opened one eye to see Anne… confused?
"Uh… I'm sorry… I don't know what you mean by that." Anne explained.
"… I knew that the music box might take us to another world…" Marcy explained.
Anne's eyes suddenly widened, and her jaw dropped.
"… oh…" Anne said. "That… uh… wow…"
"I know… I know…" Marcy said with a sigh. "I'm so so-"
"No… just… stop…" Anne said. "Let me just… process this for a minute…"
"O-ok…"
Anne just sat there, deep in thought.
She really was not expecting Marcy to say that.
"Ok… so, first question? How?!" Anne asked. "I wouldn't think that a magical music box would be something that would be well known knowledge."
"It was in this weird book about urban legends. Stuff no-one would ever take seriously… I didn't take it seriously at first, but then I saw the music box in that thrift store and… yeah…" Marcy explained.
"Ok ok… next question… why?" Anne asked. "Like… if you knew that it could be dangerous, why would you suggest we take it?"
Marcy just sighed at this. "My parents…"
"Huh?"
"I… got in a big fight with them that day." Marcy explained. "They told me… that my dad got a new job out of state… and that I needed to move away."
"But…"
"Let me finish…
I don't know if you've noticed this but… I don't have the best relationship with my parents. We fight all the time… I have to always get straight A's to make them happy… and… and…"
Marcy's face, and now forming tears, told Anne that there was something else… something that hurt her on a very deep level.
Then, she got an idea as to what it could be.
"… It was a lie, wasn't it?" Anne asked. "When you told me that you got through to them when you came out."
"Marcy…"
"I didn't want you to worry about me…" Marcy explained, tears starting to roll down her cheek. "I-I managed to convince them that it was a dumb joke… I was grounded for a month… but at least…"
"…?"
"… At least they didn't kick me out…" Marcy admitted.
And that made Anne mad… but she didn't show it. One look at Marcy is all she needed to know that getting angry at her parents was not what she needed.
What she needed, was love.
"Hey hey, look at me." Anne said.
Marcy complied, and saw a warm smile on Anne's face.
"I am not going to lie to you Marcy… what you did… well… it hurts." Anne said. "What hurts more is that you didn't tell me the truth right away though…"
"I'm sorry…"
"Don't be." Anne said. "You've made mistakes… we all have. What matters now is that we've made it through it. We survived."
"But…"
"And about your parents… if we can survive living in Amphibia for five months, we can figure something out with them." Anne said. "Worst case scenario, you can stay with me and my family."
Marcy just looked at her in shock.
"R-really?"
"Of course! No way I am letting my girlfriend move away against her will!" Anne said with renewed vigor.
Marcy didn't say anything, and got up from her seat, walked over to Anne, and gave her a hug.
"Thank you… thank you so much…" Marcy said as she cried into Anne's shoulder.
"Any time Marcemallow."
"You and Sasha… you two mean the world to me, you know that?" Marcy asked.
"Kinda figured that out when you told me you took us to a crazy frog world to avoid having to say goodbye." Anne joked.
Marcy just continued to cry.
"… And you mean the whole world to me too Marcy…" Anne said as she hugged back.
After a bit, they separated.
"Gosh… it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders!" Marcy said with a laugh. "I don't think I've ever felt this light!"
"I can imagine, you've been dealing with a lot." Anne said. "Anything else going on that I should know about? You aren't secretly dating Sasha too, are you?"
"Naaaah, I love Sasha, don't get me wrong, but not like that." Marcy said. "Although… there is one more thing."
"Nothing bad I hope…"
"No no, just that the King offered to take us to other worlds to have more adventures in the future." Marcy explained.
"Oh! That… actually sounds kinda cool!" Anne said. "Hopefully there won't be too many dangerous ones."
"Yeah… you, me, Sasha… maybe we can bring Grime and the Plantars with us!" Marcy said.
"Not too sure on if Hop Pop would want to come, but Sprig and Polly for sure!" Anne said.
"Hehe, yeah." Marcy said. "Honestly though… I think the fact that the King will be with us makes me really happy."
"Really? Why's that?" Anne asked.
"Well… I uh… kinda see him like a second father now…" Marcy said, her face slightly red.
"Awwww…" Anne gushed.
"Staaaahp." Marcy said embarrassed. "Like you don't see Hop Pop as a second father."
"… Good point." Anne said. "Back on topic though… if it's all the same, I think I'd rather go home… for now at least. I just… really miss my parents."
"… Yeah, I guess you're right." Marcy said. "Can I crash at your place for a bit? Until we figure out something with my parents?"
"Of course!" Anne said. "You're always welcome in my home!"
"Thanks Anne… Thanks a lot." Marcy said.
The Next Day
The previous night, Anne and Marcy agreed to not tell Sasha about what they discussed. Their relationship with her still wasn't the best, so they decided that waiting a bit on that would be a good idea.
As for the trip to Newtopia, it was going great!
They got into the city no problem, Sasha and Grime were behaving, and they were just about to hand over the music box to the king, no problem!
… Until Grime stole the Music Box.
"Sasha, what are you doing?!" Anne asked.
"… Oh no…" Marcy muttered under her breath.
"What I do best… taking control!" Sasha said as she took off her hood. "Now Grime!"
Grime took off his cloak to reveal a war-hammer, and slammed it on the ground, causing everyone besides Sasha to fall over.
"Sasha! What are you DOING?!" Marcy asked. "I… I thought you…"
"Sorry Mar-Mar… but I am going to be doing things my way." Sasha said.
At that moment, Andrias came over and tackled Grime into a pillar.
"And that means doing this." Sasha said as she walked out onto a balcony, and held the music box over the ledge. "Stop."
Andrias complied.
"Not another move, or I smash it to pieces."
"No! Sasha don't!" Anne and Marcy both pleaded.
"You wouldn't…"
"I would." Sasha said.
"You're bluffing…"
"NO, SHE'S KEEPING YOU BUSY WHILE I DO THIS!" Grime suddenly shouted as he swung his war-hammer at the newt king's leg.
"King Andrias!" Marcy shouted.
Grime then gave out a signal, and the city began to be overrun by toads. The guards tried to fight back, but when Grime threatened the king's life, they laid down their arms.
Before long, the king was being taken to the dungeon.
But not before he gave Marcy a subtle nod, which she returned.
'Right… gotta make sure I get him the box…'
"Sorry about all of that… you guys good?" Sasha asked.
"Good?! Are you serious?!" Anne asked as she swatted Sasha's arm away.
"Geez, don't be a sore loser." Sasha said. "Look, I'm gonna send you two home, and I'm gonna stay here and rule this country, m'kay? What do you say?"
"WHAT DO I SAY?! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" Anne shouted.
'No… nonononono!'
"Anne, relax, I…"
"No! I'm done listening to you Sasha! I am done being pushed around by you! I AM DONE BEING LIED TO BY YOU!" Anne said, getting more and more angry.
"Anne, please calm down before you say something you regret!" Marcy pleaded.
"Did you even care that Marcy and I got together? Or was that another lie?!" Anne asked.
"… Of course I was happy." Sasha said, looking off to the side.
Marcy knew that look… she felt guilty.
Sasha really was happy for them…
But Anne wasn't so sure.
"… I'm sorry… but I can't believe you… not anymore." Anne said. "I'm just… I'm done with you Sasha!"
"What are you saying Anne?" Sasha asked.
"Anne please! Don't sa-"
"I'm saying, I am DONE BEING FRIENDS WITH YOU!" Anne shouted.
And at that moment, Marcy's entire world shattered.
Anne… just broke things off with Sasha… they… weren't friends anymore…
And it was all her fault. Every. Single. Part of it.
"A-Anne… you don't mean that…" Marcy said, desperate to fix this.
She then looked to Sasha who… actually looked really upset all of a sudden, with tears threatening to fall from her eyes.
"… Sasha?"
Sasha then quickly wiped her tears away, before glaring at Anne.
"Well fine then, if we're not friends anymore. I guess I'll just send you home, so you can never see that frog family of yours ever again!" Sasha declared.
Anne then looked back at the Plantars and ran over to hug them, as Sasha opened the box…
Only for nothing to happen.
"Huh… well, guess that didn't work…" Sasha said. "Until I can figure this out, you are all going to the dungeon…"
Then, she had a sorrowful look on her face.
"… Later…"
And so… the group was then taken to the dungeon…
At least, they were going to, until Anne knocked out a couple of guards, and Yunan came to help.
The group then hid out in an abandoned shack in town, to discuss their plan.
Marcy, Olivia and Hop Pop were going to rescue the King.
Polly, Yunan and Frobo were going to distract the Toads.
And Anne and Sprig were going to close the gates before the army arrived.
"Anne…"
"Don't worry Marcy, we'll win." Anne said. "Just… be careful, ok? I can't… I can't lose you too."
"… This is all my fault…" Marcy said sadly.
"What?! What are you talking about?" Anne asked.
"If I wasn't such an idiot and took us here…" Marcy said.
"No, don't think like that Mar-Mar." Anne said as she took Marcy's hands. "Sasha… she's always been a jerk. Even if we never came here, I think we would of gotten to this point eventually anyways."
"But…"
"No buts." Anne said. "We'll figure this out, ok?"
"… Ok…"
"Good…" Anne said. "Good luck Marcy."
"Yeah… good luck Anne."
And with that, Anne went off with Sprig to complete her mission.
Before long, Anne and Sprig were trying to close the gate, but Sasha had come along to try and stop them.
"Listen Anne, I don't want to fight." Sasha said as she put her hands up.
While certainly odd behavior, Anne wasn't buying it.
They heard Grime grunting in the distance, as he was attempting to climb the wall.
"I got him." Sprig said as he casually leapt off the wall.
"Anne listen, there is something up with this Andrias guy!" Sasha tried to reason.
"Seriously?! After everything you did, you expect me to believe that?!" Anne asked.
"Anne please!"
"Sorry Sasha, you already lost all of your chances…" Anne said as she continued to close the gate.
"Anne…"
"You lied to us… you manipulated us… you almost got the Plantars killed… you almost killed me… and…"
At this point, Sasha saw Anne's face again, and the tears falling down her cheeks.
"And you almost killed Marcy… right after you promised that you would think about what she said…" Anne said. "I can never forgive you for that…"
Sasha then pulled out her swords, looking like she was ready to fight… but then she did something Anne didn't expect.
She threw them off the wall.
Anne, caught off guard by this, looked at Sasha in shock.
"What are you doing?" Anne asked.
"Surrendering." Sasha said. "I won't fight… I won't hurt you… but I just need you to listen to me."
"… Fine… I'll hear you out."
Sasha then took a deep breath.
"There is a mural in the castle, it shows Andrias with the music box and… and it doesn't look good." Sasha said. "I think he's been using us… using Marcy."
"… I don't know Sash…" Anne said. "Like, I've met the King, he seems like a really likable guy. And besides… I still don't know if I can trust you…"
"Anne…"
"How do you know that is the King?" Anne asked. "Could of been a previous King for all we know."
"I… guess that's possible… but still, he had to know about it." Sasha tried to reason.
"I don't know what his reasons would be to keep that mural around, but I'd hope that it's a good one." Anne said. "Especially for Marcy's sake…"
"Marcy?"
"She thinks of him as a father Sasha… you know as well as I do that she never got along with her real dad." Anne reasoned. "If he turned on us…"
"… Right… That would devastate her…" Sasha concluded.
"This doesn't mean that I'll ignore what you said though. I'll keep my guard up around him, but that's it." Anne said as she finished closing the front gate.
"… Fine…" Sasha said as she put her hands into the air, signifying her surrender.
"Anne!" Marcy shouted when she saw her girlfriend.
"You alright?" Anne asked as she hugged her girlfriend.
"Y-yeah!" Marcy said.
"Ok! Let's do this!" King Andrias said.
"Anne…" Sasha pleaded.
"Uh…"
"Don't ask, she's just gonna tell you some dumb lie." Anne said as she walked over and gave the king the box, though she did hesitate a bit.
"Something wrong?" King Andrias asked.
"No… just… a lot happened I guess." Anne said. "A lot I have to think about."
"Understandable." King Andrias said. "I am sure you'd like to think about it in a place of comfort though, so…"
"Right, the box." Anne said before handing the Music Box over.
Then… the king began to show his true colors. He told them all about how he planned on using the box to bring Newtopia back to it's former glory… but something about it all seemed… sinister.
'I… I don't like this…' Marcy thought.
She had no idea about any of this.
"So you see… my people were not frail explorers, but GLORIOUS CONQUERORS!" King Andrias said as he activated a device that brought up a pedestal. He then put the pox on said pedestal…
And all hell broke loose.
Energy surged through the castle, and before long, it was in the air.
What's worse, an army of robots, just like Frobo, swarmed into the castle and had everyone surrounded.
"This… this isn't what he said he would do…" Marcy whispered to herself.
"Sorry, but I can't send you home just yet… can't let you warn anyone about the coming invasion!" Andrias announced.
"What?!" Anne asked.
'No… NO! This is so much worse than before!'
Earth was about to be invaded!
And it was all her fault!
Marcy brought them here, with the box.
And Marcy brought the box to Andrias!
She… she caused all of this…
And she was going to do everything she could to stop it.
So, after Andrias showed off his power, and Anne and the others resolved to stop him, she leapt into action.
"STOP!" Marcy shouted as she got between the group and Andrias.
"Andrias! This isn't what we agreed on! You didn't say that anyone would get hurt!" Marcy tried to reason.
"I would of told you anything to get your help Marcy… sorry to say, you've been fooled." Andrias said in a sinister tone.
"But… but…"
"Marcy, what's going on?" Sasha asked.
"He… he said he would take us… to other worlds if we wanted to… so we could keep having such great adventures, just like this one…" Marcy said.
"We were going to go home first, but…" Anne added.
"Oh, so you told her, did you?" Andrias asked.
"Told her what?" Sasha asked.
"… Guess… things between us can't get any worse…" Marcy said.
Then, she told Sasha. Told her everything.
"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!" Sasha shouted. "YOU KNEW?!"
Marcy just nodded.
"But… not about what the king had planned." Anne pointed out.
Marcy just frowned at this.
"So, now that we're all on the same page… how does it feel Marcy?" Andrias asked. "Knowing that everything that has happened here… was all your fault."
"It's NOT her fault!" Anne shouted.
"Isn't it?" Andrias asked. "Simply because she didn't want to leave you two, Marcy took a big gamble, and ended up stranding you three here. If it wasn't for that, you two wouldn't of had your little quarrel." He said, pointing at Anne and Sasha. "And, she brought the box back into my clutches."
"… No…" Marcy breathed out.
"So tell me Marcy… how… does it feel?"
"I… I…"
"Marcy! Don't listen to him!" Anne pleaded.
"How does it feel to continue to let everyone down?" Andrias asked.
"I… I don't…"
"Oh, and how could I forget!" Andrias said with a laugh. "How does it feel… to be played for a fool… by the man you thought of as your father…"
Marcy's eyes went wide at that.
"Oh, did you think I didn't know?" Andrias asked before laughing. "You had a little slip-up once upon a time… and after you told me about your past well… I figured it out."
"I…"
"You were never my daughter… you were just my tool." Andrias said with a wicked grin.
And at that moment, something in Marcy snapped.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Marcy screamed as she charged at the newt.
Though, he effortlessly swatted her away and into a pillar.
"Marcy!" Anne shouted.
"I'll stop you! No matter what!" Marcy shouted, as she began firing arrows at the robots around Anne and the others. "WE HAVE TO STOP HIM!"
"… Right." Anne said. "We'll… talk later."
At that moment, Anne cut Sasha's ropes, and Grime managed to snap his own.
Frobo, who was carrying Sasha's swords that she tossed aside before, gave them back to her.
And, they were all ready to fight.
"We're with you Anne, Marcy… til the end!" Sprig said.
"You guys are serious… ok!" Andrias said as he pulled out a sword of fire… one that ironically put a chill up Marcy's spine.
And so, the fight began.
The group was able to hold their own quite well, and were tearing apart the robots that had them surrounded.
It all fell apart when Andrias got involved though.
He very quickly proved too much, even for their large numbers.
He almost killed Polly, until Frobo intervened… only to get smashed to pieces.
Then, Polly almost got crushed again…
But…
"GUESS WHO JUST GOT HER LEGS!" Polly shouted, sporting a new pair of legs.
"MY LITTLE BABY'S GOT LEGS!" Hop Pop shouted.
"Wait a minute…" Marcy said as she did some math. "BOOM BABY! TWO MONTHS EXACTLY!"
"Not a good time Marcy…" Anne said.
"… Sorry…"
What happened next, was Polly going full Fast Rat on those fools. Dodging and weaving around the robots, and making her way to the music box.
She was successful in getting the box, but she quickly put it back when Sprig's life was put in danger.
They were hoping that would cause Andrias to drop the frog… and he did!
… Right out a window.
"SPRIG!" Marcy screamed.
She then looked to Anne and…
"Anne…?"
What happened next, Marcy didn't know how to describe it. Anne was GLOWING! And Andrias, he looked really worried.
Deciding that figuring out more about this would have to wait, she leapt into action…
And out the window.
Quickly whistling for Joe Sparrow, she was thankful that the bird came to help her.
They sped towards Sprig, who was hurdling towards the ground.
Thankfully, they were able to catch him before he could become a frog pancake.
"Thanks Marcy."
"Any time Sprig." Marcy said with a sad smile. "Now come on… Anne's really worried about you."
"… You know we're your family too… right?" Sprig suddenly asked.
"Huh?"
"You're really important to Anne… so you're important to us too." Sprig explained. "So… if your family sucks… then you can be a part of ours."
Marcy then began to tear up. "Thank you…".
The two then made their way back up to the castle, and Marcy let Sprig off where he was dropped.
Meanwhile, she decided to try and be sneaky, as while Andrias was distracted with Anne and the Plantars, she snuck over to the music box and grabbed it.
"Come on… come on…"
She managed to open a portal, one leading home.
"Please work…"
"NO!" She heard Andrias call out behind her.
She didn't dare look at him.
She then heard Sasha command Anne and the Plantars to get out of there while she and Grime held Andrias off.
"Quickly! Get into the portal!" Marcy shouted.
They complied, and looked back at Marcy.
"Marcy! Hurry!"
"I just need to…"
Then… she felt it…
Pain… an unimaginable amount of pain, right in her chest.
Looking down, she saw the cause…
"Now look at what you've made me do…"
Her bracelet fell off her wrist, everyone hearing the impact it made with the ground.
End of Chapter 7
Chapterly reminder to let me know if I did anything to offend anyone in the LGBTQ+ community. Upon being informed of it, I will fix it right away.
Happy Hiatus Day! To celebrate, I decided to post this chapter a bit early! I am sure you are all in a lot of emotional trauma from what happened in the episode (I haven't seen it yet, so I don't know…) So I decided to make it worse! YOU'RE WELCOME!
… In the event that the episode ended on a wholesome note, I am here to ruin it for you! But hey, at least you don't have to wait several months to find out what's next!
This is one of the episodes that makes me wish I could write something that good. I don't think I could ever match just how masterfully written True Colors was, but I hope what I provided was at least somewhat good to read.
I debated for a while whether or not I wanted to have Marcy tell Anne the truth during that dinner. I eventually decided that I would write out both scenarios, and decide which one I thought I did a better job with. This is the one I picked.
As for the bracelet, I came up with the idea for one reason: It would make the ending sadder… yeah, I'm a jerk. I like to picture the screen going black as soon as it connects with the ground, and all you hear is the impact. Well… it does have another purpose, but we'll get to that one day.
Now for Sasha. Yes, the conversation she had with Marcy in chapter 5 was what lead to Sasha deciding to surrender. So yeah, no sword fight between Anne and Sasha! Did it change anything in the end? No, not really. We'll see a bit more of the impact during Season 3.
Someone in the reviews asked about the chapter number… there is one more chapter left, bringing it up to the eight I previously mentioned. To give an idea of what's happening, it will be covering the beginning, just the beginning, of The New Normal. After that, this story is over. Season 3 will be it's own story. I have a reason for splitting it up like this, and it will become apparent what that reason is when the next story starts.
So, see you on Wednesday for the finale!