Chapter 6: Amity vs ?
"Hey Anna-Banana…"
"No… way…" Anne said in absolute disbelief. "Marcy?!"
"Wait, what?!" Luz asked as she ran over to the door.
Sure enough, Marcy was standing there, donning her, though very damaged, ranger uniform.
"MARCYYYYYYY!" Anne shouted as she tackled the girl in a bone crushing hug.
"Ow ow! Cool it with the hugs Anne! It still hurts!" Marcy said, wincing in pain.
"Oh! Sorry, sorry." Anne said as she backed away. "I'm just… I'm so happy to see you…"
"Me too…" Marcy said, starting to tear up herself.
"It's just… how are you here?! I… I thought that you were…"
"Well… after you left, Andrias put me in this… rejuvenation tank and well… it healed me." Marcy explained. "Then, and I don't know how, but it suddenly broke. I was able to make it to the throne room while some… craziness was going on, and used the Music Box to come here!"
"That's… that's great." Anne said, smiling widely. "But wait… where's the music box?"
"I uh… may or may not of dropped it when I tripped and fell through the portal…" Marcy said, her face turning red. "Sorry…"
"No no… it's ok." Anne said comfortingly. "I'm just happy to see you alive! We'll figure out a way back to Amphibia, but for now, that's all I need."
And with that, they just hugged it out.
Everyone just watched the scene before them, smiles on their faces…
Everyone except Amity.
Luz noticed this, and pulled her girlfriend off to the side.
"Hey, you alright?" Luz asked.
"Yeah just… I don't know Luz, something about this doesn't seem right." Amity said. "I mean, yeah, I guess her story makes sense but…"
"Kinda weird for Marcy of all people to show up out of no-where." Luz finished for her.
"Yeah… I mean, it could just be that I'm being paranoid… and I really hope that's the case… but…" Amity said.
"Let's just keep an eye on her, make sure nothing suspicious is going on. If there is, then we do something, if not, we intervene. Ok?" Luz said.
"Right… sounds like a plan." Amity said before the two went back to the group.
"Hey there you two are!" Anne said as she and Marcy went over to them. "Luz and Amity, meet Marcy! Marcy, Luz and Amity!"
"It's so nice to finally meet you Marcy!" Luz said with a smile. "Anne told us all about you!"
"Oh… nice to meet you too Luz…" Marcy said, acting a bit shy.
"Uh…"
"She's not great with people." Anne explained.
"Hehehe…" Marcy laughed shyly.
"Don't worry Marcy, we're all friends here." Luz said with a smile. "Right Amity?"
"… Right…" Amity said.
Anne noticed Amity's hesitation. "You alright?"
"Yeah, just fine… just thinking about a few things." Amity said. "For starters… why would the king save you? I mean, you're his enemy."
Marcy looked… unsure.
"Honestly, I don't know…" Marcy said before shaking a bit. "I'm scared to think of what could of happened if I didn't get out of there."
"Hey hey… what matters now is that you are safe…" Anne said with a smile. "We'll make him pay for what he did to you, I promise."
"Right… thanks Anne." Marcy said.
"Now come on! I'm sure you're hungry, so let's get you something to eat!" Anne said as she led Marcy to the kitchen.
Amity and Luz watched the two of them go to the kitchen, where Anne's parents gave Marcy a big hug before getting to work on her meal.
They had never seen Anne this happy before… yet Amity couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with all of this.
That night, while everyone was asleep, something caused Ghost to stir from her slumber.
There was a faint humming coming from outside, and she decided to investigate.
Going down the stairs, she became aware of a faint light, and quickly ran over.
There, she saw Marcy, looking at what appeared to be some kind of floating screen, with someone she didn't recognize appearing on it.
"They don't suspect a thing. I have successfully infiltrated the Boonchuy household." 'Marcy' said.
"Excellent, do what you can to get her alone. Then, when her guard is at it's lowest... Kill her."
"Understood King Andrias." 'Marcy' said with a salute, causing Ghost's eyes to go wide.
She had heard the humans and Amity talk about him!
"If you can eliminate the witches while you're at it, that would be great." Andrias said with a wicked grin. "K, thx bye!"
And with that, he gave 'Marcy' a wink before the screen disappeared.
Deciding that getting caught would be a bad idea, Ghost quickly made her way back upstairs, and laid down at the foot of Amity and Luz's bed.
The Next Day
"Morning Mar-Mar!" Anne said as she pulled Marcy in for a hug.
"Morning Anna-Banana!" Marcy said as she returned the hug.
"Sleep well Anne?" Luz asked.
"Oh like you wouldn't believe!" Anne said with a smile. "I needed a night like that."
"Have you… not been sleeping well?" Marcy asked.
"Between researching a way back to Amphibia and… uh… nightmares… no, not really." Anne said.
"Nightmares? Are they… about me?" Marcy asked.
"…"
"Anne… I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be, it's not your fault." Anne said with a smile.
Deciding a change in topic was important, Luz spoke up.
"Hey so uh… why don't we talk about something else!" Luz said.
"Oh, yeah… well…" Anne said as she looked around a bit. "So Marcy and I talked a bit last night and uh…"
"We're planning on telling her parents that we're dating tonight." Marcy said with a smile.
"Oh my gosh! That's great!" Luz said. "I'm here to help in any way that I can!"
"Thanks Luz, but I think we got this." Anne said.
"Ok, well, I'm here, just in case!" Luz said as she pulled the two of them in for a hug.
Before long Sprig joined the three of them, having gotten up a bit earlier than the other Plantars.
"Hey hey!" Sprig said as he hopped up into a chair.
"Morning Sprig!" Marcy said with a smile.
"So… now that we have Marcy back, what's the plan?" Sprig asked.
"Well… I was thinking…" Marcy said before turning to Anne. "What was the deal with that blue hair thing you did? You know, back at the castle?"
This… caught Sprig's attention.
"Oh uh… I don't really know." Anne said. "All I know is that I thought Sprig died and… yeah."
"Has it happened again?" Marcy asked.
"Yeah, twice… kinda." Anne said. "I know it's the same thing but it feels… different… and… bad…"
"So you don't know how to use it at will?" Marcy asked.
"No… sorry…" Anne said. "I… don't know if I want to be able to do it at will."
"It's ok… figured it would help if we knew how you did it." Marcy said.
At that moment, Amity walked in, looking very concerned.
"Hey Anne… can I talk to you a bit?" Amity asked.
"Oh sure, what's up?" Anne asked.
"… Alone."
This, made Luz concerned. Amity's suspicion from yesterday was still fresh in her mind, and if Amity wanted to talk to Anne alone, then it might have something to do with that.
"Ok? Sure!" Anne said. "Be right back!"
And with that, the two went to the back yard.
"So, what's up?" Anne asked.
"… Anne… I am going to need you to hear me out on this…" Amity said. "I don't mean any ill-will towards anyone when I say this but…
That's not Marcy."
"… Huh?"
"That's not Ma-"
"No no… I heard you… but… why would you say that?" Anne asked.
"So… you know how Ghost is my Palismen, and how we're bonded, right?" Amity asked.
"Yeah, you Luz told me a while ago… but…"
"This also means that I can understand her and… well… she saw Marcy talking to King Andrias last night." Amity explained.
"… No."
"Huh?"
"Sorry, but I can't believe that." Anne said with a frown.
"But…"
"Sorry, I know you mean well, but I am more willing to believe Marcy than your cat." Anne said.
"Anne, listen to me… if you're not careful…"
"I will be careful." Anne said. "I'm just… I need to trust her Amity."
The events of the other day flashed into Amity's mind.
"Even if she turns out to be a fake… I need to just… have this…" Anne said. "I know… I am being really dumb and reckless… but I need this so much…"
"… Alright." Amity said. "But, keep this conversation between us, and as soon as you suspect anything, get out of there."
"… Fine."
And with that, Anne went back inside.
"… Dang it…"
Amity followed her inside, and went back to the kitchen.
"Hey, what was that about?" Luz asked.
"I'll… tell you later." Amity said.
"Anyways, Anne, why don't we go get ready and have a day out? Just us two?" Marcy asked with a smile.
"Sure! Let's go!" Anne said with a smile.
And with that, the two went upstairs.
"… I was right Luz." Amity said. "That's not Marcy."
"… Oh…"
"Wait, why do you think that?" Sprig asked.
"Ghost saw her talking to Andrias last night." Amity explained.
"… The cat?"
"Amity can understand her, since they're bonded." Luz explained. "Is she sure about what she saw?"
"Very sure." Amity said. "But… when I told Anne, she didn't believe me."
"I can get that… I mean, it does seem hard to believe." Luz said. "If I didn't know you and Ghost, I probably wouldn't believe it."
"Well I do." Sprig suddenly said.
The two girls looked at him in shock.
"Marcy… or whatever that is, she knows more than she should." Sprig said.
"Wait, really?" Anne asked.
"Yeah… she wasn't in the room when Anne first used those powers." Sprig said. "I know this, because she was busy saving my life!"
"Maybe she saw it before she went to help you?" Luz asked.
"No, Polly said she saw her jump out the window as Anne was transforming." Sprig explained. "Sure, she saw Anne glowing, but there's no way she saw her hair change color."
"Oh wow… yeah, that seems pretty convincing." Luz said. "So… what should we do?"
"… I'm going to go and watch them." Amity said. "I'll take a few invisibility glyphs with me, and keep an eye on them. Then, if this thing tries anything funny, I'll stop it."
"… Yeah… probably a good idea." Luz said. "I guess this is a good time to give you this then."
Luz then pulled out a phone.
"Uh…"
"I was talking to my mom the other day… and we decided that it would be for the best that you got a human phone." Luz explained. "This way, we can keep in touch."
Amity smiled at this. "Thanks Luz."
Amity then gave Luz a kiss on the cheek before taking the phone.
"Gross…" Sprig groaned out.
"Shut it you." Amity said with a smirk.
Later that day, Amity was following Anne and 'Marcy' as they went around town.
So far, there had been nothing suspicious going on, and the two looked like they were just enjoying each other's company.
But looks can be deceiving.
Amity kept watching, and eventually, she was hiding behind a tree, watching their every move.
"So… how are we doing this tonight?" 'Marcy' asked.
"I don't know… I think we should just… rip off the bandaid…" Anne said. "Tell them, and get it over with."
"Yeah, I guess that'll work." Marcy said with a laugh.
"Let's forget about that for now though." Anne said as she walked forward a bit. "I just… want to enjoy this."
"Right…" 'Marcy' said with a grin.
A very evil looking grin.
Anne had her back turned towards her, and was looking to the sky.
No-one was around as far as they knew…
It was the opportunity that the imposter was looking for.
Her hand suddenly turned into a sharp claw, as 'Marcy' began to sneak up on Anne, ready to finish the job.
At that moment though, Amity sprung into action, and quickly tackled 'Marcy' to the ground.
"Oof!" 'Marcy' grunted out.
"What the… Amity?!" Anne shouted as she turned around.
"Anne! Get out of here!" Amity shouted.
"Amity get off of her!" Anne shouted as she grabbed the girl.
"I was right Anne! She almost killed you just now!" Amity shouted, keeping a grip on 'Marcy'.
"I said, GET OFF OF HER!" Anne shouted as she managed to separate the two and toss Amity away.
Amity quickly got up, and saw Anne comforting a very confused looking, and upset 'Marcy'.
"Why… would she do that?" Marcy asked, tears falling from her eyes. "I was just about to give you a hug…"
"Hey, it's ok…" Anne said.
"Anne, listen to me…" Amity said as she got off the ground
"No, you listen to me Blight." Anne said, voice filled with anger. "When you told me that you thought Marcy was suspicious, I thought it was weird, but this?!"
"Anne… calm down, I…"
"Amity… I think you should go." Anne said. "Go back to the demon realm… I don't want your help anymore."
"Anne! Listen to me!"
"Come on Marcy…" Anne said as she took 'Marcy' and left.
Amity just stood there in shock, not sure what to say.
Sighing, she decided to leave.
"I can't believe her… doing that to you!" Anne said, still angry.
"Hey, it's alright." 'Marcy' said. "I'm not mad… just… confused."
"Still, she hurt you!" Anne said. "I… I can't forgive her for that."
"Anne…" 'Marcy' said. "Listen, I think you should talk to her… she was just worried about you is all."
"I know… but… I just don't want to look at her right now…" Anne said.
"Ok… let's just sit down and cool off a bit then." Marcy said as she sat down on a nearby bench.
Anne followed suit, and the two of them just sat there and enjoyed each other's company for a bit.
"Oh, before I forget…" Anne said suddenly as she reached into her pocket, and pulled out her bracelet. "I wanted to give this back to you!"
"Hm?… Oh! The promise bracelet!" 'Marcy' said with a smile.
Then, Anne froze.
"… Promise… bracelet?" Anne asked.
"Yeah! You know, these are like promise rings… where you give it to someone you love, and it means that you'll get married one day." Marcy said. "I almost forgot about this!"
At this point… Anne began to get very afraid… and decided to test something.
"Yeah… when I gave it to you before the battle of the bands… you were so happy!" Anne said.
"Yeah, I really was." 'Marcy' said with a smile.
At this point, Anne separated from her, and put the bracelet back in her pocket.
"Anne?"
"You… you're not Marcy…" Anne said in a shaky voice. "We… we agreed that these bracelets would be a symbol of our loyalty to each other… and NOT like a promise ring! And… I gave it to you during our first date…"
'Marcy's' eyes went wide, as she realized that she screwed up.
"… I guess there's no hiding it any more…" 'Marcy' said with her eyes closed…
When she opened them, they were glowing red.
"Guess I'll have to do this the hard way."
A pair of jet boosters suddenly came out of her feet, as she quickly flew over to Anne and grabbed her. Then, she flew into the air.
Meanwhile, Amity was sitting on a nearby bench, scratching behind Ghost's ears.
"I don't know Ghost… maybe she's right… maybe we were just seeing things." Amity said with a sigh.
"Mrow…"
"I want to believe that that's Marcy too but…"
Suddenly, Amity saw that Ghost's eyes went wide, and quickly looked in the direction she was looking.
And she saw Anne, being carried away by the imposter.
"Anne!" Amity shouted. "Come on Ghost!"
Ghost quickly transformed into a staff, and the chase was on.
Amity quickly pulled out her phone and called Luz.
"Amity? What's going on?" Luz asked.
"We were right! That wasn't Marcy!" Amity said frantically. "The imposter has Anne and I am chasing after her!"
"What?! Ok, we're on our way to help!" Luz said.
"It looks like they are heading towards a junk yard nearby! Please hurry!" Amity said before hanging up.
The imposter then landed in the junk yard that Amity was talking about, as it slammed Anne into the ground.
"Ugh…" Anne groaned out as she looked up.
The imposter had it's claw out, poised to kill.
"Guess this is it huh? Killed by some robot with my girlfriend's face…" Anne said as tears fell from her eyes.
She closed her eyes, and waited for the inevitable…
"ANNE!" Amity shouted as she fired a fireball at the imposter, knocking it off of Anne.
Amity then quickly ran over and grabbed Anne, before using an invisibility glyph to hide them.
After a bit, they appeared again, out of view from the robot.
"Ok… we need a plan." Amity said.
"Amity…"
"Save it for later, let's focus on surviving first." Amity said.
"… Right…"
At that moment, the imposter began to speak.
"Poor little Anne… did you really think that the king would let Marcy get away? Hate to break it to you… but he has big plans for the real Marcy… a shame that you won't be alive to find out what it is…"
Anne clenched her fists, as tears began flowing from her eyes.
Amity, deciding that she's had enough, jumped out to greet the robot.
"Oh, hello there… Amity was it?" The imposter asked. "Andrias did say to kill you too if I had the chance…"
"You can try… but you will fail." Amity said as she got ready to fight.
"We'll see about that." The imposter said as she began to charge.
Amity, acting quickly, covered her hands in abomination sludge, creating a pair of gloves.
She then quickly dodged the machine's attack, and landed a strong right hook onto it's face.
"Well well! Kitty has claws!" The imposter said with a wicked grin.
At that moment, the sludge began to cover more of Amity's body, until she was completely covered.
"What in the…?"
"This kitty has fangs too." Amity said, revealing her true power.
The imposter didn't say anything, as it began to charge a laser.
Amity seemed unfazed by this, and simply punched the ground, causing a wave of sludge to surge towards the imposter, blocking the laser and slamming into the imposter.
The sludge then wrapped around it, beginning to crush it.
Suddenly, a burst of energy spread out, freeing it.
It then fired a bunch more lasers at Amity, who began to glide along the ground, avoiding the lasers.
The imposter's hand changed into an axe, and swung it at Amity, who countered by changing her sludge hand into an axe as well.
The two axes collided, creating sparks. The two then repeatedly swung at each other, trying to get through the other's defenses.
Suddenly, the imposter decided to change strategies, and stopped swinging and focused on dodging.
It was a lot more agile than Amity was in her current state, so it was easily able to dodge Amity's attack, and go in for a counter-attack…
But that proved to be a fatal mistake.
"Gotcha."
The sludge around Amity's body completely blocked the attack, and began to wrap around the robot.
More and more sludge formed around the machine, to the point where Amity was no longer covered in it.
"Who… who are you?! How are you this powerful?!"
Amity drew a spell circle in the air before opening her palm.
"The answer is simple…
I'm Amity Blight."
Then, she clenched her fist.
The sludge began to tighten around the robot once more, with a lot more force than the previous attempt.
Before long, the light in the imposter's eyes faded, as it slumped in the Sludges hold.
Satisfied with the result, Amity ended the spell, before the imposter was dropped to the ground, unmoving.
"Amity… what was that?" Anne asked.
"Abomination magic." Amity said with a smile. "Top level witches can do that… the previous coven head was the one who invented the spell."
"Coven head?"
"I'll explain later." Amity said.
Anne simply nodded, before walking over to the imposter, the one that still had Marcy's face.
Then, suddenly, the eyes regained their color, before it's chest opened up to reveal a timer.
"Self destruct sequence, initiated."
"Wait, WHAT?!" Amity shouted.
Anne… didn't seem phased by this though. She just kept on thinking about what had happened today…
Andrias really tried using a fake Marcy to try and kill her… he tried to use her love for Marcy against her…
And that made her VERY mad!
Her body suddenly began glowing blue, before she brought her leg back, and let loose a powerful kick, sending the imposter into orbit.
The two then watched as it exploded, causing the clouds in the sky to part.
"… Whoa…"
The blue faded, before Anne collapsed to the ground.
"Anne!" Amity shouted before running over.
When she got there, she saw that Anne was out cold.
"Amity!"
Looking up, she saw Luz flying down on Bluebert.
"Is she alright?!" Luz asked.
"Yeah, she's just passed out is all." Amity said.
At that moment, the Boonchuy's van pulled in, before Anne's parents and the Plantars jumped out.
"Anne!"
"She's alright! Just tired!" Amity explained.
"Oh thank goodness…" Ms. Boonchuy said. "But… where's…?"
"… It was a fake." Amity explained. "Sent by Andrias to kill us."
Anne's parents gasped at this.
"Come on, let's get Anne home so she can rest." Hop Pop suggested.
"I agree… she shouldn't wake up in a junk yard." Mr. Boonchuy added.
"Right…" Amity said as she lifted Anne and brought her to the van.
That Night
"Ugh…" Anne groaned as her eyes fluttered open.
"Anne!" Sprig shouted, rushing to her side.
"Hey Sprig… where…?"
"Home, on the couch." Sprig explained. "You passed out after you fought that robot."
"Oh… so… that really happened…" Anne said.
"Anne, listen…" Sprig said.
"No… no… I just… I need a minute…" Anne said.
"Ok, I'll go get the others, they were worried." Sprig said before hopping away.
Before long, the rest of the group was walking into the room.
"Hey Anne… you doing alright?" Luz asked.
"… Honestly… no…" Anne said. "But… I think I'll be alright."
"Anne…"
"I mean… it may of been a fake but… I got to see Marcy again! Guess… guess that's the last time…" Anne said, tears starting to form. "The last time… I'll see her…"
"Anne… sweetie…" Ms. Boonchuy said.
"Mom... Dad… I loved her…" Anne said with resolve. "I loved Marcy and… and we were dating… before…"
If this surprised her parents, they didn't show it.
Instead, they just gave her daughter a hug.
"Thank you for telling us…"
"… Why are you crying Anne?" Amity asked.
"Huh?"
"Amity!" Luz scolded. "She's grieving!"
"Ok, but why?" Amity asked. "I mean… you heard what that robot said, right?"
"Wait, what?" Luz asked.
"The robot said that the King had big plans for the real Marcy." Amity explained. "It may of come from an unexpected source, but we know for sure now."
She then kneeled down and looked Anne in the eyes.
"Marcy is alive… and we are going to save her!" Amity said with a very seriousness in her voice, and determination in her eyes.
Anne just looked at Amity in shock, before smiling widely.
"Yeah! That's right!" Anne said before getting on her feet. "Let's do it guys! Let's get back to Amphibia, and save Marcy!"
"YEAH!"
"… Oh, and Sasha too." Anne said sheepishly.
Everyone laughed at this…
Everyone except Luz.
"Luz?"
"… Three days." Luz said. "It'll take three days for my plan to get us to Amphibia."
"Oh… right." Amity said. "You want to tell them… or?"
"No… let's let them relax a bit after today. Then, when they're ready, we'll tell them."
"Right."
Later that night
Luz was wide awake, and had a determined look on her face. While everyone else was asleep, she walked into the back yard and looked up.
"I know you're watching us, come out and let's talk." Luz said suddenly.
At that moment, a small, bee shaped robot came out, before it's eyes began glowing.
And suddenly, a large holographic screen appeared.
"Well well well! Didn't expect you to figure me out like that witch!"
"The fact that two robots already found us here gave it away… So you're Andrias?" Luz asked.
"Correct! I am King Andrias!" Andrias said. "So, I assume you didn't call me out here without a good reason."
"Right… Yeah, I want to talk to you about something." Luz said.
"Oh? And what would that be?" Andrias asked.
Luz then took a deep breath before looking Andrias in the eyes.
"I want to make a deal."
End of Chapter 6
Fun fact, due to the nature of this chapter, the beta title for it was "Amogus." I changed it… sorry.
I wanted to have at least one scene where Amity got to be a freaking boss, hope I delivered.
This is the part where the story gets REAL! A lot is gonna be happening and quickly, so get ready!
I will say this: Something happens in the next chapter that I am willing to bet NO-ONE will see coming! Look forward to it!
I'll leave it at that. See you next time!