Chapter 18: No Big Deal
Author's Note: AN=Anne, MA= Marcy, SA=Sasha, LU=Luz, ALL=All of them. You know what instrumental to play in the background.
Anne stood there, and turned to the three girls by her side and gave them a smile.
The three looked to her and smiled back…
They were ready to bring this all to an end.
Anne turned back to Andrias and took a deep breath, before she began to step forward.
AN: Took a leap through a box, super weird, to a swamp where frogs talk.
ALL: Oh-oh
Marcy also began to walk, taking her place besides her girlfriend.
MA: We were stuck, had no plan, just our luck, we've done the best that we can…
ALL: Whoa-oh…
Then, Sasha joined the two of them, walking besides the two other girls.
SA: Made some friends and enemies… was weird but hey it grew on me…
And finally, Luz began walking behind her, her staff at the ready.
LU: Bugs Frogs Newts and Toads, really been a bumpy road
AN: Flies for Snacks, Worms for lunch
ALL: I really really love this swamp!
Then, they all began to fly forward.
ALL: It's No Big Deal, yeah no big deal!
Anne and Sasha charged on ahead, and began flying around Andrias. He tried swinging his sword at the two of them, but he couldn't hit is mark.
SA+LU: Find a way to fight again, we'll keep on going for our friends!
At that moment of distraction, Marcy fired a volley of arrows at the king, while Luz fired fire balls, light balls, and icicles.
ALL: It's no Big Deal, Yeah no big deal!
When the attacks connected with their mark, Anne and Sasha jumped in and launched attacks of their own, the combined force of it all sent the king flying backwards.
AN+MA: We found a home in a place that shouldn't be real…
Anne and Sasha slid backwards to be standing with Marcy and Luz once again.
AN: It's the end, but it's no big deal.
The group then looked towards Andrias, who was struggling to get up to his feet. That combination VERY clearly did some damage.
*Insert cool guitar solo here*
Andrias then began to scream, as orange energy began to swirl around him.
Anne turned to the others and they all nodded.
Then, they began to charge again.
ALL: It's no big deal, yeah no big deal!
Andrias pulled his fist back to launch another large punch, but it was stopped by a large amount of abomination goo, courtesy of Amity.
Luz then got in close and created a massive blast of light, sending Andrias back a bit.
ALL: I found a home in a place that shouldn't be real…
Andrias created a shockwave with his sword to try and attack the group, but King stopped it with his own shockwaves. Eda then flew over and managed to kick the sword out of his hand.
This was then complimented by Sprig, Polly and Frobo, who all launched explosive vials at his face, not only damaging him, but temporarily blinding him.
Then, Grime snuck up behind him, and struck his leg with his war-hammer, bringing Andrias to his knees.
When he regained his vision, he was very worried.
"Evil kings but it's no big deal!" Luz shouted as she created four balls of light and sending them forward.
"Slaying Gods but it's no big deal!" Sasha shouted as she swung her swords in a circular motion, creating two spiraling beams of energy causing Luz's light to spin with it.
"Found true love but it's no big deal!" Marcy shouted as she launched another flurry of arrows, which filled the gap between the light and the sword beams.
"Save both worlds but it's NO! BIG! DEAL!" Anne shouted a she charged into the center of it, her fist flying forward as everything spiraled around her.
The combined attack shot forward at a blinding speed, way faster than Andrias could possibly react to it.
Then, the impact came.
The attack was so mighty, it completely shattered his armor, before the entire area was covered in a blinding light.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" A mix of Andrias and The Core's voices screamed.
When the light cleared, Anne landed in front of the others.
And Andrias was on the ground, the helmet laying besides him, completely shattered.
…
…
...
Then, Marcy and Luz both looked really annoyed all of a sudden.
"Did he seriously just yell a dramatic 'NOOOOOO' as we beat him?" Marcy groaned out.
"I know… how cliché can you get?" Luz added. "Also, 'found true love, but it's no big deal'?!"
"What about it?" Marcy asked.
Luz then took Marcy's hands into her own.
"That, is a VERY big deal!"
"… Fair." Marcy said with a shrug.
"Uh… is now really a good time?" Sasha asked.
"Right, sorry." Luz said as she and Marcy looked over to the defeated king.
"Ugh…"
She was just going to stand there and watch the end at first… but she just couldn't.
So, Marcy suddenly started sprinting forward.
"King Andrias!" Marcy shouted.
"Marcy!" Sasha said, looking like she was going to stop her.
Anne stopped her though.
"Anne…"
"Let her do this… I think she really needs it." Anne said with a sad smile.
Sasha didn't say anything, and just looked on.
"Ugh… Mar…cy?" Andrias groaned out.
"Why… why did you do all of this?!" Marcy asked desperately. "We could of just… explored the other worlds! Had fun! Not go through all of this! Why did you do it all?!"
Andrias… just laughed sadly.
"Honestly… I don't know." Andrias said with a frown. "I think… ever since The Core was created, it had been manipulating me… making me do it's bidding…
It made me want to serve it… to conquer…"
"Andrias…"
"It was fun… wasn't it?" Andrias asked. "Before that day in this very room… you loved your time in Newtopia."
Marcy knew what this was. She had seen enough anime, movies, whatever, to know what this was.
Andrias wanted to reminisce one last time… before the end.
So, she took his oversized hand into both of her own.
"Yeah, I really did."
"Heh… you know… The Core ordered me to do a lot of things over the years… but there was only one order that I regretted following…"
"… Andrias?"
"It was… to cut ties with you." Andrias admitted.
Marcy started crying again at this.
"Oh brother… I'm stopping this!" Sasha said before Luz put her arm in her way.
"No… please let them have this moment." Luz said, her eyes glued to the scene before her.
"When you accidentally called me 'Dad' so long ago… I'll be honest… it made me so happy." Andrias admitted. "Cause… I started seeing you as the daughter I never knew I wanted."
That caused Marcy to begin sobbing harder.
"Dad…"
At this point, Anne walked over to Marcy, and put her hand on her shoulder.
"I'd ask you to take care of her Anne… but I know you will anyways…" Andrias said. "Your challenges aren't over yet… but I trust that you'll get through it."
"… Right." Anne said with a sad smile.
Then, Marcy suddenly gasped in shock, as she saw part of Andrias' body began to turn to dust.
"Heh… guess this is the price I have to pay…" Andrias said sadly. "Farewell… my daughter…"
Marcy then wiped the tears out of her eyes.
"Bye Dad…"
And with that, Andrias closed his eyes, as the rest of his body turned to dust.
Everyone then went silent, as Marcy mourned her loss…
For about a minute.
The silence was then interrupted by the sound of screaming…
Screaming from Luz.
"Luz!" Amity shouted as the girl fell to her knees, clutching her head as her eyes began glowing.
She had managed to keep the power in control until now, but it was now at a point where she couldn't contain it anymore.
"She can't control it any more!" Amity pointed out.
"What do we do?!" Sasha asked.
"We need to get it out of her!" Anne pointed out.
"But how?!" Amity asked.
Marcy stayed silent, as something caught her eye.
"Guys… doesn't the pedestal where the box was look familiar?" Marcy said as she wiped away a few tears.
Anne looked at it, and realized that Marcy was right about that.
"Eda! Do you have that other music box with you?!" Anne asked.
"Of course." Eda said as she pulled out the box from her hair.
"Give it here! Quick!" Marcy shouted before Eda tossed it over to her.
Looking at the box, Marcy was happy to see what she was looking forward.
There was one distinct difference between this box and the old one…
Instead of three gems, there was only one.
"Bring Luz over to the pedestal! Quick!" Marcy said as she flew over to the pedestal while she did the combination to take out the stone.
Eda grabbed Luz and flew over as well.
Marcy then put the stone into the center of the pedestal, and it began to float.
The group watched as the light in Luz's eyes seemed to begin to drain, as the grey from the stone was replaced by a more silver color.
Then, the light faded completely, as Luz collapsed to the ground.
"Luz!" Amity shouted as she rushed to the girl's side.
"H-hey Am…" Luz groaned out.
"Are you alright?" Amity asked.
"Y-Yeah…" Luz said. "Really sore… but I'll be fine."
"Thank goodness…" Amity said as she pulled her in for a hug, which Eda and King quickly joined in on.
Anne watched this and smiled.
Despite everything, Luz still had her found family to help her…
Anne however…
Her smile faded as she looked over to Polly and Sprig, who were once again huddled near Hop Pop's body.
She walked over to them and put her hands on Sprig's shoulder and Polly's head.
The three then hugged it out, as they grieved their tragic loss…
…
…
…
This grieving only managed to last ten seconds.
"*GAAAAAAASP*"
The trio suddenly leapt back at the noise, as they saw Hop Pop's body shoot upright, as it gasped for breath.
"AH! ZOMBIE HOP POP!" Polly screamed as she pulled Ol' Dorris out of no-where and was about to whack Hop Pop.
"Polly stop!" Anne shouted.
"What in tarnation are you all so freaked out about?!" Hop Pop asked. "And can one of you please help me up? My back is KILLING ME!"
"You're… alive?" Sprig asked.
"Of course I'm alive! What did you think I was?!"
Suddenly, the three younger members of the group leapt at him while shouting his name, before pulling him in for a hug.
"Wait, did I miss something here?"
"We thought you were dead dude!" Anne said through the tears.
"WHAT?!" Hop Pop shouted. "I would think that me having a pulse would give away the fact that I was alive Anne!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"… DID YOU FORGET TO CHECK MY PULSE?!" Hop Pop shouted.
"Uh… how do you do that?" Sprig asked.
"Yeah seriously, what did you expect?" Polly asked.
Anne just stayed silent.
Hop Pop just sighed at this.
"Remind me to teach you when we get home…" Hop Pop said. "Now… can someone please help me up?!"
Anne smiled at this and help Hop Pop to his feet.
"Thank you Anne… so uh… your hair?"
Anne pulled a strand of hair down to see that it was, in fact, still blue.
"Huh… it's lasting a lot longer than usual." Anne said.
"Maybe it's because we're using the stones to use the power now." Marcy deduced.
"Ok cool… so uh… how do we turn it off?" Anne asked. "Cause don't get me wrong, I like the super powers, but I would much rather not go back home like this."
"I'm working on it, don't worry." Marcy said.
At that moment, Joe Sparrow flew into the room, with Olivia on his back.
"Thanks Joe!" Marcy shouted.
Anne's confused look told Marcy all she needed to know.
"While you three were over here, I called Joe and had him go pick up Olivia."
"Gotcha."
"I am glad to see that you all made it through this." Olivia said as she began walking over. "However…"
The group then looked around.
During the battle, the walls of the room all completely collapsed, causing everyone to have a clear view outside…
A clear view of all the damage that Andrias and The Core had done.
"Is it… possible for you guys to recover from this?" Anne asked.
Olivia sighed. "I don't know… it might be possible… but that is really unlikely."
"So… what's going to happen?" Anne asked.
"Well… first of all, all of the food is going to slowly run out… then the bugs will die from starvation… and then… everything else…" Olivia explained.
Everyone in the room looked at her in shock.
"Come on, there has to be something we can do!" Anne said.
"Hmmm…"
"Marcy?" Anne asked.
"I have an idea…" Marcy said. "Come on Anne!"
Marcy then ran over to Sasha, with Anne following close behind.
"What's the plan?" Anne asked.
"Well… maybe we can use our powers to fix this." Marcy explained. "Like, we all spread the energy all throughout Amphibia, and it'll return the land back to normal."
"… That sounds incredibly cheesy and you know it." Sasha pointed out. "What, are we gonna join hands and sing a song again or something too?"
"… I mean, there's no song but…" Marcy said shyly.
"… Nope, not doing it!" Sasha said as she turned around.
Anne simply grabbed her shoulder and gave her a glare.
"But… It's so cheesy!"
"It's the best chance we got though." Marcy said as she held out her hands.
Anne grabbed Marcy's hand and offered her other hand to Sasha, who just stared at it for a moment.
"Ugh… let's get this over with." Sasha groaned out as she took both hands.
Then, they all began to float upwards.
"Ok, now focus your power… try to send it into the soil… and hopefully the power will do the rest." Marcy explained.
"Got it." Anne as Sasha said together.
Suddenly, a bright light shot out of their eyes as the area got engulfed in light.
The light then spread out, and began covering all of Amphibia.
The remaining robots that hadn't been destroyed yet were reduced to dust when the light touched them. Thankfully, Frobo was left unharmed.
The light shot into the ground, and began to spread around the entirety of Amphibia.
When the light cleared, everyone got a good look around.
Things looked… different.
For starters, all the factories were gone, completely destroyed.
Next, the soil. There will small stems of plants sticking out all over the place.
It was obvious that Amphibia wasn't going to be back to normal any time soon, but it was a start.
And that was all they needed.
The three girls then slowly floated back to the ground as their hair reverted to their normal color.
Then, they all promptly collapsed to the ground, exhausted.
"You three alright?" Luz asked.
Anne didn't respond verbally, and just gave Luz a thumbs up with a smile on her face.
Then the three girls started laughing.
Despite all the hardships, the pain, and the loss… they made it through it all.
It was all, finally, over.
After everyone was given a minute to rest, they all went back to the castle entrance, where they were greeted by a cheering crowd.
Anne immediately noticed Ivy sprinting up to Sprig before tackling him to the ground for a hug.
She also noticed someone who looked… almost exactly like Luz run up and hug her.
"Uh…"
"Oh, this is Vee, a friend of mine!" Luz said.
Vee then turned into her normal look before smiling.
"… Whoa…"
"That is so cool!" Marcy said with stars in her eyes. "How does it work?! Can you turn into anything?!"
"Uh…"
"Don't mind her, she's just really curious is all." Anne said with a laugh.
"Come on, I'm sure Vee can answer all our questions when we get back to Earth." Luz said.
"Oh alright…" Marcy said.
Before Eda could open the portal though, Grime grabbed Anne's shoulder.
"Uh… what's up?"
"They're waiting for you to say something." Grime said.
Anne looked around, to see everyone staring at her expectingly.
"Oh… uh…"
She then turned to her friends, and they all gave them a supporting smile.
"Ok… Everyone!
I just wanted to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart. This past half a year has probably been the most stressful time of my entire life. However, because of all of you, we all made it through. Whether we were fighting against an evil King, or just plain surviving, you all have given me so much, and I honestly don't think I would of gotten through it if it wasn't for all of you.
Today, this isn't a win for us humans… witches, frogs, newts or toads. This is a win for everyone and everything!"
Luz then stepped forward.
"We didn't just save Amphibia and Earth, we just saved so many more worlds from being invaded. The Boiling Isles, and many more were in danger and they didn't even know it. So, great job everyone, cause we all just saved the Multiverse!"
And with that, everyone began cheering.
Anne and Luz then looked to each other and smiled.
"Now… let's go home!"
When the portal door appeared before Anne's parents, they immediately shot out of where they were sitting, their guests equally surprised by the door.
When the door opened, and revealed Anne, Marcy, Sasha, and everyone else, tears began to form in all of their eyes.
The first to react was Sasha, who was not only surprised to see both of her parents there together, but also incredibly happy to see them.
Despite everything, she still missed them tremendously.
As such, she ran forward and began to hug the two of them.
The next to react was Luz, who ran towards her own mother.
As for how her mother got there, Luz assumed she took advantage of the portability of the… well, portal.
Then, there was Anne, who ran towards her parents, who pulled her in for a hug, along with the Plantars who quickly joined them.
And while all this happened, Marcy just stood there, looking around.
It wasn't that she wasn't happy that Anne, Sasha and Luz got to reunite with their parents, she was just… looking around.
She didn't see her parents anywhere.
Anne was the next to realize this, as she looked to her girlfriend, to see the incredibly worried look on her face.
So, Anne held her arm out, with a sad look on her face.
That look told a thousand words.
Marcy was smart. She knew what this all meant.
So, as tears began to form in her eyes, she walked over and joined in on Anne and her family's hug.
"Remember what I said a while ago Marcy?" Sprig suddenly asked.
"Huh…?"
"You're a part of our family now. Never forget that." Sprig said with a smile.
And… Marcy couldn't help but smile back.
"Y-yeah… you're right."
She then pulled Anne closer, just enjoying the embrace.
"I don't deserve you guys…"
"Yes you do." Anne said pointedly. "What you didn't deserve is to go through what you did in Amphibia… you are the last person to ever deserve that."
"But…"
"No buts!" Anne said. "I promise you, I am not going to stop until you see just how much you mean to me!"
Marcy just stayed silent, and hugged Anne tighter before kissing her.
"Thank you…"
Anne smiled and hugged Marcy tighter as well.
"… They're already kissing!" Anne heard her dad whisper to her mom.
"Shh, let them have this."
The two then separated and smiled, before looking towards the sky.
Heart, Wit, Strength and Spirit.
Four Lights, who were separate for a time, had gathered for a greater purpose than any of them could of known.
The worlds were all saved, and they were all finally home.
Everything wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter.
For now, they could finally, truly rest.
The End.
And it is finally over.
So, a lot to unravel here. First of all, yeah, Andrias is dead. While he did seem to have a change of heart at the end, realizing just how dangerous the core had become, you can't erase what he did. As such, meeting his end was an inevitability, and he knew it.
I have already confirmed a sequel, and I will say that whether or not the girls really forgive Andrias is something that will be brought up. Yes, even Marcy.
I also want to point out that I AM still planning on writing another story that is just an alternate version of this one, just without the crossover stuff. I mentioned this at the beginning of the story, but that will come after Amphibia as a whole is done. Whether it will be before, during, or after the sequel, I haven't fully decided yet. I already do have some ideas for it, and you'd be surprised at how much I decided to change because Luz and Amity aren't there.
Now then, let's address the part that I am sure surprised a lot of you… the song.
I am not a lyricist, not even close. In fact, I find myself quite musically inept! However, I heard an orchestral remix on Youtube one day of No Big Deal, and it actually featured a bit of The Owl House theme just before it. That is when I got the idea of Luz helping Anne fight Andrias. That is when I began the thought of writing a crossover! Then I got the idea of Marcy and Sasha being there to help, and that pose of the four of them at the very end of the last chapter flashed in my head and I actually said "Ok, we are doing this!"
And yeah! That is how I decided to write this story!
As for the process of writing the lyrics, I essentially listened to that song every day in my car on my way to work, and kinda worked it out like that. The song did change a couple of times, cause ngl, some of the lyrics were pretty cringy… willing to bet the song is still kinda cringy but hey, it's better than at first lol.
By the way, Luz being the one to say "Evil Kings but it's no big deal!" was 100% intentional, considering this is the second king she's beaten in this universe.
As for how Luz knew the lyrics, I'd like to think Anne told her about the battle of the bands at some point and showed her the lyrics to the original song.
Next, I had you going for a bit there with the whole fixing Amphibia thing huh? A major theme in the sequel is going to be rebuilding Amphibia, so it wouldn't make sense for everything to magically be fixed here. That being said, the groundwork is there.
Anyways, this story is finally done! There will be a short epilogue to just kinda put a wrap on things, but in terms of the main plot, this is the end.
I know that I have a habit of teasing sequels in this series… but I just want you to know that there will be ZERO hints towards the sequel in the next chapter. I did consider including one, but again, the sequel is a lot more slice of life and wholesome than this one. There is something planned for one more BIG story arc that is pretty much completely original, but it is so disconnected from the sequel that it really wouldn't fit in the sequel. Still a bit up in the air if I am going to do that btw.
Also, I am surprised a lot of you were hung up on Hop Pop "Dying" a couple of chapters ago… I mean, I didn't even talk about it at all after it happened… I guess no-one really knows this, but I don't really like killing off characters other than villains. I guess it would of been fine here, cause it was be a way to advance the story, but it more often than not just doesn't sit right with me… as such, the fake-out happened…
Or was it a fake-out? Perhaps… there is still a bit more to that we don't know?
Hmmm…
Anyways, I will see you tonight for the epilogue!