The City of Newtopia, the most advanced and civilized city in all of Amphibia. Surrounded by luscious forests, blue ocean, and mountains as far as the eye could see, it was truly a sight to behold. And this day, Olivia had the honor of showing this great city to the hero of the hour, Marcy Wu. The "hue-man's" introduction to the city as a whole was…explosive, to say the least. Marcy Wu entered this world through unknown means and was seen stumbling around Newtopia. The citizens, while giving her odd looks, did not see her as that much of an oddity. Being a bustling city, they often saw many exotic creatures and amphibians waltzing in and out of their fair city.
However, they were not prepared to lay eyes upon a Fallen, nor was Marcy Wu. But the young girl of thirteen somehow did the impossible, she tapped into an unknown power and transformed herself in a mighty warrior that destroyed the monster that was attacking their city. Only to fall down a flight of stairs the moment she changed back to her original form. Thankfully the Royal Guard was there to rush her to the palace where they had more advanced medical equipment. Thankfully it was a hairline fracture of the leg and would heal quickly. Strangely, from what their doctors could tell, her leg was healing rather quickly and would probably be fixed within the next day or so, but to be safe they still put a cast on her injured leg.
"Thank you for the free medical care, Lady Olivia," said Marcy as she hobbled along on her crutches.
"Think nothing of it, Marcy Wu, access to free medical care is a given in Newtopia," Olivia replied.
"Lucky! Seriously, though, this palace is amazing! It's like something out of a fantasy game!"
Olivia chuckled as she asked, "I take it you haven't been here that long, have you?"
Marcy shook her head. "No, I just woke up in the middle of the city somewhere."
"And have you always been able to do…what you did earlier?" Olivia asked.
"OH! MY! GOSH! No, I haven't! That was amazing! I became a Kamen Rider! A real-life KAMEN RIDER! It's a dream come true! Well, one of them, anyway. But still a dream come true!" Marcy squealed in delight. "Also, I can't get over how beautiful your city is."
Olivia smiled as she said, "Well then, perhaps you would like to see it from a better vantage point?"
Olivia led Marcy to a balcony, and that's when Marcy gasped upon seeing the vast expanse of the city below, as well as the forest and landscape outside of the city's protective walls.
"WHAT?! Holy moly. It's beautiful! I mean it looked beautiful from down below, but this! This is breathtaking!" Marcy exclaimed.
"Once I stood on this very same balcony with my mother and had–"
"Whoa! Is that a seagull but also a bug?!" Marcy interrupted.
"Almost the same reaction," Olivia finished with a bemused smile. "I am a descendant of a long line of newts who made a sacred vow to care for this land. The trees, the plants, the animals – all are under our care."
Marcy could feel the passion and resolve in Olivia's words, and they struck a chord with her as she smiled and furrowed her brow. "Lady Olivia, you newts took me in when I landed here. Fixed me up and cared for me." The young Taiwanese girl reached out and took both of Olivia's hands into hers. "I promise to do my best and look after this place as well! Defending it from any more monsters, creatures, or villainous people who would seek to do it harm!"
"My dear, you needn't place such a heavy responsibility on yourself," said Olivia.
"Nope! That's what Kamen Riders do! They defend the innocent and strike at evil wherever it may pop up! And since I am one, it is my responsibility," Marcy countered.
Olivia had some reservations, despite how tall this girl was, it was clear that she was just a child. Still, there was no denying that Marcy had extraordinary powers and abilities and was quite brilliant. "Very well. We'll be counting on you, Master Marcy."
Those days were relatively peaceful, filled with the occasional stressful situation, mostly brought on by King Andrias and Marcy's hijinks. But they were still peaceful and wonderful, how Olivia wished things could've remained like that. But such wishes were only the things of fairytales…
Amphibia had drastically changed since the disappearance of Anne Boonchuy and the Plantars. Various machines littered the land, mining the soil and rock for resources, and polluting the air with a thick cloud of smog. Some of the rivers had been contaminated by the excess pollution from the factories and mining equipment, and various wildlife had either been pushed out, killed, or enslaved. Olivia watched all this from the balcony with a sorrowful gaze and a heavy heart. It was her sacred vow, her family's vow, to protect this land and its beauty, but now it was being ravaged for the king's war effort.
Olivia had kept her mouth shut ever since Anne and the Plantars left, pretending to side with the king as she feverishly worked on a plan to try and save Amphibia, and stop this madness before it was too late. Until then, she played the dutiful role of a pristine lady of the court and managed the day-to-day activities of the staff, and occasionally the robots. Olivia sighed ruefully as she watched a squadron of Frobots fly across the sky, ever vigilant, tirelessly watching the skies as they protected the castle. The noble newt woman had been hearing whispers of a rebellion, of factions of toads and some frogs fighting against the forces of King Andrias, but with the power that Andrias wielded, some dark power, Olivia knew only a Kamen Rider could truly bring an end to this madness.
Just then, she heard metallic stomping approaching from behind. Olivia turned around and saw a Frobot standing there. "Yes?"
{Lady Olivia, you have been summoned by the King.}
Olivia gulped.
It had been a while since King Andrias had summoned her to speak. As she walked down the hallways, she passed by a few of the workers of the palace. Her eyes were drawn to the collars that were around their necks, glowing with an eerie purple light. The newts with the collars had eyes glowing a bright purple color, moving about and doing their tasks like mindless drones. It unnerved Olivia to see her fellow newts, really, any creature, stripped of their freewill and turned into robot of a different sort. The only reason she was not in the same state was due to her perceived loyalty.
As Olivia walked down the hallway, she grew more nervous upon seeing the newly created banners that hung in the hallways. A black crown with a single orange eye in the middle of it on a blood red background. The original royal banner was ripped down from the halls to make way for these, a symbol of Amphibia's new tyrannical rule. Olivia paused when she saw Yunan leaning against the column outside of King Andrias' private chambers.
"Oh, hey. The King summoned you too? Do you know what this is about?" Yunan asked.
"No, and it's been weeks since the Plantars and Anne disappeared. And we haven't heard a peep from him since," said Olivia.
Yunan sighed. "I can't believe how quickly Amphibia has changed since he started this. To think that the King was in league with that eldritch being, The Night. Heck, even some of those cult dregs are cropping back up, and what's worse, he's not even denouncing them. If anything, they're being absorbed into the ranks of the army, at least the portion that's not robotic."
Olivia scowled a little when she was reminded of that cult. The very same cult that had been committing acts of murder in the name of The Night, the very same ones that almost killed Marcy. Despite the fall of their leader, there was still remnants that were hiding out in the city, and as it seems, in different parts of Amphibia. Waiting for the day that their god would rise again and usher them into "glory". Now they believe King Andrias is The Night's vessel, or at the very least his herald, meant to show them the true way.
"I wouldn't have minded if all of them were locked up in the dungeon for eternity," said Olivia.
Yunan shrugged. "Well, that, or the simpler method. Eek!" The newt general made a cutting gesture across her neck.
"I wonder what's keeping him?" Olivia asked.
The refined newt woman walked up to the door and gently opened it. Both she and Yunan peeked inside of King Andrias' room, and when they did, they witnessed a peculiar sight.
"Please, my lord. Things are progressing as fast as they – Yes, I-I know, but the device hasn't even been tested. Surely, we should try it on someone else first?" Andrias spoke to himself. "As you wish…"
Yunan and Olivia slowly closed the door and took a few steps back. The newt general looked down to Olivia and said, "Well, that was freaky."
"Indeed."
The doors opened not a moment later and out from them came King Andrias. "Ah! You two! Come in, come in." King Andrias led them inside, and as he approached his window, he opened the curtains to allow the light to enter his chambers. "Good news! You're both promoted! Olivia, you will now oversee the construction of our refineries. It's time to sap this pitiful mud bowl of all its remaining resources."
Olivia forced herself to keep the shock from appearing on her face. Keeping as much of her composure as she could, Olivia asked, "Sire, but if that it is what you want, this world, our world, will become uninhabitable. For us and the wildlife."
King Andrias shrugged. "Eh, true. But with the music box returned to us, we can always find another world to call our own. In fact, Earth will make a perfect replacement. Once we've gotten rid of those pesky primates. Besides, if it wasn't for my betrayal so long ago, we could be taking resources from other worlds instead like we used to in the past. But with our resources low for building up our robotic forces, we need to use every available resource we have on this world in order to build up our strength to conquer others. That's just how it is."
Olivia couldn't believe it. He was willing to turn their home, Amphibia, into a desolate wasteland to bolster their forces and weaponry. King Andrias was ready to discard this world like it was a cheap suit in favor of a new one. This land, this world, meant nothing to him, and she doubted that it ever did.
Yunan glanced down at Olivia, despite the refined newt woman's calm composure, Yunan had gotten good at telling when Olivia was angry, sad, or disappointed. And right now, she could see all three emotions warring within those beautiful eyes of hers. Wait, "beautiful"? Well, I mean, they are nice to look at. Objectively speaking Lady Olivia is…attractive, to say the least.
"And Yunan!" The newt general returned her attention to the king. "We're gonna need frogs to work in these factories, so go round up some villagers." King Andrias crouched lower to look the two newt women in the eyes. "And if anyone resists…give them a stern talking to."
"Uh?" Olivia muttered in confusion.
"Not too bad," said Yunan.
"Just kidding! Terminate them," King Andrias corrected. "Alright now, get to it! I have business to attend to."
Olivia and Yunan left the royal chambers, with the latter closing the doors. Now away from the eyes of the king, Olivia was noticeably seething with anger until she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"That does it! I made a sacred vow to protect this land, and I cannot continue to stand idly by while King Andrias destroys it!" Olivia declared.
"Lady Olivia!" The newt woman in question gasped as she turned around and saw Yunan glaring down at her. "If you're going to talk treason…"
Without warning, Yunan grabbed ahold of Olivia, tucked her under her left arm, and whisked her away with all due haste.
Oh my! Olivia thought as she blushed.
Yunan ran until she brought them to an isolated spot, away from the king's chambers, and far enough away from any patrolling Frobots.
"I insist that you do it in private!" Yunan whispered.
Olivia was surprised, but also not. As strong and ruthless as Yunan could be on the battlefield, she was a newt of honor and loyalty to the people.
"You're dang right he's gone too far! I'm a valiant general of the great Newtopian army, I did not sign up to enslave or kill our own people! And considering what we saw earlier, he's very clearly lost his mind! I for one will not serve a mad king!" Yunan stated.
Olivia straightened out her dress and said, "Agreed, but we can't do this alone. We need someone clever, someone who understands strategy, someone like…Marcy Wu.'
Yunan did a double take upon hearing that name. "That human?! You can't be serious! After everything that happened?! She lied to her friends/lovers and was in league with King Andrias! Not to mention, they're all scheming backstabbers!"
"She was tricked, Yunan, just like all of us. You heard him," Olivia defended. "I trust Marcy, and besides, you're overlooking the fact that she's the only one in a thousand years to ever best King Andrias in flipwart. A child, Yunan. Think of what she could do if she was truly unleashed."
Yunan still did not like this plan. "Okay, granted she is very smart and has thought of strategies and tactics that even I would've never dreamed of in a million years. But she's hardly the most powerful of them all. The only one who managed to effectively kick his ass was Anne, and she's not here."
"I've heard whispers of a rebellion that's steadily growing in strength and making a nuisance of themselves for the King. A rebellion led by a Kamen Rider," said Olivia.
Yunan's eyes widened, she did recall that Sasha and Grime managed to escape, but it seems that they were still fighting.
"Sasha's powers center around strength, and Marcy's correlate to the mind. If they were to work together, they could easily make up for the difference in not having Anne here, this war could end before it truly starts, Yunan," said Olivia.
Yunan scoffed at the idea as she scratched at her right cheek. "Look, I get that their smart and strong. But I'm strong as well, and plenty smart." That's when her wrist mounted blades extended and Yunan quickly moved her hand away from her face. "Whoa! Did you see that? I nearly took my head off."
Olivia shot her a deadpan look.
"Okay, maybe we do need Marcy," said Yunan.
"Glad to hear it," said Olivia as she nodded and began walking.
"Wait, but she's being held under the castle. No one's allowed down there," Yunan argued. "There's even a rumor she's being guarded by a horrible monster! Possibly a Fallen!"
Olivia smirked as she looked up at Yunan. "Don't tell me the great General Yunan is scared of some Fallen? And here I thought you were the 'Scourge of the Sand Wars'."
Yunan growled as she said, "I see what you're doing. And it's working. Lead the way, milady."
Olivia smiled at how easy it was to get her onboard. Loveable goof.
The refined newt woman led them down a hallway, taking them further towards the right side of the castle as they headed up a flight of stairs. They were about to turn the corner to another hallway, but Olivia stopped them so that they could take a peek. When they did, they saw that the entire hallway had Frobots lined up and standing guard.
"Ugh. We'll never get past them," said Olivia.
"Well not with that attitude we won't," Yunan replied.
The newt general swiftly grabbed Olivia and began scaling the walls, vaulting from one wall to the other as she ascended higher and higher. Once she was high enough, Yunan extended her wrist mounted blades and used them to pierce the stone ceiling and swing as quickly as possible away from the unsuspecting robots below. After a few swings, the two of them managed to get around Frobots. Yunan tossed Olivia into the air as she slid down a column and back to the floor. She held out her arms just in time to catch Olivia as she fell into them.
"And that's how it's done," said Yunan proudly.
"Will you put me down already?!" Olivia asked in an annoyed tone.
Yunan obliged and let her fall onto the floor.
How I developed feelings for this oaf is beyond me. Olivia dusted herself off, but then Yunan extended her hand towards her, and Olivia accepted it as she was helped back to her feet. Okay, that's a good reminder.
As it turns out, Olivia had taken them to Marcy's room in the tower. Once there, Olivia knelt before the rug and threw it to the side, revealing a trapdoor. Olivia opened it and showed a staircase leading down into a secret passage.
"Ooh, ominous. After you milady," said Yunan.
Olivia went down first and Yunan was about to go second but paused as she glanced over her shoulder and saw a backup of one of Marcy's arm mounted crossbows. "Yoink!" Yunan grabbed the crossbow and proceeded to go down the passage and caught up with Olivia. The refined newt woman took one of the wall mounted torches, as did Yunan, and together they descended the winding staircase further and further down into the unknown, and frankly forbidden, underbelly of their now flying castle.
"Remember–"
"I know, I know. Get the human and get out," Yunan interjected. "She better be worth it."
As soon as they reached the bottom, the two newt woman found themselves inside of a room filled with lush greenery, with some of the plants giving off a bioluminescent glow, dimly lighting the inside of the room.
"Whoa…" Yunan gasped in shock. "You knew this was down here?"
"Sort of. Even I was strictly forbidden to come here," said Olivia as she approached one of the glowing plants. "But I did sneak down a few times as a girl."
Yunan smirked when she heard that. "Ooh, I didn't know you were rebel at heart, Lady Olivia. One wonders what other little secrets you've been hiding."
Olivia smirked back and replied, "Well, perhaps you'll see. You might even be surprised."
"Oh, now you have my attention." Just then a large shadow rushed past them, causing Yunan to go on high alert as she activated her right wrist blades. "What was that?!"
"No, don't worry! It's harmless," Olivia assured.
Yunan took Olivia at her word and retracted her blades. She slowly walked towards the shadowy figure, and with the light of the torch she was able to see that it was a huge, humanoid being covered in, or rather made of, moss. It had glowing blue mushrooms coming out of its body here and there, with a couple of branches protruding from its head that had grown a small canopy of leaves. The Mossman had a thick iron collar clamped around its neck, along with an equally thick and heavy iron chain connected to that collar. The huge creature raised its left arm and from the top of its hand grew a beautiful magenta flower.
"Take it. It's a friendship offering," Olivia insisted.
"Oh." Yunan carefully plucked the flower from the Mossman, after which the creature retreated back a few steps. "Why, thank you. I think."
Olivia walked to Yunan and gestured for the general to give her the flower. Yunan gave it to her, but then Olivia motioned for her to lower her head. Again, Yunan complied. When she did, Olivia carefully placed the magenta flower into Yunan's hair on the right side of her head. For some reason, this made Yunan blush a little.
"Oh…um…t-thank you, Lady Olivia," said Yunan.
"Quite welcome. I thought it would look better like that," she replied, also blushing.
After an awkward pause the two newts continued their journey further into the forbidden areas of the castle. As they walked, a small school of the ghostly creatures that Anne, Marcy, Sprig, and Polly ran away from during their sleepover hovered over their heads. Unlike last time, these creatures weren't attacking, for some reason they seemed to just leave them alone.
"More kooky creatures? What is this place?" Yunan asked.
"Considering what the King said about our ancestor's being conquerors, I venture to guess that this is the place where they kept all their otherworldly prisoners," said Olivia.
"Deeeelightful. So, our ancestors were bunch of world conquering butts. I mean, I can understand keeping prisoners of war, when it's on your own world. But purposefully barging into a whole other world, declaring war on it, and then taking them from their world which Newt knows where. That's messed up on another level," said Yunan with a scowl.
Olivia was in agreement, and yet, this was the way of their people nearly a thousand years ago. Was Amphibia in such dire straits that their ancestors needed to conquer other worlds? Given the state of Amphibia now, Olivia surmised that this was the very state that they were looking to avoid. If they could just get what they needed from an entirely different world, why bother ruining their own world when you could take it from another that you're not even living on?
Even so, the people of those other worlds were probably left with nothing and died as a result of such greed and pride. I can't fathom our world returning to such a mindset, to revive such a culture of avarice and destruction. We must end this before it is too late!
The duo came to the end of the line, and now stood before huge rotating door with images of a circle with an eye at the center, and what appeared to be the heads of newts coming from that circle with the same type of eye. Olivia and Yunan tossed their torches into the huge basins, lightning them on fire and illuminating the room.
"This it. No going back now," said Olivia. "Are you ready?"
"If it means ending this madness, I've been ready," Yunan responded.
Together, Olivia and Yunan pushed on the heavy door, making it roll to the left and granting them access to the hidden chamber. Inside was a room filled with machinery, and at the back of this large room, at the center of the wall, was a tank where Marcy floated. She had a breathing apparatus adhered to her face as she floated in the tank, along with some cables that ran from the ceiling, into the tank, and were attached to various ports on the suit she was put in.
"There she is!" Olivia exclaimed upon seeing her.
As they made their way to Marcy's tank, Olivia and Yunan missed seeing a mechanical eye open up on the wall, but it wasn't alone. Several others did so as well, and all of them were staring in their direction.
"She was hurt pretty badly; do you think it's even safe to take her out?" Yunan asked.
"It's been weeks, and Marcy's always been a quick healer. I suspect that has something to do with her powers. If that's the case, then the damage she suffered should be healed by now. I hope," said Olivia.
It was a risk, but hopefully not a big one. Yunan managed to get up on the tank and pulled Marcy out. The newt general brought her down to the floor, sitting her up against the tank as both newts detached the various cables from her suit. Yunan grabbed the breathing apparatus and pulled it off Marcy's face, and upon doing so, Marcy began to cough as she slowly regained consciousness.
"Sashy…? Anne…?" Marcy questioned, looking dazed and confused.
"Okay, she's out of it," said Yunan.
"What do you expect? She's been in that thing for weeks now," Olivia retorted.
"Well, we need to snap her out of it." Yunan knelt before Marcy and then proceeded to slap her across the face a few times, with her hand, which was currently covered in a metal gauntlet. "Wake up, human!" She then grabbed Marcy by the collar and began shaking her like a nanny possessed. "Wake up, I say!"
"YUNAN! Gentle! Be gentle!" Olivia scolded.
Yunan, gently, lowered Marcy until she was standing on her own two feet. When she did, Olivia pulled out a towel that read, "I love Newtopia" and wrapped around her as she began pouring tea into a cup and gave it to her.
"Marcy, it's Olivia and General Yunan," she said. "You've been in a rejuvenation tank for a few weeks, and I hate to say this, but the situation has taken a turn for the worse I'm afraid."
"Ugh! There's no time to explain, we have to get out of here," Yunan urged.
Marcy, still in her loopy state, answered, "Okey dokey. Lead the way, Lady Olivia." She then reached over and dragged her right index finger down Yunan's face and caught her lower lip. "Captain Yoo-hoo." Then she proceeded to fall flat on her face. "I'm okay."
"Clearly, you are not," said Yunan.
"Her muscles must've atrophied a bit, but if we get her moving some more, she'll regain better control. Plus, she's been comatose for all this time, see how well your mind works after spending that long knocked out," Olivia shot back.
"Point taken. Okay then, let's carry her out."
Together, Olivia and Yunan draped one arm over each of their shoulders and began carrying Marcy out of the chamber. However, as they did, one of the vents opened and began releasing a thick cloud of steam. The mechanical eyes were following their movements, and then shot out orange beams of light. Although these beams did not pierce them or harm them in any way, no, they were doing something else. After a few more moments, the beams shut off and the eyes began releasing strobing light effects. A whirlwind was kicked up and all three of them suddenly found themselves surrounded by a wall of wind.
"What the heck is going on?!" Yunan asked.
Within seconds a bright flash of light blinded them for a second, but when it faded, Marcy, Olivia, and Yunan were no longer inside the chamber. Instead, they had somehow been transported outside of the castle and to the ruined landscape of Amphibia that Olivia had the displeasure of gazing upon from the balcony earlier.
Yunan couldn't believe what had just happened and muttered, "What in Newt's name…?"
"Whoa…we're outside already? You guys are as fast as Anne…heh…Anne, she's so hot," Marcy blathered.
"It can't be…" Olivia gasped when she looked straight ahead and saw a familiar silhouette. The silhouette came a bit closer, and that's when Olivia saw who it was. "Mother?! Is that you?!"
The refined newt woman released Marcy and quickly went to her long since deceased mother, leaving Yunan to help get Marcy back up. Olivia's mother was a lovely older newt woman, she wore a peach-colored dress with different swirl patterns, and a see-through shawl much like her daughter. Upon her head were two seashells that formed a spiral pattern on either side of her head. Olivia's mother, to her dismay, had a look of pure disappointment.
"Olivia. The sky! The trees! Everything is in a state of disarray. Polluted, and corrupted. How could you let this happen?!" her mother asked.
"I'm sorry, Mother! King Andrias has become mad with power! I did everything I could!" Olivia pleaded.
"Well…" Suddenly, Olivia's mother started to rise into the air as a pillar made of dirt, frog skulls, dead trees, and toxic waste began to rise from beneath her, all while her mother bellowed out smoke from her opened mouth. When the pillar stopped rising, Olivia's mother looked down at her daughter. Her skin looked weathered now, her hair was in disarray, eyes bloodshot, and her mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth. "…IT WASN'T ENOUGH!"
Olivia screamed at the top of her lungs upon bearing witness to the hideous creature that her mother became right before her eyes.
"What is this witchcraft?!" Yunan asked, also taken aback by this sight as she readied her wrist blades.
Marcy managed to sit on her rear and looked at what they were seeing. While she did see the nightmare monster in front of them, she did notice that further up, the sky was incomplete. In fact, there was a pixelated edge where it seemed as if the world around them finished. It was then that Marcy understood what was going on.
"Oooh! Ha-ha. It's a projection. You know, like, VR," Marcy explained.
"Vvvvrrrr?"
"It's not real, you goof," Marcy clarified as she slapped her hands against Yunan's armor like a bongo drum.
Just then, a small tornado formed before them, making Yunan go into high alert.
"The room's changing again! Just try not to freak out!"
Yunan scoffed at the notion that she would "freak out". "Ha! Oh, please. Nothing scares the great General Yunan! Scourge of the Sand Wars! Defeater of–!" The tornado disappeared and revealed the new monster. And when Yunan saw it, she went pale. "Oh no…"
Marcy, who was starting to regain more of her mental faculties looked upon the conjured creature and looked up at Yunan in confusion. "What? It's just a cute little–"
"GRUB HOOOOOGGGG!" Yunan screamed in terror.
"You're afraid of this little cutie?" Marcy asked.
"I had a bad experience, okay?! When I was a little girl, one of those monsters nearly took my arm off!"
As if to add more nightmare fuel to the fire, the grub hog suddenly grew ten times bigger, had glowing eyes, with sharp teeth, and veins bulging out of its body. Not only that, but now five more appeared and surrounded them.
"No…NO…NOOOO!" Yunan screamed as she freaked out and ran for her life, with the demonic grub hogs giving chase.
"Wait, Yunan, stop! It's not real!" Marcy shouted.
Another whirlwind kicked up, this time it surrounded Marcy and obscured her view of her companions. When the whirlwind stopped, Marcy found herself in a hallway filled with lockers, but it wasn't just any hallway, it was the hallway of Saint James Middle School.
"Oh no. Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no," Marcy repeated with dread.
That's when she saw Anne and Sasha at the other end of the hall, and both had their backs turned to her.
Anne turned around first and glared at Marcy as she said, "How could you Mar-Mar? You lied to me, got me to fall in love with you, and you planned on trapping us here forever!"
Sasha turned around next and spoke, "I may've been a manipulator, but at least I was straight with you. But what you did, was beyond even what I could've thought up. Bravo, Marcy!"
Marcy got onto her feet and feebly began walking towards them, forcing herself, but her body was still weak and gave out as she fell to her knees. "No! I know what I did was super dumb – sorry, no – it was beyond dumb! But I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it would work!"
"But that doesn't negate the fact you were HOPING it would work, right?" Anne asked.
"I-I-I mean…I kinda – I did – but if I had known I would've never–!"
"Oh please!" Sasha interrupted. "You totally would've anyway, and you know it! Poor little Mar-Mar couldn't stand to be away from her beloveds, and so she wanted to keep them close to her forever, even it meant ripping them away from everything!"
Marcy was crying hard, her rational mind knew this was an illusion, but the pain she knew she caused the two people she loved most was so great, and part of her had zero doubts that they were still angry with her for what she did. "Please…forgive me…I just wanted to stay close to you two…Please, we don't have to be lovers…just let me still be your friend?"
Anne and Sasha slowly walked towards Marcy, and as they did, the two girls began to fuse together, becoming a giant, two-headed, four-armed being that had glowing eyes. "It's too late for that! We want nothing to do with you! Ever again!"
"No please! PLEASE!"
Meanwhile, Yunan was getting cornered by the pack of giant grub hogs. The great newt warrior now had her back against the wall, as she desperately cried out, "Stay back! Stay back! Stay –!" Suddenly, one of the grub hogs disappeared. "…back?" Yunan looked to her left hand and saw that it was covering something. When she raised it, the grub hog returned, but when she put it back, the creature disappeared again. "Oh…Oh-ho-ho-ho! I get it now! These eyes! These eyes are making the nightmare, guys!"
"Eyes?" Marcy snapped out of her depression when she heard Yunan's words and spotted one of the mechanical eyes to her right. "That must be where all of these things are being projected from! Guys, take out the eyes!"
"RIGHT!" Olivia and Yunan yelled.
Olivia, ignoring the nightmare projection of her mother, ran towards one of the exposed mechanical eyes. "You'll pay for using my mother's likeness!" Once she was close to it, Olivia did her best impression of a Rider Kick and struck the eye with her left foot, shattering it to pieces. Upon destroying the eye, the nightmare version of her mother began to glitch out for a second before the upper half of its body suddenly disappeared.
Yunan, now knowing the root cause of this nightmare, grinned with murderous glee as she extended her wrist blades and began slashing all the mechanical eyes in her vicinity, and just like with Olivia's nightmare creature, the grub hogs began to vanish one by one. Yunan continued to smash them until she was now the only one standing, with no grub hogs in sight. "HA-HA!"
Marcy furrowed her brow at the nightmare version of her friends as her eyes started to glow green. "Payback time!" Marcy slashed her right hand through the air and launched a crescent of thin air that slashed through several of the eyes in one swipe. The nightmare fusion of Anne and Sasha screamed before half their upper body was gone. Marcy wasn't done yet, far from it. The Taiwanese girl tapped into more of her power and flung out her arms in a wide arc, releasing several more wind blades that slashed through multiple mechanical eyes at once. The holographic environment around them was starting to glitch out more and more with each destroyed eye, until there was only one eye left.
"Last one!" Marcy shouted.
The nightmare creatures fused together and became a hideous amalgamation and blocked Marcy's path to the eye.
"Marcy! Here! Catch!"
Yunan reached behind her back and tossed Marcy the crossbow she had taken from the human's room.
Marcy caught her old weapon and mounted it on her right arm. "That's what I'm talkin' about!" She carefully took aim with her crossbow and concentrated her wind power around it.
The nightmare monster charged for her, but Marcy fired her arrow, which was now boosted by her wind powers and pierced right through the nightmare monster, dispersing its body as the arrow struck the last eye and made it explode, which caused a chain reaction that made the rest of the eyes explode at the same time. Once the last eye was gone, the hologram faded into nothingness, and was now the original chamber once again. When it was over, the team celebrated their victory, with Yunan swinging around Olivia by her hips. When Yunan realized what she was doing she gently put Olivia back down as pink started to tint her cheeks.
"Ahem. I'm not normally one for teamwork, but, uh, good job out there everyone! Very nice hustle," said Yunan.
Olivia smirked and punched Yunan in the left shoulder as she said, "You goof."
Marcy glanced at Olivia, who was smiling and also sported a blush. "Aww, Lady Olivia."
"Not a word, Marcy," said Olivia.
"Anyway! We make a good team, huh? Now let's get out of here!" Marcy took one step forward before, again, faceplanting on the floor. "Ookay, overdid it with the wind powers, might need a little help."
"Alright, up and at 'em." Olivia and Yunan got Marcy back on her feet and proceeded to the exit. "Here we go–"
Suddenly, a giant hand came out of the shadows and pushed all three of them away and on their backs. When the trio looked up, they were shocked to see King Andrias now standing between them and their only way out.
"Leaving so soon? But we have so much to discuss," said King Andrias.
"Andrias?!" Marcy exclaimed with a bit of anger.
"How did do you know?!" Olivia asked.
"Simple. We've been watching you this whole time." As King Andrias said this, an orange eye opened in the middle of his crown, an eye that was now looking in their direction.
The room began to rumble as mechanical sounds echoed within the chamber. Yunan, Olivia, and Marcy turned their heads and that's when they saw a giant sphere-like mechanical monster descend from the ceiling. It had thirteen glowing, orange eyes with yellow pupils, and six robotic tenacles with sharp three-pronged pincers at the end of each one. The spherical creature released a horrifying shriek, making the trio grit their teeth from the pain to their ears.
"What the heck is that thing?!" Marcy asked.
"Let me introduce you to The Core, the greatest amalgamation of the greatest minds in Amphibia. Preserved for all eternity and all housed within this central machine. But you may also know it by another name, The Night," King Andrias answered.
Marcy looked back at Andrias and then at The Core. "You're telling me THAT'S The Night?! The thing that's created the Fallen! The thing that Nocturne Filios worships?!"
"Funny thing about that. The ones who created that cult were some newts who were paitently waiting for the music box to return. Unfortunately, they knew that they would not live long enough to see it come to pass, so they wrote down their knowledge in texts and had them passed down to future generations. At some point, those descendants saw these writings as less instruction, and more like religious texts. Over time they concocted these stories based on the conquests of that time, of the army of 'angels'. Some things were right, others weren't, but in the long run I saw them as potential useful pawns for this day. However, I had to reign them in every once in awhile or else they'd become a problem that the populace at large couldn't ignore. So, thank you, Mar-Mar, for getting rid of Hufford Edenborough."
"You knew about him and turned him into a Fallen just so Anne and I could destroy him! You knew beforehand he was the cult leader!" Marcy accused.
King Andrias sighed. "Admittedly, I was hoping you'd find out that he was the leader, we'd turn him into a Fallen, and then you take him out for us. But then he almost ended up killing you, and that almost ruined our plans."
"Why didn't you have Fallen guarding Marcy? Feels like this was little too easy," said Yunan.
The king nodded. "Sorry to say, but my Master's power to create Fallen has dwindled over the last thousand years. But that won't be a problem anymore."
"I won't let you get away this, Andrias! Even if it costs me my life! I won't let you hurt anyone else!" Marcy stood up and summoned her MetamorphRing. "Hen –!"
Before Marcy could finish, The Core's tentacle shot towards her and clamped itself over her face. At the center of the chamber, the floor opened and out from it rose a chair with a coral-like back. The Core reeled Marcy in like a fish on a hook and placed her into the seat. The chair quickly restrained her, keeping the young Taiwanese girl secured and in place.
"What are you doing, Andrias?!" Olivia asked in fear for Marcy.
"Stop it! You maniac!" Yunan ordered.
"You see, studying the Mossmen improved our medical technology. But it wasn't until we met the Shadowfish that we truly learned to conquer death. And with that, The Core was born. But this was taken a step further, we found a world that was black as night, a dimension of pure darkness. It was here that we found a substance that we called Dark Ichor. It had amazing properties, and after studying it, we discovered how it could alter the form of whatever we applied it to. And so, it was integrated into The Core, and with it, and the brilliant minds within, granted this amazing creation greater power than even The Core itself could imagine."
Cables started to come out of the chair and attach to the ports in Marcy's suit. The teenage girl kept struggling against her bonds, but nothing was giving way. She tried to conjure her powers, but she was too exhausted from earlier to use it again.
"It allowed The Core to wield supernatural powers, and one of those powers was the creation of the Fallen. Now, in addition to our robotic army, we had an army of monstrous creatures that could easily decimate entire worlds! Thus, began the legend of The Night."
"LET ME GO, ANDRIAS!" Marcy demanded.
King Andrias sighed as he said, "I wish I could. But my lord craves a host. And it wanted the best, the smartest. The only one who could beat me at flipwart."
Marcy's eyes widened with shock. "No…"
"Honestly, Marcy? I like you. Always have. You have no idea how much I regretted doing what I did to you back in the throne room, and if there's one thing you can believe from me, believe that much. I even begged The Core to consider an alternative host, to spare you what was about to happen next…but alas…"
Marcy started to go into panic mode as she struggled against her bonds more and more, but then she looked up and that's when she saw a helmet slowly descending towards her. The Taiwanese teen looked at Yunan and Olivia with pleading eyes, silently begging them to help her, to do anything to stop this from happening. Yunan looked as if she was about to make a move, but King Andrias pulled out his laser sword and brought it close to the general, showing her that he was ready to kill her if she tried. That's when Andrias locked eyes with Marcy, in her desperate moment, she even looked to him for help, silently begging for him to stop all of this. For a very brief moment, Andrias' right hand shook, as if he was about to go and save her, but he knew he couldn't. There was too much he had to atone for. And so, Andrias looked away.
With that last small bit of hope gone, the helmet fully made contact with Marcy's head. A blood curdling scream echoed within the room as red lightning surged from the wires and into the helmet, making Marcy's body jerk back and forth. A pillar of orange light rose around her, but at the same time, it seemed as if the MetamorphRing was fighting back as it released green light from the crystal at its center. However, even that hope was fleeting. Another port opened from the platform the chair was on, and from it came out a mechanical arm with a device clamped in its pincers. The arm pressed the device against the MetamorphRing, and once it had, the green glow of the Driver was replaced by the same color as the pillar around her. The cables that were attached to her suit had glowing zeros and ones flowing into the suit, the binary language kept flowing, and even the helmet was glowing with the same zeros and ones. Marcy finally went silent and slumped in her chair.
At the same time, The Core's main body went silent and fell to the floor, no longer holding itself up by its own tentacles. Olivia dropped to her knees as she covered her mouth, trying to prevent her sobs from coming out. Yunan's hands balled into fists, and she was very close to jumping the mad king and plucking his eyeballs out with her blades.
King Andrias put his sword away and walked over to the limp body of the girl he supposedly called friend and said, "The time has finally come for The Core to lead us to our destiny. But what destiny, you ask? Well, I suppose I should just let it speak for itself."
Marcy began making jerking motions as she sat up straight up. For a moment, Olivia and Yunan thought that Marcy was okay, but it was about to become abundantly clear that that was not the case. Once she was sitting up straight, ten eyes opened on the helmet, all of which were staring right at them. The restraints were released as Marcy gave them a little grin.
"Why hello there," Marcy spoke with a distorted voice.
"M-Marcy?" Olivia dared to ask.
"She's still up here." The Core pointed to its head. "But not here-here, right now." The Core jumped off the platform and began flexing its fingers. It then took in a deep breath and released it in a long sigh. "Aaah. It's been so long since we've enjoyed the sensation of breathing, of feeling." The Core looked at its body for a moment. "I will say, I was not expecting the greatest and smartest mind to belong to a female. This will be quite an adjustment, especially considering the difference in species. But…" The Core looked at the MetamorphRing and smirked. "Considering what we have gained, the adjustment period will be well worth it."
King Andrias bowed before The Core, getting down on one knee as he said, "My lord, what shall we do with these two. They know too much to be left in a dungeon."
The Core glanced at the two newt women, making Yunan instinctively put herself between The Core and Olivia. "Hmm, well, the easiest thing to do would be to kill them. But it would also be a waste of skill and talent. What say you, Lady Olivia, General Yunan, will you not join us in our glorious conquest?"
"Conquest?" Yunan asked.
"Indeed. We are very aware that our methods are having a damaging effect on the environment of Amphibia. But once the army is remade, we will set forth and attack Earth. We shall take everything it has, and with it we can stop the damage and let the world return to its natural state. But more importantly. We will need more resources if we wish to venture into the Dimension of Darkness."
"You want to go back to that place where you obtained the Dark Ichor?" Olivia asked.
The Core raised its hand, and once it did a swirling sphere of the Dark Ichor appeared. "Now thanks to the merger my ability to create more has been restored. But I cannot create the massive army we would need to conquer stronger worlds. So, Earth will be our steppingstone, as well as others, so that we may go to the Dimension of Darkness and take more Dark Ichor so we can go into worlds with better resources and plunder them! We will become the rulers of the multiverse!" The Core closed its fist and made the Dark Ichor disappear. "Now, don't you want to be a part of this new chapter in Amphibia's history?"
"I'd rather die than see you corrupt this world any more than you have already you abomination!" Olivia stated.
"Same with me, and I'm about two seconds away from ripping that helmet off Marcy's head and smashing it into your face!" Yunan warned as she pointed at King Andrias.
"Pity." The Core swiped their right hand across in a horizontal manner.
A gust of orange tinted wind blew through the chamber, lifting up Yunan and Olivia before slamming them down upon the floor. A snap of The Core's fingers made several mechanical tentacles rise out of the floor and wrap around their arms and legs and suspended them in the air. A second snap of their fingers made two more tentacles appear, this time they had control collars clutched in their pincers.
"We'll still make use of you, and maybe after being mind controlled for some time, you'll come to see things our way," said The Core.
Yunan and Olivia struggled in much the same futile way that Marcy did not a moment ago. The collars were coming closer and closer, there was no way for this to be stopped. So, with that in mind, Olivia decided to not have any regrets if this was to be their fate.
"Yunan!" Olivia called out.
"Just hang on! We'll get out of this!" Yunan assured.
"I…I love you!" Olivia blurted out.
Yunan stopped struggling and looked at Olivia with shock. "Did…Did you say you loved me? Are…Are you in love with me, milady?"
Olivia's cheeks were burning red, but this wasn't the time to be embarrassed. "I do and have been in love with you General Yunan. I…I just never had the courage to give voice to my true feelings."
The collars were about to be fitted over their necks, but then they stopped. Yunan and Olivia looked at The Core and saw that their hand was reaching out towards them, as if stopping the tentacles. "Go on, speak your last free words."
Was Marcy reaching out to help them? Did she somehow regain control of her body long enough to grant them this moment? Whatever the case may be, Olivia was not about to waste this moment.
"As a member of a prestigious family, and a member of the royal court, I have expectations placed upon me. I am to eventually find a suitable partner and sire an heir, one that can carry on the legacy of my family. But…my heart has only had eyes for one newt, and…that's you, Yunan! I know you probably don't care for me like that, really, I've been blessed just being in your company, but now…" Olivia's eyes started to water.
Yunan looked away for a moment as she said, "I'm no good for you, Lady Olivia. I'm a warrior, I'm crass, rough, and craven for battle. I'm not a suitable newt to marry, at least not to someone of your class…"
"I've never cared about class, and yes, you're right about all that about yourself. But you can be such a goofball at times, and despite your crass and rough nature, you have occasionally displayed acts of kindness and understanding. You've done much to gain the rank you now have, and I admire that. I also know that you don't lead an army because you're afraid of losing your comrades in battle, so you became stronger and fiercer, just so you wouldn't have to see them fall, so that you could take on those dangerous missions yourself," said Olivia.
Yunan chuckled as she returned her gaze to Olivia. "Honestly…I thought I was doing a better job of hiding that…I can't believe someone like me attracted the eyes of a woman as beautiful and strong as you, Olivia. And…I wish I, too, had the courage to tell you how I felt as well a long time ago."
"I'm just happy you feel the same way," she replied.
The Core sighed and waved their hand, giving the silent order to attach the collars. Once they were clamped around their necks, Olivia and Yunan's eyes turned bright purple, they were now under Andrias' and The Core's control. The mechanical tentacles released the two newts back onto the floor, who now stood at attention and awaited their instruction.
Andrias looked at his master with a curious gaze. "Master, why did you allow them to have that moment?"
"I just felt like it. Well, that may be a lie, I kinda felt nostalgic when I saw that confession, it reminded me of when Anne and I confessed," said The Core.
The king of Amphibia did a double take upon hearing that, it sounded as if Marcy was in control. "Marcy?"
The Core smirked. "No, not Marcy. I'm someone different."
"What's the meaning of this?" Andrias asked as he readied to draw his sword.
"Cool your jets big guy. We're all still up here. It just seems that a new personality was created. A fusion of our minds and Marcy's has given birth to me," she said.
"And who are you?"
"Call me…Darcy," she said.
"Darcy?"
"Yeah, Dark Marcy, Darcy. Now, big blue, we have a lot of work to do. Starting with updating this helmet, this connective cable is too much of a glaring weak point and does not grant me as much mobility as I would like," said Darcy.
"But, my lord, why? Are you planning on leaving the castle?" he asked.
Darcy smirked. "How else do you expect me to take my new Driver out for a test Drive? Get it? Test Drive, 'cause it's called a 'Driver'! Ahahahahahahaha!"
King Andrias looked upon his master and was disturbed by what he saw. Was this truly The Core or was this "Darcy" something else that was in control?
Marcy groaned as she moved back and forth, it felt as if she was in her bed. Suddenly, Marcy bolted upright as she gasped loudly, eyes wide as panic overtook her.
"Whoa, Mar-Mar, you alright?"
Marcy looked to her left and saw Sasha lying there, she was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts.
"S-S-Sasha?" Marcy whimpered.
"Whoa, hey, what's going on?"
The Taiwanese girl turned to her right and saw Anne, dressed in a similar manner.
"A-Anne…You…You two are here? W-Where are we?!" Marcy asked in a panicked voice.
Sasha reached out and gently brought Marcy into a hug as she said, "Hey, hey, what's the matter? You're shaking."
"I…You two don't hate me?"
Anne and Sasha looked at her with confusion, prompting Anne to inquire, "Why would we be mad at you?"
"B-Because…Because I hurt you both! I-I tricked you into getting the Calamity Box, I knew it would take us to another world! And I did exactly what King Andrias wanted, I was his puppet and…and…"
"Shh, shh, hey, all of that's over now," said Sasha.
"What?" Marcy asked.
"Yeah, don't you remember? I transformed into my Final Form and took him out, turns out he was The Night all along," said Anne.
Was that right? Was Andrias The Night? Did Anne really manage to take him down? She did remember seeing Anne achieve her Final Form, and she did remember seeing the intense battle between them. "My head hurts, I…I feel like there's more to that…"
Sasha petted the top of Marcy's head as she said, "You just had a nightmare, babe. Yeah, a lot of crappy stuff went down between us, but we made up, don't you remember?"
"It was Andrias who set us all up, he played you, he played all of us. You just believed him like all of us did, you couldn't have known he would turn out to be the incarnation of evil," said Anne.
Marcy thought about it for a moment, and she did briefly remember crying, hugging, and some kissing, and promises of never letting each other go. "Yeah, I think I do remember that. But it looks like we're still in Amphibia. Why aren't we back on Earth?"
Sasha and Anne glanced at each other and then back at Marcy.
"Wow, that nightmare must've been a doozie," said Anne.
"We agreed to stay together, Mar-Mar. We agreed to be girlfriends and stay in Amphibia. And world hop here and there to kick evil's butt," said Sasha.
Marcy's eyes began to water as she looked at the smiling, sincere faces of her girlfriends. "You…You really mean it? We can stay together and keep having fun adventures together?"
"Of course, we're doing way more than we could ever do back home. Sure, I miss Mom and Dad, but it'd hurt more if I could never see you again," Anne confessed.
"We won't let anyone tear us apart, not my parents, not Anne's, and definitely not yours. If they can't respect what we've gone through and how much we love each other, then they can just deal with it. What are they going to do? Ground us? Ha! Good luck," Sasha stated.
Marcy felt heart swell as she reached out and brought Sasha and Anne in for a hug, and the two girls hugged her back. "I love you two, so much."
As they hugged, Marcy, with her eyes closed and crying, did not see her two lovers' eyes shift from their natural color to pitch black for a moment as they spoke in unison, "We love you two, Mar-Mar, forever." Their eyes went back to normal and then continued their hug. All the while, a transparent figure watched in the corner, the figure known as Darcy.
"Don't worry, Mar-Mar, this dream will become a reality, in due time. Although, it might be a bit different than how you're imagining it."