Remember the bit of existential dread from the end of "Return to Amphibia"? Well, now it's back in full force!

I was debating whether or not to post this because it seemed too dark. I suppose this particular chapter can be ignored if you want. It probably won't have any bearing on the rest of the fic.

~ XXXXXXXX Years into the Future

Multiversal Rift Outside of Time and Space

For countless eons a supreme being has kept watch over the multiverse. Calamity, they called themself. They knew that name held significance to them, but they could not remember why. There were a lot of things about themself they could not remember…

Just about the only thing Calamity knows for certain is that they had once been three distinct beings, who at one point for whatever reason had fully merged into one. They knew this because they had three personalities: one loving and empathetic, one aggressive yet dedicated, and one fun-loving and intellectual. They retained no information about their original identities.

That was it, the only thing Calamity knows about their past for sure.

(All three personalities agreed that there was something instinctively wrong with being multiple immortal minds in a collective but like everything else of their past they cannot remember the reason.)

There are a few other things they suspect, of course. They suspect that their three identities were in love with each other. They suspect they weren't always the Guardian(s) of the Multiverse. And they suspect they must have been from either Earth or Amphibia, two worlds they have special interest in, but as usual don't know why.

They know what humans and amphibians looked like millions of years ago, and can temporarily leave their incomprehensible ethereal form behind and take on a human or amphibian appearance. They might even look similar to what one of their identities looked like in the past!

But it would be a rough approximation at best…

Eventually the situation became bad, to the point where they spend just as much time struggling to remember anything about themself as they did performing Guardian duties. It wouldn't be so bad if they had anything else to do to occupy their free time, but there's nothing. All of their hobbies, interests, pastimes, etc. are lost to time.

They need to do something before they go completely insane. The only solution they can think of is passing fully into the afterlife. When a soul enters the afterlife they regain any memories they had lost during their life. They couldn't simply leave— there must always be a Guardian. So now they must take on the task of finding a worthy successor.

So they began to search the multiverse, observing the heroes who had selflessly wielded great power. They have no idea how long this process took them—conventional measures of time were essentially meaningless to them—but eventually they were certain who the next Guardian would be: Jsaxx Wrunn.

Jsaxx was a Strendil, a lizard-like species from the planet Reptiland. When a tyrannical warlord threatened to destroy the entire galaxy, Jsaxx used an ancient power to end the warlord's reign for good, but lost his life in the process. (How many times have they seen this scenario?) After he died, Jsaxx awoke on a mysterious flying island in the middle of space with a small house on it resembling a traditional Strendil dwelling. He entered the house and took note of a few things inside, such as the images of his loved ones on the wall and the duju sitting in the center: a small furry creature often kept as pets on Reptiland. Jsaxx was rather surprised when the duju began speaking to him.

"Greetings, Jsaxx Wrunn of Reptiland."

Jsaxx blinked in shock a few times before speaking, "I'm really dead, aren't I?" he asked, though he seemed to already know the answer.

"I'm afraid so."

"And you're not actually a duju."

"No. I assumed this form because a cute creature would make you less uneasy about this whole situation."

And so Calamity explained. They were an ancient Guardian(s) of the Multiverse and they were looking for a successor. Jsaxx had the capacity to be a far greater Guardian than they were, and they would pass on all the knowledge of guardianship. They pressed their hand to his forehead, and gave him everything they could. Jsaxx was now a Guardian. The whole interaction gave Calamity an uncanny sense of déjà vu, but they didn't question it. They would remember everything shortly.

"The minute you realize you've started to forget things about yourself, then it's time to find a replacement." There was a distressed expression on their face. "It took me millions of years to realize I was too far gone. Don't let that happen to you…" They gestured toward a large book. "I won't be around to provide further guidance, but that tome should answer any questions you have. Farewell."

Those were Calamity's last words before they faded away into nothingness…

Afterlife Realm

Calamity appeared in a tranquil field surrounded by a thick fog. They had taken on a human appearance with light tan skin and fluffy light brown hair.

They are still one, that was apparently irreversible, but they fully remember and can distinguish between their three selves: Anne Boonchuy, Sasha Waybright, and Marcy Wu. Once they became aware of this fact, everything came rushing back. Millions of years of memories flooded their mind, coming so fast that the sheer amount of information probably would've killed them if they weren't already dead.

Calamity recognized the field as the Plain of Departure, the place where souls went when they were ready to depart the afterlife and become one with the universe. They had been here before a few times, many millions of years ago, before they merged. It was one last chance to see deceased loved ones before they left forever.

Eventually they realized they weren't alone and looked toward the field's other occupant: an adult male frog with pink skin and orange hair.

"Sprig!" They ran up and wrapped him in a tight hug.

While Sprig Plantar had never seen this person before, he recognized some of their features. It was almost as if someone had taken the three heroes of Amphibia and mashed them together. "Anne, Sasha, Marcy… is that you…?"

"Yes… yes it's us. Our souls have fully united and cannot separate." Calamity was a bit confused as to why Sprig was the only one who came to greet them. "Where's everyone else?"

Sprig had a nervous expression on his face, and didn't seem to be sure what to say. It turns out he didn't have to. Calamity realizes the horrifying truth by themself.

"You're the only one left…"

Sprig nodded. "Everyone else you three knew has been gone for a long time. You used to visit us somewhat regularly, but eventually you stopped coming. One by one they all gave up hope and left. I considered doing it so many times, but I couldn't.

At some point during Sprig's explanation, Calamity fell to their knees in despair. "We forgot you… WE FORGOT ALL OF YOU!" They began crying. "We forgot our children, and Mom and dad, and Polly and Hop Pop, and Grime, and Olivia and Yunan, and so many others… ALL OF THEM!"

At this point they were bawling uncontrollably. Sprig quickly rushed in to give them a hug but they didn't seem to notice. "We… we backed up our memories so this wouldn't happen… but we forgot the backups existed… We were just a bunch of minds stuck together living forever. We're no better than the Core! We're supposed to be heroes but we're just as bad as our enemies!"

"I'm sure it wasn't like that," said Sprig. "Maybe the three of you just wanted to be… closer together?"

Suddenly all of Calamity's distress seemed to disappear and their eyes lit up in a way that was distinctively Marcy. "Just like Garnet…"

"Huh?"

"Oh, just a reference to a show from waaaaaaaaaaay back when."

They pretty quickly regained their serious resolve. "So now that I'm here, I guess you'll leave now."

"Uh, I guess so," said Sprig.

"Then I'm coming with you."

Sprig was shocked. "You are?"

"There's nothing for me to do here, Sprig. I need a nice long rest after everything I've done." They reached their hand out toward him. "Spranne against the world?"

Sprig shed some tears and took their hand. "Spranne against the world."

The two (four?) of them walk through the fog together. Their souls dissolved into light, reaching eternal peace among the cosmos.

Author's Notes: If this was too dark for you, then don't worry, the next one will be a lot more fluffy.

"Mom and dad" is referring to the Boonchuys.