November 28, 2100

Afterlife Realm

"Wow! This place reminds me of the Darkwood Forest from Vagabondia Chronicles, and maybe a little bit of Arborea." said Marcy excitedly.

"Yeah, this forest is pretty cool," said Anne, "but what's on the outside of it is even cooler."

"Oh yeah! Of course!"

Anne had already explained to Marcy about how the Afterlife Realm operates, and the Taiwanese Guardian was ready to reunite with her deceased friends and family.

"The fact that our actions led to two formerly separated afterlives merging into one is probably the most fascinating thing about this place," said Marcy. "It's like we broke a little part of reality."

Anne hummed. "I guess so."

The two Guardians made it to the edge of the forests and the beginning of the seemingly endless rows of homes.

"Whoa. This is the biggest maze I've ever seen," remarked Marcy.

"It really is," said Anne. "Luckily it's surprisingly easy to find your way around this place."

"That's neat!" Marcy looked onward toward the assorted buildings.

"Yeah," said Anne, "but I think you would somehow manage to get lost here, so let me guide you." She began walking toward the homes. Marcy pouted but followed her anyway.

Anne pretty quickly guided Marcy to a house she recognized as the one Olivia and Yunan built in Wartwood. Marcy's eyes lit up as soon as she saw it and she began running.

"There she goes," said Anne with a chuckle.

Marcy didn't even bother opening the door when she reached the house— she just phased through the first wall she found. As she did so, she saw three newts sitting on a couch: Lady Olivia, General Yunan, and a third newt Marcy hadn't met before but she recognized from a photo she had seen.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeere's Marcy!"

The newts looked over to where Marcy stood and faster than anyone else could register, Yunan ran up and crushed Marcy with a massive hug.

"Master Marcy! You have finally arrived!" she said enthusiastically.

"General Yunan, it's so great to see you!" Marcy happily returned the hug.

"You have no idea how much we missed you these past eighty years," said Olivia, joining the embrace.

"Well, I knew you had to have missed me at least a little bit," said Marcy. She looked over at the third newt, who had purple skin and turquoise hair. "You're Marcy, aren't you?"

Olivia and Yunan decided to start a family four years after the Calamity War ended, and it was only natural that they named their daughter after the human who had touched their hearts. It seemed Sasha was the only one of the trio who didn't have someone named after them, at least not by someone they knew. Sadly, Lady Marcy the newt predeceased her namesake by several years, dying at the young age of 58.

Olivia and Yunan let go of Marcy Wu as their daughter approached her. The purple newt offered her hand for a handshake. "It's an honor to meet you, Master Mar—" She didn't get a chance to finish before she was wrapped in a massive hug of her own.

"Of course you get a hug too," said the Guardian, eyes wet with happy tears. They stayed hugging for a moment before they let go. "So Anne said people can watch the living world from here."

"That's right," said Yunan. "This display screen shows various events that are happening down there." She directed Marcy to the fancy-looking television screen. "We were watching a colosseum fight."

Marcy looked at the screen and saw two toads fighting each other in a gladiatorial style.

"We don't always watch small stuff like this," said Olivia. "We witnessed a lot of important events."

"Ooh!" said Marcy. "Did you see how happy I was when I found out you two got married?"

"Yes. Too bad you couldn't attend the wedding," said Olivia.

"Yeah. But I'm pretty sure I was there in spirit," said Marcy. "I dreamed about it at least a dozen times."

Everyone laughed at that.

It had been a long time since Marcy last thought about her parents' home in Philadelphia. It had never truly been her home even though she lived there for years.

She moved away with her parents after her return from Amphibia, since she'd learned the hard way it's wrong to run away from your problems, but that didn't mean she had to listen to them. In fact, she made it quite clear she no longer cared about what they thought of her. And even after Marcy reconciled with them, things were awkward.

To be fair, things were always awkward. The Wus were never a particularly close family like the Boonchuys.

Marcy wasn't as excited to see them as she was to see her newt family, that's for sure. She took a deep breath and calmly knocked on the door before entering the house.

It was quiet, just like it used to be when they were alive. "Hello? Is anyone home?" Nearly a minute passed without a response. "I guess they're out." Marcy shrugged. "Eh, I'll come back later."

However, just as Marcy turned around to leave the house, the front door opened again. In walked Stephen and Chen Wu, who stopped in shock upon seeing their daughter.

"Hey Mom… hey Dad…" said Marcy.

"Marcy!" The Wu parents rushed inside and gave Marcy a tight yet sensible hug.

"What a pleasant surprise!" said Chen. "We were wondering when you'd visit the afterlife."

"Anne's been here a few times but she doesn't stay long," said Stephen. "We're glad we managed to catch you while you're here."

Marcy smiled and learned further into the hug. It seemed she missed her parents more than she thought she did.

Things were nice.

She could easily not do this. There was absolutely nothing saying she had to visit him, but she had to get these feelings off her chest once and for all.

A pink frog and green toad greeted Marcy as she approached Andrias' afterlife residence.

"We're glad you made it," said Leif.

"Yeah," Barrel agreed. "You're not the only one who needs closure."

Marcy nodded and followed them. They brought her to a grassy clearing where Andrias was tending to a field. It seemed that even after death, he was still dedicated to preserving nature, even though it was completely unnecessary in the afterlife. He looked healthy without his cybernetic enhancements, a far cry from the withered old king Olivia II had described.

Once Marcy entered the clearing, Leif and Barrel left, leaving just the Guardian and the king.

Andrias still hadn't noticed her, so Marcy initiated the conversation. "Andrias?"

The large newt stopped and turned around. Astonishment was visible on his face. "Marcy…?

"Hey," said Marcy, casually waving a hand.

Andrias wasn't quite sure what to say. "I heard you passed a couple of months ago… but I never thought you'd want to see me."

Marcy had an awkward expression on her face. "I don't really want to, but I feel like I have to, if that makes sense."

"I understand," said the king. "I am so, so, so deeply sorry for everything I did to you. I knew I was doing wrong but I didn't want to disappoint my father any further… but that's no excuse. I should've fought back sooner. I could've sent you girls guns as soon as I had the box, or maybe I could've listened to Leif after she had that vision a thousand years ago." He sobbed a little and sighed. "But didn't come here to see me cry. Or at least I don't think you did."

Marcy shook her head. "I didn't. But there's nothing wrong with having a good cry every once in a while."

That made Andrias smile a little. "I suppose you're right. Look, Marcy. I know I don't deserve to be here in this peaceful place, and I certainly don't deserve your kindness."

"I won't lie, you fucked up," said Marcy bluntly. "I never stopped having nightmares about being stabbed or possessed, and I will never, ever forgive you." She saw the king bow his head in understanding. "But I can't bring myself to hate you. Maybe it's because despite your ulterior motives you cared to listen to me about my interests. Or maybe it's because I felt wanted when I was Chief Ranger in Newtopia. Whatever it is, it worked." Marcy paused for a moment. "That doesn't mean I want to spend time with you, though."

Andrias nodded. "Of course."

"So yeah, this'll be goodbye for now," said Marcy. "Maybe I'll see you off whenever you decide to become one with the universe. Until then I hope you have a good time."

"And I will say the same to you, Marcy." The king bowed his head in respect. "You and the others have done an excellent job as Guardians. I have no doubt you'll keep up the good work."

Marcy smiled. "Thanks. And I'm sure your garden will flourish."

Anne was correct when she predicted Marcy would want to pay the "Bad Place" a visit. It was a dark, dreary hellscape where the worst souls ensure unbelievably painful torture. And unlike the "Good Place", those down below couldn't leave whenever they wanted. Their punishment is eternal.

Marcy recognized several deplorable figures from human and amphibian history, as well as plenty she didn't— individuals whose heinous crimes were forgotten by history but not by existence itself.

But she didn't come here to see any of them, no she came for the main attraction: five dozen newts tethered together with ethereal energy. As far as Marcy was aware, no other souls anywhere in the multiverse were bound like this, but whatever forces controlled the afterlife decided the Core's components would suffer together.

Marcy noticed that the newts of the Core could be divided into two separate groups. First, there were the Leviathan royals who had grown up indoctrinated into the old beliefs of conquest and grandeur, becoming progressively worse people over time. Most of them were monarchs like Aldrich but there were also a few consorts and minor princes among them. The other (considerably smaller) newts were the scientists, mathematicians, and other "greatest minds". Marcy couldn't identify most of them, with the exception of Taricha Wenstrik, the scientist who invented the wretched hive mind. He sat right at the front of the collective of Core newts.

The newts all shot Marcy a collective glare as she approached. A few of them opened their mouths to speak but she snapped her fingers and they froze instantly— unable to move but retaining all senses.

"You bastards have no power over anyone, especially not me." Marcy spoke determinedly, her tone never wavering. "You may think I'm here to cause you all pain, but that's not true. You revel in pain. Why would I subject you to something you enjoy so much?" An almost sinister grin grew on her face. "No, this'll be different. Behold as I sing the theme songs from all my favorite animes! With musical backing of course." She conjured a microphone and got to work.

I wanna be the very best

Like no one ever was

To catch them is my real test

To train them is my cause

Okay, maybe Marcy was causing them pain in her own way. She could sense their hatred, their distress. She didn't exactly enjoy it, but the whole experience was certainly cathartic. This was shaping up to be a good night.

Taricha is a genus of extremely poisonous newts, which I thought was very fitting for the creator of the Core. I've used taxonomic names for stuff in past chapters (especially the Marsupia one), but I figured this one was significant enough to point out in the end notes.

Yes, Marcy the newt is Yulivia's biological daughter. Magic spells exist in Amphibia so there's probably some spell that allows same-sex couples to conceive.