Choice
Darcy stands there with an ominous grin on their face, waiting for Marcy to react. Marcy stands up to face her and remembers everything. All of the torture and trauma she went through comes back to her in flashes. Her dream world becomes a nightmare in an instant as everything around her turns burned and blackened as ash falls from the darkened sky, like a scar covering the once tranquil environment.
Marcy falls to her knees, tears in her eyes as everything comes crashing down. A heavy feeling of hopelessness overwhelms her.
"I told you before, I can make all of this trauma go away. You just have to let go." Darcy said.
Marcy gathers her courage and stands up to face Darcy, wiping the tears away from her face. She's not going to let Darcy take control again.
"No. These happy memories you're trying to trap me in aren't real. And it would be selfish of me to leave Anne and Sasha to live in a fantasy world. Goodbye." Marcy said.
Marcy turns around and starts walking away, but she doesn't get far. Darcy stares her down for a moment, and suddenly runs towards her. Marcy turns around, but she's too late to react. Darcy grabs her and pins her down to the ground. Marcy tries to fight back, but Darcy's too strong.
"You think you can fight me? I'm a part of you now. You'll never be free of me, so why don't you just give me control. I'll make all of this suffering go away. Besides, Anne and Sasha are better off without you anyway. All you do is hurt them." Darcy said.
Hearing this, Marcy starts to give in. She begins to think Darcy's right. She starts to believe it would be selfish of her to stay in Anne and Sasha's lives. And the last thing she wants to do is hurt the two people she cares most about, so she starts to let go.
"Maybe you're right." Marcy replied.
Marcy's hope begins to fade as the light in her eyes slowly disappears. Darcy lets her go and lies in the grass next to her, both of them looking up at the sky. Marcy's face vacant while Darcy smirks. Everything around them begins to change back to the colorful and peaceful dreamland, playing her happy memories in the bright blue sky above.
"See, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Darcy said.
Back in the kitchen, Anne sits at the table thinking while Sasha paces back and forth. Both girls are trying to come up with a solution to help Marcy. They want her to get her memories back, but they don't want to push her.
"Sasha, I'm worried. At this point, I don't care if Marcy gets her memories back. I just can't stand to see her in so much pain." Anne said.
"I know Anne. We just need to be patient with her and let her know we're here to support her, no matter what." Sasha replied.
With that, Anne and Sasha head into the living room to check on Marcy. They notice she's still lying on the couch facing away from them. Anne doesn't want to wake her up since she's finally resting, but Sasha decides it's better if they do.
Sasha nudges Marcy gently to try to wake her up, but gets no response.
"Marcy, are you awake? Anne and I want to talk to you." Sasha said.
Marcy lies there, silent and still. Anne and Sasha look at each other and then back at Marcy with concern. Sasha turns Marcy around and sits her up on the couch, taking her hood off so they can see her face better.
Anne and Sasha are shocked to see this eerie state Marcy's in. Her eyes are closed and she looks so peaceful, but there are tears running down her face. She looks so sad yet so calm, like she's lost in a distant world. Trapped in a nightmare disguised as a dream.
Sasha puts her hand on Marcy's shoulder and shakes her gently. Anne takes her hand and tries to wipe the tears away, but they just keep falling. Deeply pained by this, Anne hugs Marcy tight, trying to bring her back.
"Marcy, please wake up. I care about you so much, and I'm not going to lose you again." Anne said desperately.
Sasha becomes triggered by this unsettling sight. She remembers when they had to fight Darcy to save Marcy from The Core's control. After they saved her, she promised Marcy she would never let anything like that ever happen to her again.
"Marcy, I promised I would protect you. I'm not giving up on you, so please don't give up on yourself." Sasha said.
Suddenly, Marcy snaps out of her dream state and looks away from the sky full of memories. She hears Anne and Sasha's desperate pleas for her to come back to them and feels a sense of hope wash over her. She starts to realize she's loved and she can't give up on herself, not when Anne and Sasha need her.
Marcy stands up and starts walking away from Darcy, following the encouraging voices of her friends. She tunes out the fantasy world around her, looking forward to a better reality. Darcy starts to panic, but tries their best not to show it.
"Marcy, come back. You're not seriously going to let go of this dream world are you? It's what you've always wanted." Darcy said.
Marcy stops for a moment. She takes a deep breath and smiles, knowing deep down she's making the right choice. But, she knows she can't just leave Darcy alone as she knows how loneliness can consume you and turn your world into dark nothingness. Darcy's a part of her, and she needs to learn to accept her if she's ever going to move forward. So, she looks back at Darcy with compassion.
"You're right. This fantasy world is what I've always wanted, but it's not real. I know reality is going to be hard for me to face, but I can't keep running away from my problems." Marcy replied.
"How do you know Anne and Sasha won't just leave you again?" Darcy said.
"I don't. Friendship is hard. It needs to be earned through trust and nurtured in order to grow. Relationships have never been easy for me, but I'm willing to work towards change. It's going to be challenging, but I have to believe it's worth it." Marcy replied.
With that, Darcy's left speechless and just stares out at the open field. Marcy walks up to them and takes their hand. Darcy looks at her in shock, a single tear running down their face. Marcy hugs them, in turn showing herself the love and compassion she deeply needs and now feels she deserves. Darcy hugs her back.
"It's going to be okay. We'll make it through this." Marcy said.
Suddenly, they both start glowing with a green hue. The green calamity gem powers shining through as they both come to a deeper understanding of one another. Darcy starts to disappear, fading into tiny glowing butterflies freely flying away into the bright blue sky.
Marcy watches as they go in peace. A true sense of happiness comes over her as she closes her eyes, the fantasy world around slowly starts fading as she floats in blissful nature, her eyes and hair glowing green. Then, she wakes up.
