Battle of Heart and Mind

The Core's collection of minds overwhelm Marcy's own. Feeding her lies about how her friends abandoned her in her most vulnerable state. Dark thoughts and her greatest fears keep her trapped inside the mindscape. A broken mind inside and a body that is no longer in her control. She's losing hope.

Then, she hears a voice.

"Marcy, I know you're in there. I don't want to fight you!" Anne said.

Marcy can hear Anne's voice cutting through all of the loud intrusive thoughts, and part of her is able to break free for a moment, but The Core's grip on her mind is strong.

"Don't you think it's time to say goodbye to those childhood friends of yours?" The Core said in a menacing tone.

Marcy tries to stay strong, but she can't fight it. The Core has control over her weak body, and her mind is too tired to fight. Before Marcy can comprehend what's happening, it takes control.

"Objective, destroy Anne and Sasha. And claim the power of all three gemstones for myself." Darcy said.

Anne and Sasha battle Marcy, activating their calamity powers. Anne's power of heart and Sasha's strength. The Core uses Marcy's power of intelligence, draining the life out of her. With the three gemstones connected, Anne and Sasha can feel Marcy slowly fading away.

"Marcy's dying, I can feel it." Sasha said.

"I know me too. We have to save her." Anne said.

"How are we going to do that?" Sasha asked.

Anne looks at Marcy with desperation, she knows inside of that monster, Marcy's deeply hurting. Fighting her is only going to make things worse. Anne knows what she needs to do.

"I'm going to try to talk to her." Anne said.

"Are you crazy? She's not in control, Anne. She could kill you!" Sasha replied.

"I know, but I can't lose her. Not again." Anne said.

Sasha looks up at Marcy in fear, then back at Anne. She doesn't want Anne to risk her life, but if there's a chance it will save Marcy, she knows it's what they need to do.

Sasha nods in agreement and Anne nods back with a smile. Both fearful, but they still have hope.

"Okay, I hope you know what you're doing." Sasha said.

Anne's calamity powers activate, her hair and eyes glow blue as she floats up to Marcy. Sasha holds back any robots trying to stop Anne.

As Anne gets closer, she can see The Core has changed Marcy's expression into a twisted smile, but she knows Marcy's still in there. Anne can see she's hurting as tears roll down her friend's face.

Anne's memory flashes back to when Marcy broke down in tears, trying to explain her truth. Why she was so desperate to run away from home, but also keep her friends from returning home. The look of desperation, deep pain, and sadness in Marcy's eyes was heartbreaking.

Desperation, fear, and an internal struggle to escape reality. Marcy had been experiencing all of this, and Anne didn't even see it. Marcy always seemed so free spirited, playing her fantasy games, in her own world. She may have had trouble socializing and was quite oblivious to the world around her, but overall she seemed like a happy person.

Anne never knew how lonely and sad Marcy truly was inside. Escapism was Marcy's desperate attempt to cope with a reality that she couldn't handle and she needed her friends' support to stay grounded. She just didn't want to be alone.

After Sasha and Anne left her, she couldn't take the loneliness. Isolated inside her own mind, The Core forced her to relive her fears over and over again. A torture that would make anyone lose themselves. Anne's surprised that Marcy was able to stay so strong, with all of the traumatic experiences she endured and is still going through.

Anne slowly reaches a hand out towards Marcy with a sad yet sympathetic look in her eyes. Anne grabs Marcy and hugs her tight.

At this moment, Anne's not afraid. She knows Marcy's still in there and that she would never hurt her.

Sasha looks up at Anne with a terrified expression. She knows Marcy would never hurt Anne, but Marcy's not in control. She's being controlled by a ruthless machine and Anne could get killed. She trusts that Anne knows what she's doing, but Anne's always one to let her kind heart get the best of her and be too trusting.

"Anne, be careful!" Sasha yelled.

Anne ignores Sasha's warning and starts talking to Marcy. Trying to get through to the smart, brave, and kind person she knows Marcy is.

"Marcy, I know you are in there. Please come back to me. I'm so sorry for everything that happened. We all made mistakes, but you don't deserve to suffer like this. I had no idea you were in so much pain. When this is all over, I'm going to be a better friend. You're going to be okay Marcy, I just need you to come back to me." Anne said.

Marcy hears Anne's compassionate voice breaking through The Core's attempts to keep her under its control. She hugs Anne back. Desperate for support and love, pulling her out of the deep dark sadness.

Marcy's voice, soft and trembling, cuts through The Core's distorted robotic one.

"Anne, help me." Marcy said desperately.

Anne tries to look into Marcy's eyes and realizes she needs to get that helmet off of Marcy. That's what is controlling her and keeping her trapped, but she doesn't want to hurt her.

Before Anne even has the chance to react, The Core takes control of Marcy again. Marcy tries to fight it, but it's too strong.

Marcy's mind fades back into the darkness and Anne's right in the line of fire.

"Anne, you are too weak. Using your heart instead of your head will only get you killed. Allow me to demonstrate." Darcy said.

Darcy strikes Anne, hitting her right in the chest with their metal arm. Sasha tries to come to Anne's rescue, but she's too late. Anne falls, her blue hair slowly fading as she loses consciousness.

"Anne no!" Sasha yelled.

Sasha catches Anne before she hits the ground.

Darcy laughs maniacally, watching them suffer.

"One down, one to go." Darcy said.

Sasha's calamity powers get stronger as her hair and eyes glow pink. She puts Anne down gently, pulls out both of her duel swords and flies toward Darcy at full speed.

The Boonchuy's come to Anne's aid. Both in tears as they hold their dying daughter in their arms.

"Anne, please wake up!" Mr. Boonchuy said.

"Anne, no please! I can't lose you again." Mrs. Boonchuy said.

Sasha flies towards Darcy, her powers at full force.

"Well, this should be interesting." Darcy said.

Sasha strikes with her duel swords, but Darcy's very agile. They're able to block the strikes with their metal armor with ease. Sasha knows she may not make it out alive, but she's running on pure adrenaline after watching Anne fall.

"Sasha, you are a strong fighter. But, relying on your strength will only get you so far in a battle of wits. You're blinded by your rage, and that will be your downfall." Darcy said.

Sasha knows Darcy's playing mind games with her and tries to focus on the fight. She knows she can only win this if she weakens Marcy's body, but she doesn't want to hurt her.

Sasha gets closer to Darcy and realizes, behind that twisted smile, tears are streaming down Marcy's face. Marcy's hurting and Sasha can't help but feel a sudden sympathy come over her. This is how Darcy's winning, They're using Marcy as leverage. It's hardly a fair fight.

"Stop hiding behind Marcy you coward. Let her go and fight me!" Sasha said.

Darcy laughs, giving Sasha a deadly smirk. Staring her down with those menacing bright orange eyes.

"You think I would just give up my host? Not likely. This vessel is perfect. Intelligent, and both you and Anne's ultimate weakness. The sweet, innocent friend that you once knew and loved is the perfect shield. Why would I give that up?" Darcy said.

Sasha looks at Darcy with intense anger in her eyes, then down at Anne with sadness. She turns back to Darcy and nearly gets hit. She let herself get distracted, but she's not going to let that happen again.

Sasha knew Anne was right. Fighting isn't going to save Marcy. It's only going to make The Core's power stronger. So, in a desperate attempt to save both of her friends, Sasha puts her swords away and tries talking to Marcy.

"Marcy, I know you're in there. Please, I need you. Anne needs you. We aren't going leave you alone, not again." Sasha said.

"Are you really that pathetic? Anne tried to appeal to your friend's heart and look what happened? She's dying because she was too weak. Even your friend Marcy is weak, just look how I'm able to control her. She may have a strong mind, but she cares too much about her friends who left her. It's pitiful." Darcy said.

"Marcy is not weak. She was able to fight you before. She almost broke through your mind control and that makes her so strong. Marcy, if you can hear me in there, Anne and I are here for you. We love you and we need you to fight!" Sasha said.

Marcy lies dormant in the mindscape. Eyes closed as she floats in darkness. She can hear Sasha, but she's so tired. The Core making her feel helpless, like striking Anne down was her fault. She feels lost, alone, and completely broken by the fact that she's hurting her friends.

"Marcy, wouldn't it just be easier to let go? Let me take it from here. I'll finish this fight and you will no longer be responsible for hurting the people you care about." Darcy said.

Marcy tried to fight it, but her insecurities cloud her mind. She can't think straight and slowly starts to give in. Fading away into the darkness all around her, consuming her.

Suddenly, Anne wakes up. Her parents are startled but relieved by her sudden burst of energy. Anne can feel Marcy fading away and she's not going to lose her. Her calamity powers flow back into her and she floats up to Sasha's side.

Sasha looks at Anne shocked to see her awake and smiles. Anne smiles back and they both glare at Darcy. They know Marcy's still in there. They can feel her power, but she's fading fast. Tears well up in Anne's eyes as she reaches out to Marcy.

"Marcy, it's me, Anne. Are you okay in there? Sasha and I need you to know that we love you and we are both here for you. Please come back to us. We need you." Anne said.

Marcy hears Anne and wakes up from the dark sleep Darcy tried to put her under. Accessing her calamity powers, her eyes and hair begin to glow green. Darcy begins to panic as Marcy gains control.

Anne and Sasha take advantage of this opening and disconnect the long cord hanging from the back of the helmet. The main power source keeping Marcy under The Core's control. The bright orange eyes fade to black as Sasha and Anne pull the helmet off Marcy and throw it to the ground. Crushing on impact as The Core dies, letting out a final robotic shriek before it is destroyed.

Marcy's armor falls, destroying the last eye on her chest. She is back in her original crossbow warrior outfit without the cape, slightly torn, but still Marcy's signature look.

Anne and Sasha turn back to Marcy to make sure she's okay and they see her genuine smile, tears of joy running down her face, her hair and eyes glowing green. The three girls embrace in a heartwarming hug.

All of the sudden, the trio begins to glow in unison. Creating a bright iridescent light all around them. The vibrant beam destroys all of the robots that were fighting to take control of the city. And destroying King Andrias, who disappears as the bright light wipes out him and his deadly robot army.

Everyone cheers as the three girls begin floating down to earth. Their powers slowly fade and they all fall to their knees, exhausted but relieved the battle's finally over.

"I missed you both so much. I'm so sorry for everything that happened. Thank you for not giving up on me." Marcy said.

"Marcy, we would never give up on you. We care about you so much and I hope you know that." Sasha replied.

"Marcy, you've been through so much and you're so strong. We're both here to support you." Anne said.

Finally free from all of the trauma she endured, Marcy lets out a huge sigh of relief. She feels so safe in her friends arms, happy to be home. Marcy knows she has a long way to go in terms of healing physically and emotionally, but she will not be alone. Her friends will be here for her and that sense of safety, love, and support will help her get through this.

Anne, Sasha, and Marcy have been through so much and it's going to be hard for them to recover from everything that has happened. It will take time, but they will have each other. A strong bond and deep connection that will help them heal together.