It was jarring to be back in a body.
"Pathetic."
They laughed, the sound filling the empty throne room and echoing off the cold marble walls.
Andrias was following his orders, preparing for the invasion. He was on the other side of the castle overseeing some business. While the servant was gone, they were back on the throne.
Even if that fool was here, he wouldn't have been back on the enormous throne. It was in its rightful place as the mastermind. The monarch.
The guards brought in a female newt in a dress that must have once been very expensive. The skirt of the gown was faded and tattered from time spent in the dungeon.
The newt—Lady Olivia— had a strange expression as Darcy descended from their throne, life support wires trailing from the host's back.
"You summoned me."
Lady Olivia's voice was soft. She never once took her eyes away from the silhouette in front of her.
Darcy stepped into the light. Bright drops of liquid streamed down the host's face, dripping like gems onto the polished floor.
When Darcy spoke, its voice was a steady monotone.
"Why doesn't this body stop crying?"
Floating in the tank with a body covered in cables and wires was such a waste of time. Unfortunately, the time could not be better spent. The host was heavily damaged, unable to function for long without the rejuvenation tank.
While they waited for the day's rejuvenation period to end, the Core monitored the neural activity of its host. It suspected that despite being the bearer of Wit, the host had a form of brain damage, probably from the injury that kept the host body confined to a tank for most of the day. Almost every time that the body was allowed to be inactive for long enough, vivid hallucinations would appear.
Most of the hallucinations featured a pair of humans, approximately the same size as the host. The humans did different things in every hallucination, but they always ended the same way.
The other humans would leave and the host would be alone.
Darcy passed by a cracked window. A beam of soft sunlight shone through, causing a strange sensation on the host's skin.
It was more than a mere temperature change. There was a reaction in the mind.
They paid no attention to the wave of disappointment from the host when a plume of toxic smoke blocked out the sun again.
It was unfortunate that Yunan was too valuable to be disposed of. She was troublesome and hard to contain. However, she had a role that would be hard to fill.
"You have to drink water."
Lady Olivia was exhausted. The Core had decided to keep Marcy awake all night to plan another attack with that infernal tyrant Andrias. By her estimation, Marcy hadn't been allowed to eat or drink anything in 14 hours.
"We already drank. You watched us." Darcy sounded bored of this conversation.
Olivia sighed. "That was yesterday evening. You're going to make Marcy dehydrated. Just drink some water, please."
In the back of the mind, it could feel an exhausted voice pleading for water, sleep, a rescue, anything…
So they drank a full glass. And another. And another. And took a few bites of fruit.
"Back to business."
It tried to stand up, but the newt actually pushed against the host's shoulders, keeping them in the chair.
"Unhand us NOW."
But Olivia only looked at it with that same expression again. "It's alright, Marcy, I'll make sure you get to rest. You're going to be alright."
The host was so little and light, but the body felt heavy. How long had it been since the last session in the tank?
Olivia was glaring now. "You cannot abuse Marcy's body like this. A few hours in the tank won't keep your host alive if you don't eat and drink. And you know you won't find another suitable host. I heard you tell Andrias that she's the only one."
Darcy curled up slightly in the chair. The newt had a point. Destruction of the host would delay the plans.
Now Olivia was talking softly again, holding the host's hand. The five fingers curled against her touch out of reflex.
"It's going to be okay, Marcy, I promise. I care about you, General Yunan cares, we all care. You can go to sleep. It's okay. I'll keep you safe."
The hallucinations come.
Yunan helps clean the burn marks that sear through the host's chest and back. The bandages that cover the scar and hold the wires in place carefully peel away again, revealing the scars underneath.
The soldier's dressed more than her fair share of wounds on the battlefield. She has the bandages changed in seconds.
"Don't worry, Marcy. I won't let you down—"
Yunan suddenly noticed what Darcy was doing. Her expression changed mid sentence.
Darcy was shaking both hands back and forth in a rhythmic motion. It was so… limiting to sit down and do nothing. The body was desperate to move.
They had discovered the sensation a week after the strange human holiday. They hadn't known what to make of the odd uniforms some of the newts had been wearing. Equally confusing was the package.
It was a small box wrapped in a green fabric with a ribbon tying it closed. It was addressed to Marcy.
Inside was a cluster of candied craneflies with a strong, sharp smell—peppermint, if the host's identification was correct. Darcy tried one, crunching through the sweet coating. The taste was powerful, sending a rush of memories from the human's mind. Curious to see what else could be uncovered by the sensation, the rest of the treats were quickly eaten. Memories of a peppermint treat flooded the mind, showing the Heart and Strength together with the host.
Later that same day, Darcy picked up a D20 (the host had given a name for the small item) off the floor and attempted to place it on a nearby table.
The item couldn't be set down.
Darcy pried it loose from the sticky palm of the host's hand, only for the D20 to stick to the other hand. They shook the host's hand furiously, moving it like a bird's wing in an attempt to loosen the item.
A warm feeling like a burst of energy rushed through the mind, cascading over both host and Core. After repeating the gesture a few times with similar results, it had become a habit.
Yunan wrapped both arms around Darcy, lifting them a foot off the ground. The motion was sudden and unexpected. There was no pain from the carefully bandaged injury, but they squirmed against the contact, trying to pull away.
"What are you doing? Put us down at once!"
The motion did feel comfortably warm, even better than the sun through the cracked window, but being picked up by someone who was a servant at best and a criminal at worst was infuriating.
Without losing any of her signature enthusiasm, Yunan set Darcy down. The motion was surprisingly gentle for someone who was so strong.
Darcy examined the bandages, which had not been damaged by the hold. "Don't do that again."
The General grinned at Darcy, but somehow they knew that the smile was meant for Marcy. "I know you're still in there. Someone like you can't be kept down."
There was no response.
It was dark in the castle dungeon, but the rejuvenation tank had a soft glow, illuminating Marcy's tears.
For no apparent reason the host was crying again.
Even in the green fluid, the tears were still dripping down the host's face. This had to stop. The host needed sleep and was not even functional enough to do that.
Darcy gave a twitch of the wrist and muscle memory kicked in, shaking both hands back and forth. The host's heartbeat slowed slightly. She seemed to be calming down.
Thinking back, the Core repeated Olivia's words in the mind. You're going to be okay, Marcy, it's alright. You're going to be safe.
Feelings of confusion clouded the mind. Maybe Yunan's words would have a different effect. You are Marcy Wu! Head of the Newtopian Guard, brilliant explorer and—
What was the rest of the speech? Next time Yunan tried one of her stunts, it would have to let her finish before having the guards drag her away. Going back to Olivia's whispers, the Core soon felt the host drift to sleep.
Walking felt strange on uneven ground. Why hadn't they just ordered Andrias to carry them? This was not worth the time it took to get outside.
The Core didn't trust Andrias to run the mining operation efficiently. It suspected that he had missed several small but valuable mineral veins.
Stumbling a little in the sand, it stood expressionlessly watching the machines. The chemicals used to melt through layers of bedrock to get the necessary ore for more battle robots glowed green. The little plant life that was left wilted around the poisoned ponds and streams.
The mines generated a high payload of resources that would be useful for the invasion. Everything was in perfect working order. This should have been highly satisfying to watch.
Then why weren't they satisfied?
An insect somehow got into the underground room where the Moss Man was kept. The creature laid eggs and now the offspring were chewing through the leaves on one of the nearby plants.
That's a Xerxes Blue butterfly, chattered Marcy from the back of the mind. They're extinct in my world. I can't believe they're alive here!
They watch as the small blue creature flits through the air, landing softly on the tip of Marcy's nose. The tiny legs almost tickled for the few moments that the butterfly stayed.
Then the butterfly flew into the air, landing on the Moss Man.
Butterflies can't move if they're too cold, so they need sunlight. The Moss Man's powers seem to support the butterfly just like with the plants!
The information isn't important for the invasion, but it listens anyway. The enthusiastic rush of butterfly facts gives the same strange reaction as the hand motions.
"She's doing it again."
They found Olivia. She's the one who can make this stop.
Olivia comforts the host again, but the tears still keep coming. They haven't stopped since the newly produced troops had injured the bearer of Strength in Wartwood.
Overall, it had been a victory. The mechanical army had lost some of their members, but they were easily replaced. Strength, on the other hand, would need time to recuperate from her battle wounds. It was unlikely that she would have the full use of her vision again, making the next attack much more likely to be successful.
Marcy kept crying. The tears were free to go, but her voice stayed in her mind.
"Olivia?"
The newt seemed startled. Marcy's captor had never used her name before.
She took a deep breath, wondering if this meant anything. "Yes?"
"Why doesn't the crying stop? From her perspective, Strength should be considered a traitor who was likely to become a tyrant."
Olivia takes her time with her answer. "Yes, Sasha hurt her. But Marcy never wanted to hurt her back. She certainly didn't want her to lose the use of her eye."
"The other eye is still intact."
The tears come harder. Olivia holds the host's body close, cradling her as if she was hers to keep. "Oh, Marcy… after everything, you still forgave her, didn't you?"
It's way too quiet in the mind.
Somehow the silence is even worse than the begging and pleading that used to come whenever they gave Andrias his orders for the next attack.
It's becoming unsettling to the point of the Core being completely unable to function. Something had to be done about this.
It orders Andrias to withdraw the mining operation from the shoreline and have the corrosive chemicals purified from nearby water sources, giving an excuse about the corrosive chemicals damaging valuable equipment.
Marcy's confusion turns into surprise and joy as the last traces of the toxic residue are cleaned, allowing new plant life to take root.
Olivia is even more baffled, but she doesn't complain. Marcy almost squeals from delight seeing Olivia watch the ecosystem heal.
The next walk on the sand is far more satisfying than the last one.
The puddles on the ground no longer sting if contact is made. The oxygen tank that was needed last time can be temporarily removed. The air is clean enough to keep an injured set of lungs breathing for a short amount of time. Darcy takes a deep breath and it notices the air smells like salt instead of fire.
The sunlight is warm and wonderful. For a moment, just for a moment, that's all it needs to feel victorious.
A small broken shell washes ashore. The soft orange-pink that once filled the inside was long bleached by the chemicals that tainted the water for too long, but there's something still worth examining. The inside of the shell is a tight spiral with perfectly smooth walls that now shine white.
Broken, but still worth finding.
The attack on Earth is still failing. Every fight, every new strategy, every mechanical upgrade is foiled again.
The Heart somehow beats them every time. The Core doesn't know how. Heart isn't a military leader like Strength and the bearer of Wit is no longer able to fight for her. What can this human possibly have that's being overlooked?
Still, maybe it's a good thing that Heart is alive and fighting. After what happened when Strength's eyesight was damaged, both host and Core dread the next injury.
The larvae in the underground plant room are pupating. They're no longer interesting to watch, but Marcy doesn't think so. She is completely fascinated with each chrysalis, counting them and watching the few remaining caterpillars pick a spot to continue their metamorphosis.
Back in the tank, the host is hallucinating again—dreaming, it's called dreaming. She seems trapped in the moments before Heart returned to her home universe.
The memory of the host's death is painful to watch. The desperation is too much to process.
It takes an immense mental effort to wake her up, but it was worth it. Both Yunan and Olivia are quickly summoned.
Marcy is comforted and her heartbeat slows down. The Core wonders if they each felt her fear, long ago when they were separate. Did each one of them collapse to the floor, desperate and in pain? There are no memories of that time, but it's somehow familiar.
The Core is certain that back when it was a selection of individuals who most likely never even met, each death came after decades of life.
Marcy is barely older than a tadpole.
Strength destroys the latest mechanical battalion all too easily. Andrias threatens the engineers and orders them to find whatever caused the defective design.
He doesn't know he's looking in the wrong place for his problem. Darcy had quietly altered the digital blueprints, installing a defective weapon on each of the robots sent to invade Wartwood.
Strength seems to have adapted to having only one eye. Her fighting style has changed, but her persistence has not.
Marcy thinks about her constantly. She wonders if Heart and Strength hate her, despite constantly being told by Olivia, Yunan and those who share her mind that they do not.
The chrysalises in the basement changed color. Marcy is ecstatic, talking about a new generation of butterflies and filling the long rejuvenation treatments with endless information about insects from her world.
She misses her journal. It's filled with pages of notes, drawings and scientific research about every living thing she encountered on her adventures.
Marcy truly loved Amphibia. She would have been content to stay there, never returning home. She could have been an explorer. Instead she was a prisoner.
All this to undo the prophecy of the Heart, Strength and Wit. The fight to reverse the prophecy would only become more extreme if it went on.
But if the prophecy was allowed to happen—
Would it be so bad?
Darcy uses a sharp blade to cut through the chains, letting the Moss Man stand up and move. The newly emerged butterflies gather around the two figures. A rush of excitement fills Darcy, who leads the legendary creature and his butterfly followers up the stairs.
Free of his chains, the creature would assist Lady Olivia with restoring all of the damage to the land. Andrias would soon be removed from the throne and General Yunan would be ready to subdue any attempt at a mutiny.
Darcy stood by the broken window and watched the butterflies fly out into the open sky. Little dots of blue shimmered against the shining sun.
Today the butterflies would fly free.
