Hope, it is both a fragile, and yet, extraordinarily powerful emotion. Through all the pain, through all the sorrow and strife, hope is the one thing that drives all living beings to continue to strive for a better future, for an outcome where all will be well. There have been many throughout history who have embodied the very power of hope and have used it to move the masses. To bring about great change and sow the seeds of a new age. It was those seeds of hope that one particular Blue Lantern was searching for. Reaching out past the stars of his own universe, and through the Blue Light of Hope, peering into another universe. One that knew not of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, a universe that as far he could tell, had no heroes. At least, not the ones that he was familiar with.
This universe, rather, the Earth where this universe resided in, seemed to be in the midst of a great battle for its survival. But one that is also tied to the survival of another world, in another universe. The Lantern could sense it, the emotions of Avarice and Fear, a being that encapsulated these two powerful negative emotions, and threatened to swallow up all worlds in its power. But there were those who fought against the evil, who despite the odds saw to it that they were not going to be beaten by it. One of the many who led the charge against this evil entity was a human teenage girl.
She had a rather large head of hair but had a flame of hope that burned inside of her heart, along with another power that almost resonated with his own. Her flame of hope burned so bright that those around her burned with the same flames of hope within their hearts. She inspired great hope in them, a truly worthy candidate for the Corps.
The Blue Lantern raised his right hand, showing his ring, and a moment after doing so, it flashed bright blue before splitting into a second ring.
"Fly true, my friend. For when the one I have seen requires your power. As I, Saint Walker, deem her worthy of beginning the Corps. anew in her world."
The blue ring rose into the air before turning into pure blue light and speeding off far beyond this universe…
(Universe 35558, present…)
The invasion had been halted, and thanks to the efforts Anne, Sasha, the Amphibians, Mr. X, and her parents, the casualties were kept down to the barest of minimums. Collateral damage notwithstanding, what with Anne's one-v-one with Andrias's mech suit thing. Still, there was a lot to be thankful for right now. Sasha had received a rather nasty injury to her back. The blonde winced here and there, but assured Anne and Marcy that she was alright, aside from a slight tingly sensation in her legs. Grime had lost his arm, and after a quick patch up, they managed to stem the bleeding and save his life. He was a tough toad, so losing a limb wasn't going to take him down that easily, his concern was saved more for Sasha than himself after seeing her injury.
Marcy was still recovering, at least mentally. It was going to take a bit for her to come to grips with everything "Darcy" and the Core did while they were using her body as a meat puppet. There was a noticeable concern from Marcy when she noticed her blood was green instead of red. Andrias had informed her it was due to the Core and Darcy making changes to Marcy's body to make her a more suitable host for them. The former king of Amphibia assured her that the effects were not permanent, and given a couple of months and proper hydration, her blood would return to its original pigmentation. Other than that, Marcy didn't feel like she had any other changes made to her body.
Before they could go back, Marcy wanted to get out of the Core armor. Thankfully, her old Night Guard and school uniform was among the personal items that Darcy didn't throw out. Anne and Sasha stood guard on either side of the door while Marcy changed out of that armor.
"Really glad that you're back, Mar-Mar," said Anne.
"Same. Honestly, for a second, I thought I…" Sasha hugged herself, recalling the moment she severed the connection between the helmet and Marcy's body. "When Darcy said, 'Do you realize what you have just done', I thought…I killed her…I killed Marcy…"
Marcy stopped partway through removing the armor and said, "But you didn't, Sasha. And if it was a choice between…me dying…and being host to that thing, I'd rather choose the former."
"Well, it didn't happen. You're alive, everyone's alive. And I had no doubts that you'd be okay, Marcy," Anne remarked.
"What makes you say that, Anne?" Marcy inquired.
Anne shrugged and replied, "I dunno. Call it 'faith', a feeling, or just plain hope that everything would be alright in the end. That's all it was."
Sasha chuckled a little.
"Hope, that's it, huh? Sounds about right for you, Boonchuy. You had hope that we could repair what was broken between the three of us, and despite everything I did in the past, you trusted me to lead the Resistance army alongside you."
"Well, after my disastrous first mission, yeah, no question who needed to lead. Gotta play to my strengths, dude," Anne remarked.
Marcy giggled upon hearing their banter.
"I'm just happy that you two aren't angry at each other, or at least, you managed to move past it. And…I know you guys might take a bit to even forgive me, but I'm willing to wait and give you guys as much time as you need," said Marcy.
Anne and Sasha glanced at each other and smiled.
"We don't need that long, Marce," said Sasha.
"We forgive you. After all of this, if anything, life's too short to hold grudges." Anne eyes shifted to Sasha, and then briefly to where Marcy was. "Especially for those you love."
Sasha and Marcy couldn't help but let their faces go red for a moment. Anne was still trying to figure some things out about herself, about how she really felt about Sasha and Marcy. Was it weird to have a crush on two girls at once? Did she like Marcy and Sasha like that? Did they like her like that?
"Speaking of 'love', damn, your dark alter ego had it bad for Anne, Marce," Sasha mentioned.
Anne deadpanned.
"Oh…yeah…Darcy's unhealthy obsession with me. That's something I'm not getting over any time soon," Anne replied.
"Ugh…tell me she didn't do anything too cringy?" Marcy asked with dread.
"Let's see, before the invasion kicked off, she proposed to me."
"WHAT?!"
"Yeah, and she brought out this…" Sasha blushed as she rubbed the back of her head, "revealing, 'queenly', attire as she called it."
Marcy's eyes widened at the idea of what that could've meant.
Sasha had a teasing expression on her face as she asked, "So, how much of that was just the Darcy and how much was our little Mar-Mar letting out her NSFW side?"
"SASHA!" Anne and Marcy shouted.
"What? Just asking, 'cause I don't want to say that Darcy has good taste, and I'd much rather compliment Marcy's taste if that turns out to be the case."
Anne's face turned a bright shade of crimson, at the same time, Marcy buried her face in her cape, trying to hide her own crimson glowing face.
"Okay, teasing over. Sorry, girls, just thought I'd lighten the mood a little."
Anne and Marcy let out long sighs, but their faces still burned.
Maybe when things have calmed down, we can…discuss this, Anne thought.
After Marcy got back into her original outfit, the trio returned to the throne room/control room. From there, they contacted Anne's parents and informed them of their next move. Once all parties were informed, the castle used the power of the Calamity Box to rip a hole in time and space, allowing the entire floating structure to pass through the portal and on its way back to Amphibia.
(Amphibia – Universe 35557)
The battles were still raging on Amphibia, with the Resistance Army launching a counteroffensive to try and retake the city in an attempt to try and help their comrades who were taken to Earth. The members of the Resistance hoped that there would be something there that could help them reach Earth and lend aid to their friends. Thankfully, their prayers were answered when a tear in space opened above the city. All the robots and Resistance Army fighters paused as they watched the floating fortress exit the portal. Then the castle wobbled back and forth a few times before basically crashing in the water to the left of Newtopia, missing the mark entirely.
"Boom! Nailed it!" Polly exclaimed.
Everyone had fallen into a pile thanks to Polly's…less than stellar driving skills.
"Whose bright idea was it to let Polly drive the huge floating castle?" Sasha questioned.
"You try saying no to those big eyes next time," Anne snarked.
After picking themselves up, everyone moved towards the balcony that overlooked the battlefield. Frobo brought Andrias along to the archway, and from there, the former king waved his hand. Immediately upon doing so, the remainder of the robot army all shut down, those who were engaged in combat immediately froze mid attack and then collapsed into the water. Many of the Resistance Army fighters looked around confused, but then turned their attention to the castle's balcony when they heard a voice call out to them.
"PEOPLE OF AMPHIBIA!" Lady Olivia cried out. "THE WAR IS OVER! ANDRIAS AND DARCY HAVE BEEN DEFEATED! THE MUSIC BOX IS BACK UNDER OUR CONTROL AND THE EARTH IS SAFE! WE ARE VICTORIUS!"
The sounds of cheering echoed throughout the battlefield, signaling the end of thousand-year tyranny of the Leviathan clan.
Sasha sighed as she leaned against the railing and said, "Guess we didn't need that prophecy after all."
Marcy's eyes bugged out of her skull as she stared at Sasha with shock.
"Prophecy?!" Marcy immediately grabbed Sasha's shoulders and shook the blonde. "WHAT PROPHECY?!"
"M-M-Marcy! I-I'm going to throw up!" Sasha warned.
"Three stars burning bright. Come from beyond to expel the night."
Anne, Sasha, Marcy, Sprig, Polly, Hop Pop, Yunan, Olivia, Grime, Frobo, and Andrias all froze when they heard that familiar voice.
"Should they fight or embrace the fall. Their choice will determine the fate of all…"
Everyone immediately turned around and were shocked to see none other than Marcy…well…not exactly "Marcy", rather Darcy herself. The others had done a double take, glancing between the exact duplicate of Marcy and the original. The duplicate was wrapped in her black and red cape, her hair was wet, along with the rest of her body, as if she had just come out of the shower. Her irises were like glowing, fiery orange embers, with yellow pupils glowing in the center. And in the duplicate's hands was the Calamity Box.
"N-No way…it-it can't be!" Marcy shouted.
"What's the matter? Didn't think we had a backup plan in case of something like this?" Darcy mocked.
Yunan glared at Andrias as she flexed her wrists and had her blades come out.
"Damn you, Andrias! You were deceiving us again!" Yunan accused.
"No, I had no idea!" Andrias retorted.
Darcy chuckled as she remarked, "Don't bother with that dolt. Of course, he had no idea. Like I'd tell him about the clone."
"B-B-BUT WHY?! WHY MAKE A CLONE OF ME?!" Marcy yelled.
Darcy chuckled as she put on a coy smile.
"Well, two reasons. First: in case certain modifications didn't work and your original body got too damaged, this was meant to be a backup. The second reason: well, depending on what I did to the original body, having this second to hop into for more personal reasons, would be better."
Marcy shuddered and hugged herself, feeling violated all over again.
"It's been fun, but now that I have this body, and the music box. I'll take my leave! Don't worry, Savisa. One day soon I'll be back to claim you as my betrothed!"
"NO!" Anne shouted. "YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!"
Darcy quickly tapped on the gemstones, but as she did so, Anne transformed into her Calamity State and dashed across the room. Out of desperation, Anne reached out with her right hand and grabbed ahold of the Heart Calamity Gem. The moment she did, a bright flash of light went off, blinding everyone inside. Anne was sent flying backwards, but thanks to still being in her Calamity State, the Thai teen corrected herself midair and came to a skidding halt, stopping in front of her allies.
"ANNE!" they yelled.
"Are you okay?!" Hop Pop asked.
"Yeah, I think." Anne opened her right hand and that's when she saw the Heart Calamity Gem in her hand. "What about Darcy?!"
Everyone looked towards where Darcy was, but unfortunately, she was not there anymore.
"Did…Did she get vaporized?" Sasha asked with a hopeful tone.
"Either that or she ducked out of here during the flash," Sprig said.
"We have to find her!" Olivia stated. "She's an amalgamation of the Core and Marcy, so she no doubt has more than enough knowledge about the castle to not only hide but gather enough resources to stage some counterattack."
"Let's get the Resistance Army to help us, we'll scour the entire castle top to bottom!" Yunan suggested.
"Uh, guys, I don't think we need to look too far," Polly spoke up.
"Why's that?" Marcy inquired.
"'Cause the moon's coming down, and it has a billion eyes staring down at us."
"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!"
Darcy appeared in a flash of light, and then dropped down five feet out of the air and onto a metal floor. The clone growled angrily as she managed to get herself onto her hands and knees, glaring at the music box as it now only glowed with two gemstones instead of three.
"Dammit, Savisa, you are really trying my patience! I won't be able to leave this universe without the third gemstone. Oh, well, no matter. At least the box had enough energy with two gems to bring me here," said Darcy.
The clone grabbed the music box and waved her hand. Immediately, glowing circuit board patterns appeared over the metal floor, and continued to spread out in all directions. The metal paneling of the floor began to shift, and that's when a sphere-like chair appeared. Darcy waved her hand again, making it open to allow her to sit down in it. Once she had sat down, several tentacles attached to the lower half of the sphere, glowing as energy was fed into it. Inside the chair was a keyboard apparatus with multiple buttons, and a holographic screen formed in front of Darcy. A pedestal formed below the music box, and as soon as it made contact with the box, the magenta and green gemstones started to glow. Their energy quickly fed into the entire structure.
"Oh, Savisa, as much I would love to have you. I cannot afford to keep playing these little games with you. I'll take you and rip that power from your body even if it kills you! Afterwards, I'll make a few clones of you, Anne! I'll have my own personal Anne harem, completely devoted me! Why settle for just one when I can have two. Or three, or five, or ten?! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The power continued to flow through the entire darkened area, now lighting up the interior to reveal a giant control station. Outside of the windows to the station were hundreds of squirming mechanical monstrosities, each of them releasing unholy robotic screeches and shrieks. Like beasts from a forgotten time that were itching to unleash their fury upon the unsuspecting mortals below.
"Don't worry my pets, you're all about to have some fun very soon."
Everyone piled onto the balcony and looked up to see Amphibia's moon now descending towards them. The moon's red surface had lost its rocky appearance, and had now become metallic, and all along its surface were several mechanical eyes that matched that of Core's original mechanical body, with one large eye at the center.
"Oh no…" Andrias uttered. "It appears the Core, or rather, Darcy, has activated their final gambit."
Anne looked back at Andrias asked, "And what kind of gambit is it?!"
"Back during Amphibia's technological peak, the moon had served as a base for some of the Core's more…interesting experiments. And one of them was turning the moon itself into a super weapon. Something that would destroy the planet should the inhabitants try to overcome and destroy it…and it seems Darcy has just activated it…" Andrias explained.
Anne couldn't believe it, Darcy, the Core, they were going to ram the entire moon into Amphibia and kill every single living thing on it. And without the music box, they had no way of restoring Sasha and Marcy's powers, or even using it to move the populace to Earth. It'd be a last-ditch effort sort of deal, but at least it would've been an option. Suddenly, the Resistance Army fighters below started to make more worried sounds, and for some reason, it looked as if the ground was shaking.
"Now what?!" Anne complained.
"Maybe the moon's proximity to the planet is causing a tectonic event!" Marcy explained.
Everyone looked at the Taiwanese girl and went, "Whaaaaaaat?"
"The gravity and mass of the moon is causing earthquakes the closer it gets," she clarified.
However, it was soon made clear that the tectonic event was not caused by the approaching moon. Out from the ground burst forth the ancient leader of the olms, Mother Olm. The great old olm rose higher and higher until she was now towering over the army, and once she was spotted, the others hopped on Domino 2 and Joe Sparrow to go down to the wise olm, hoping that she may know of a way to stop this madness. Once they arrived at the ground level, along with Andrias who was carried down by Frobo, Anne, Sasha, and Marcy ran up to Mother Olm.
"OH, THERE YOU ARE. SO, HOW DID IT GO?" Mother Olm asked.
"Well, we stopped the invasion, and saved the Earth," Sprig explained.
"MMM-HMM, GOOD SO FAR."
"Then the Core and Darcy decided to pull a giant middle finger 'FU' to everyone on Amphibia, and now the moon's about to crash into the planet and kill us all," Sasha finished.
Mother Olm turned her head towards the sky and blinked as if just now noticing the moon.
"OH, I WAS WONDERING WHAT THAT WAS ABOUT. THEN IT SEEMS THE PROPHECY HAS FINALLY COME TO PASS!" Mother Olm declared.
"The prophecy about us fighting to expel the Night, right? But we can't!" Marcy explained. "Darcy, the Core, the Night, they took the music box!"
Mother Olm's expression immediately fell upon hearing as she uttered a loud, "WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THEY TOOK THE BOX? I CAN SENSE ITS ENERGY."
Anne held out her right hand and presented the Heart Calamity Gem to the giant olm.
"I only managed to grab my gemstone, but the box still has Sasha and Marcy's gems…" Anne said. "I don't know if it'll be enough, but maybe if I fuse with the rest of the energy in the gem, maybe I can stop Darcy and the Core!"
"It is indeed possible to return the full powers of the gem to you, Anne. But I fear that it may not be enough."
"AAAAAAAH!" Everyone yelled.
Without warning, or even a sound, Valeriana appeared out of nowhere. Now standing beside Anne and making the Thai teen jump and nearly lose her gemstone in the process.
"Valeriana?! How did – when did – You know what, never mind. Can you put the gem's powers back inside of me?" Anne asked.
"I can child. But as a I said, I do not believe that you alone will have the power to defeat this evil. Not without the aid of your friends and the other two Calamity powers," Valeriana warned.
"It's still better than nothing! We have to try something!" Anne urged.
Valeriana nodded in agreement, the young human girl had shown an uncanny knack for bringing about miracles and surprises. Hopefully, a miracle will occur one more time.
"Stand back everyone!" Valeriana ordered.
Everyone backed away several feet, giving Anne and Valeriana a wide berth. Anne held out the gemstone with both her hands and closed her eyes.
"Concentrate on your memories of this world, Anne. Remember the feelings of warmth and love you have towards those who reside here. These will help you to fully resonate with your powers and restore that which was once yours!"
Valeriana twirled her staff around and pointed it right at the gemstone. A beam of blue light shot out of the staff and struck the Heart Calamity Gem. That same beam caused the gemstone to glow brighter and brighter before another shot towards Anne from the gemstone. The beam struck the center of her chest, causing Anne's hair to instantly transform into its spikey blue state. Branches grew from her hair, as leaves multiplied and shined with a greater brilliance than they had before. The beam continued to funnel the energy into Anne, and as it did, the gemstone started to rapidly lose its luster.
Cracks started to form along the surface of the gemstone until the gem completely lost all its color and shattered in Anne's hands. Anne snapped her eyes open, revealing that her irises were no longer the dark brown they normally were, but were glowing blue. Anne could easily tell the difference between when she had just a fragment of the power inside of her. The full power of the Heart Calamity Gem was coursing through her body and energizing her and burning away any of the fatigue she had from the battle she had with Andrias. And while it was a massive step up from the power she was using before, Anne could tell that it wasn't what they needed.
No, it had to be enough. Ignoring the looks of her friends and comrades, Anne powered up and took off into the sky. She appeared as a blue streak of light that ascended higher and higher into the sky. However, the higher she got, the harder it was getting to breathe. The Calamity power was sustaining her, but it wasn't going to be enough for her to break from the atmosphere, let alone survive for too long if she got too much higher.
There's gotta be something I can do! C'mon, Anne, think! Think! Anne sensed something and immediately looked up into the sky. What the heck is that?
Suddenly, a huge robotic monstrosity came plummeting from the upper atmosphere. The huge automaton had a crustacean lower half, with six sharp mechanical legs, a mouth with razor sharp teeth, two huge eyes, and two smaller ones above its brow. The upper half of the robot connected the crustacean half and had a vertically positioned mouth, which also had sharp teeth. The machine's broad chest had two large eyes around the pectoral area, and a dome shaped head with four sharp eyes, and a crown of four horns. The machine's arms were big, almost as big as its body.
"Oh…CRUD!" Anne exclaimed.
The behemoth of a robot cocked back its right fist and threw a skyscraper sized punch straight at Anne. Unfortunately, due to the speed of its descent, and the momentum behind it, the punch had much more power and strength behind it than it normally would be able to generate. Anne wasn't a rocket scientist, but she didn't need to be to know that if that thing hit the ground at the speed it was going, it'd be nothing short of a meteor hitting the surface, it'd kill everyone before the moon got a chance to do it.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIENDS!"
Anne focused the power inside of her and formed a huge shield out in front of her. The robot's fist impacted against the shield, causing a huge shockwave to erupt through the entire sky. Anne gritted her teeth as she felt the heat, force, and weight of the machine's punch bear down on her. Unfortunately, this was decreasing her altitude with each passing second. Anne focused harder, she had to slow them down or else the impact would still manage to kill everyone below. Everyone braced as they watched Anne and the robot about to crash into the earth.
But at the last second, Anne released a burst of her energy, creating a counter force that slowed them down just enough for the crash to be nonlethal to everyone, but still managed to knock a great number of them on their rears. Even Mother Olm wasn't spared as she was thrown to the ground with a great big splash. Every newt, frog, toad, and olm groaned, feeling like their bones had been bruised from the shockwave of the crash.
Sasha coughed as she looked around, trying to see through the dust that had been kicked up around them as she cried out, "ANNE! ANNE, WHERE ARE YOU?! ANNE!"
Marcy splashed some water in her eyes, trying to get the dust particles out of them as she too yelled, "ANNE! PLEASE, ANSWER US! ANNE!"
Through the dust, they could faintly make out a blue glow amidst the dust. Sasha and Marcy were about to call out to their friend but paused as their faces widened in horror as the dust cleared up. Anne was holding out her right hand, the shield she had created was still standing, but was severely cracked, and chipped. Her right leg was bruised and bloodied, matching her left arm which hung limply at her side. Anne was panting hard, trying to maintain the shield, even as the mecha behemoth continued to press its huge fist against the shield. The others managed to get back onto their feet, and followed the gazes of the two teenagers to where Anne was.
{Ooh, that looks really painful my dear Savisa,} Darcy mocked from the robot's speakers.
"Heh…this…this is nothing," Anne retorted. "Guess you're not concerned about the Heart Gem's power anymore?"
{Oh, don't think I didn't notice the spike in energy from you, Savisa. But don't think that's going to be enough. Even with the full power of the Heart Calamity Gem, you're still woefully underpowered. You may be able to tear apart some of my robots, but not all of them. And you certainly won't' be able to stop the falling moon. But I can still spare you, Savisa.}
The behemoth mech's right fist crackled with orange lightning, releasing an energy burst that struck against Anne's shield.
{Swear to be mine. Swear to give me all the power you have inside of you. And I'll bring you up here, we'll live together in bliss and power for all our lives and beyond! We'll be eternal, my love! Or…I wear you down and take the power from your worn-out body and have you die with the rest of these maggots. Your choice.}
Anne chuckled as she responded, "Gee, those both sound so good…but I think I'll take option 'C'. Kicking your ass and saving everyone!"
The eyes on the behemoth mech narrowed.
{I wish I could say I was disappointed, but I figured that would be your response. But you can't fault a girl for trying. Now, be a good girl, Anne, and fall!}
The behemoth mech raised its left arm and transformed it into a cannon which was now charging up with energy. Anne tried to stand up, but the pain of her injured right leg prevented her from doing so. It was then that she glanced off to her right and saw the many frightened faces of her friends and comrades. All of them were looking to Anne as their last hope. Anne's body suddenly ignited with blue energy, the young teen released a loud battle cry and focused it into the shield as she fired off a burst of her energy, sending the behemoth mech stumbling backwards as it accidentally discharged its cannon into the air. Anne furrowed her brow as she rose into the air and glared down at the machine.
"I'm not done yet. So long as I'm alive, so long as this power burns inside of me, I won't give up! No matter how dark the night gets, I'll believe there is a dawn coming!" Anne got into a ready stance as her power started to heal her damaged limbs. "I'll fight you with everything I have, even with my last breath!"
{THEN WE'LL MAKE YOU DRAW YOUR LAST BREATH!}
Just as the behemoth mech rose to fight, a bright flash of blue light erupted between Anne and the machine. The light created a shockwave that pushed the mech farther and farther back until it struck a hill in the distance and imbedded itself in it. A large blue sphere now engulfed Anne, and despite the sudden appearance of the sphere, Anne didn't feel fearful of it. Within the sphere, Anne watched as a blue ring slowly approached her and stopped a foot in front of her. The ring had a strange symbol in the center of it, one that wasn't Amphibian.
"What's going on?" Anne questioned.
{Anne Boonchuy of Earth. You have the ability to inspire great hope.}
"Whoa, okay, are you talking to me?"
{I am, Sister Anne. You have been chosen to join the ranks of a small but privileged few. To wield the power of the Blue Light of Hope, and shine its light in the darkness, and to light the fire of hope in others. Your unwavering hope despite such great and terrible odds, are the qualities that comprise a Blue Lantern. Will you take up this power, Sister Anne? Are you willing to become the beacon of hope that is needed? And show the those hoping for a brighter day that in spite of the overwhelming odds, that all will be well?}
Anne didn't hesitate as she reached out towards the ring.
"If it means I can save my friends, and stop Darcy and the Core, then let's do it!"
{Welcome to Blue Lantern Corps.}
The blue ring gently slipped itself over Anne's middle finger, and upon doing so, Anne felt a new surge of power rushing through her young body. Her armor and school uniform suddenly disappeared as blue light layered over her body.
The light then transformed into a black body suit, which was then followed by blue boots forming over her feet and lower legs. Her hands remained uncovered as bracers formed over her forearms that matched the color of the boots. A chest plate formed that covered her upper body, while one strip ran down the middle and formed a looping belt with two dials on the side that had two light-blue ribbons flowing out of them. At the center of the chest plate was the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps., glowing brightly against a black backdrop. A mantle formed over her shoulders and covered most of her upper body, it was hard to determine whether the material was a solid or made of energy as it glowed bright blue. Anne's hair no longer had the leaves and branches in it, but instead it was long and straight, and glowed with an even greater brilliance than it did before, as if the ring magnified that brilliance. The same could be said of Anne's eyes, they practically sparkled with blue energy now.
The behemoth mech managed to tear itself out of the hill it was in and formed a bigger cannon by linking its two arms together. Once it took aim the mech fired a huge column sized beam at the sphere. The orange and yellow beam smashed itself against the sphere of blue light, but the sphere showed no signs of breaking or buckling.
{Unknown Energy Detected. Synergizing with unknown energy. Synergy complete. All functions – including combat – have been unlocked.}
Suddenly, the blue sphere swirled around, and then fired a bigger beam than the mech's. The beam easily pushed back the behemoth mech's beam attack, following it all the way back to its point of origin. Darcy's robot didn't have time to disengage as the blue beam completely washed over the mech and obliterated it on the spot.
After the beam dissipated, everyone turned their attention back to where the sphere was. When they looked, it was gone, and in its place was Anne, arm outstretched and pointed in the direction where the mech once was. Her injuries had been completely healed, and she was no longer in any pain. To the people below, Anne looked like a guardian angel descending from the heavens as she floated towards them.
"Are you guys alright?" Anne asked.
"Are we alright?! Anne, what the heck happened to you?!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Not sure how to explain that." Anne's attention was quickly diverted back to the moon looming overhead. "And right now, we don't have time to ask questions. All I know is, I have the power to stop Darcy and the Core! I'll see you guys in a minute!"
Before anyone could ask anything more, Anne took off faster than a rocket. Her body appeared as a streak of blue light that soon became a blue star that was rapidly approaching the moon.
Mother Olm bent down and said to Valeriana, "I DON'T REMEMBER THIS BEING A PART OF THE PROPHECY."
"Indeed, it is not. What we are witnessing, old friend, is a creation of a new legend."
Anne was honestly excited, she was moving much faster, and ascending higher than she had before. She wasn't getting short of breath, if anything, she was breathing just fine.
"I don't get it, how is this possible?"
{Interstellar travel, life support, and flight are but a few of my basic functions, Sister Anne.}
"Sweet – whoa!" Once Anne escaped the atmosphere, she now noticed the absurd number of giant robots that were now gathered out in front of the moon. "Uh, so, I kinda just came out here with no idea of how I was going to fight against these things…any advice?"
{I have the ability to manifest hard-light constructs of whatever you can imagine, Sister Anne. So long as your hope shines strongly in your heart, I can bring them to life.}
"Whatever I can imagine, huh?"
Anne thrusted her right hand into the air as the ring released a brilliant flash of blue light, forcing the many mech monsters to shut their eyes for fear of their optical sensors getting overloaded. When the light faded, the robots, and their master, couldn't believe what they saw. It was a giant humanoid being, easily big enough to match any one of the robots in size. The construct had baggy pants with intricate patterns outlined in a brighter shade of blue and was barefoot. The construct had a breast plate that covered her upper torso but left her midriff exposed. Upon the breast plate was the glowing symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps., along with vine and leaf patterns etched into the armor.
The construct had six arms, the two main ones were in a prayer position, while the upper arms and lower arms were either clenched into fists or opened and flat. The construct's face looked like an older version of Anne, and its hair was wavy and made of intense blue light. The construct also possessed an ornate headband, and inside the crystal at the center of the headband was Anne herself, with her hands matching the same prayer position as the main arms.
"YOU CANNOT STOP US!"
"That's what you think!"
The giant robot army released hideous mechanical shrieks as they all charged straight for construct. Anne summoned six tennis rackets into each of her hands, and as soon as she was armed, construct tennis balls began to form around her one after the other. Hundreds upon thousands of large construct tennis balls popped into existence, all of them ready to be launched. Anne released a loud battle cry which the construct mimicked as the construct began smacking each of the construct tennis balls one after the other in rapid fire succession.
A barrage of blue comets was launched from where the multiarmed construct was. Each of the robots were incinerated in the explosions, setting off a chain of explosions that formed the letters "A", "C", and "E". The two big chunks of the robotic army split off and were now in flanking positions on either side of the Anne Avatar. One of the robots, which looked like a robotic sea lamprey, managed to coil itself around the Anne Avatar and released a loud hiss as it opened its mouth of rotating sharp teeth.
The Anne Avatar only smirked as it flexed all its arms and immediately pushed the lamprey mech off. The Anne Avatar grabbed ahold of the lamprey mech and began twirling it around like a huge club as she sped towards an incoming group on her left. The Anne Avatar gripped the lamprey mech with all three of her left hands and smashed straight through another monster mech, cleaving it in half. The lamprey mech was badly damaged, but still usable to beat something else with. That something else tried to come up behind the Anne Avatar, but Anne was quick enough to spin around and smash the lamprey mech into the side of its head, creating a huge indention and tearing apart the lamprey mech in the process.
Five more started to swarm her, but the Anne Avatar began throwing lightning-fast straights, hooks, and uppercuts. Each impact created a lotus pattern that remained in space for a few seconds before disappearing. When the Anne Avatar was done, all five exploded at the same time. The Anne Avatar bolted from the explosions and formed six swords, the construct hurriedly zipped through hordes of machines and slashed through each one of them. Her blades easily carved through them like a hot knife through butter, causing them to explode after a delayed reaction. Many of the robots began opening fire on the Anne Avatar, but each time they did, the Anne Avatar would either dodge or use its swords to deflect the beam attacks back the robots who fired them. This resulted in dozens of explosions igniting the space between the planet and the moon.
The Anne Avatar stopped for a moment as all six swords' blades started to glow brighter and brighter. The construct shot straight up, getting as high as she could until she was over the robotic monsters. Once at the desired height, the Anne Avatar slashed the space out in front of it, creating a huge crescent blade that sailed down towards the robots. Anne slashed again, and again, and again, slashing a total of twelve times and sending down huge crescents of blue light that destroyed several robots at once.
"ALRIGHT! That's the last of them, now I just need to–!"
{Warning! High energy reading detected from enemy satellite!}
"What?!"
Anne looked back at the moon and saw that the huge center eye was starting to glow brighter and brighter.
{I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF POWER YOU'VE TAPPED INTO SAVISA! BUT LET'S SEE IF YOU CAN MANAGE TO PROTECT THE PLANET FROM THIS!}
The Anne Avatar hurriedly placed itself between the planet and the moon, and with the power of the Heart Calamity and blue power ring, Anne created a huge shield, as big as she could imagine. It was just in time as the center eye of the Core Moon fired a massive energy beam that swiftly crossed the distance and slammed against Anne's shield. Anne reeled from the impact but managed to hold on. She couldn't afford to let her shield break; the beam alone would completely destroy the planet if she let it go through. But there was something else in this beam, something that resonated with her Calamity powers.
No way! Darcy's funneling the other two gemstones' powers into this attack!
{Warning, power levels at 50%.}
"Power levels?! Are you kidding me?! You mean you don't have infinite energy?!"
{Regrettably, Sister Anne, I do not. Warning, hope decreasing.}
"I'm not down and out yet! I'm not giving up!" Anne retorted.
{No, Sister Anne, your hope is still strong. I am detecting the hope of the planet.}
"No way…they can't be…Is there anything we can do to stop this thing?"
{Hope. The power of the Blue Light of Hope is the power to bring about miracles. Use the power of the blue light to speak to them. Gather their hope, and with it, you may bring about a miracle, Sister Anne. Open your heart and speak to them.}
Open my heart, huh? Anne gently placed her hands over her heart as she closed her eyes. I can do that…
Down below, on the planet's surface, everyone watched with anxiety, some hope, but also fear. They could see Anne's struggle against the robots, and watched as she wiped out a lot of them, but then the Core Moon fired that huge beam. The very same beam that Anne was now currently blocking. They had seen some impossible things already, but they weren't sure just how many more lucky breaks they would get before their luck ran out.
"I hate this," said Marcy. "Anne's fighting alone up there, and we can't do anything to help!"
"I know…I know," Sasha remarked. "I hate it too, Marce, but we have to trust that Anne can do it."
"I wish we could go up there, she needs our help," Sprig stated.
"Everyone…can you hear me?"
"It's like I can hear her right now," Sprig lamented.
"Wait, Ah did hear her," Hop Pop mentioned.
"You too? I thought I was going crazy," said Polly.
"Everyone…please listen to me."
"Holy crap, it's Anne!" Sasha exclaimed.
It wasn't just the girls or the Plantars, but it seemed as if everyone was hearing Anne's voice. But unbeknownst to them, everyone also included every frog, toad, newt, olm, and even every single living creature on the planet. Both those that lived upon the land and deep below the waters.
"I know you think this situation is unwinnable. Even with the power I have, you might feel like I can't win. But please don't lose hope! The Core and Darcy believe that they are inevitable, that no matter what we do, we're just pawns. Things to be replaced, expendable assets!
But no one is expendable!
The Core covets the power of the Calamity Gems and have done so for more than a thousand years, pillaging and conquering other universes in order to make themselves feel like a superior being!
They wasted all that time focusing on what they believe is Amphibia's greatest treasure, but let me tell you, the gems are NOT Amphibia's greatest treasure!
It's all of you!
Please, everyone, look to the sky! That blue shining star is the light of hope!
Focus all your hope on that light and believe!
Believe with all your hearts that ALL WILL BE WELL!"
Everyone heard Anne's words, but could it really be so simple? Just to hope that everything will be alright, that they'll survive this ordeal and see the light of day?
Marcy furrowed her brow and raised her right hand towards the sky, pointing it towards the blue shining star that was protecting them all with her life. As soon as she did this, blue particles of light started to leave her hand and rapidly made their way to the blue star overhead.
"Anne, I believe!" Marcy declared.
Sasha smiled as she raised her hand alongside Marcy's and shouted, "I believe!"
"Anne, I believe in you!" Sprig announced as he pointed his hand to the sky.
"Ah believe in ya too, Anne!"
"Same here, Anne! I know you won't lose to that thing!" Polly yelled.
Yunan raised her right hand at the same time as Lady Olivia, Grime followed suit, and beside him was Beatrix, his sister. Surprisingly, she too raised her hand into the air.
"Gone on an' win this, lass! We're with ya all the way!"
"I expect nothing less from my number one student, Anne! Show this evil that we are not so easily intimidated!" Tritonio said.
One after the other, the Resistance Army started to raise their hands towards the sky. Ivy, Maddie, Toadie, Toadstool, Croaker, Loggle, Lysil and Angwin, Duckweed, Soggy Joe, Wally, Stumpy, Fern, Mr. Flour, Chuck, heck, even Domino 2 was raising a paw to the sky, along with Joe Sparrow doing the same with his wing. But it wasn't just the Resistance Army, the newts of Newtopia were doing the same. Pricilla and her daughter, Pearl. Gertie the gnatcho vendor, and Bella the bellhop. The call reached out further, the frogs of Bittyburg frogs, the Ribbitons. Every olm in Proteus, the animals, and insects, even though some of them could not point, they reached out with their minds and hearts, heeding the call to aid the one who was shining bright in the sky.
The power of the blue ring was making this hope, this power, visible to everyone as particles of blue light started to fly off them and zip towards the shining star in the sky. Andrias watched all of this with awe and fascination, Anne Boonchuy was making hope itself a tangible power, something visible for everyone to see. And the sky was starting to light up with the dozens of hope particles that flew towards the glowing star in the night sky.
{ Andrias! }
Andrais blinked and looked up at his crown as he said, "Father?"
{ Yes, my son. The human is trying to stop us! But you can help us! Kill them! Kill these insignificant creatures! Make the human girl realize the futility of her efforts! And then you can finally join us! }
Andrias chuckled when he heard the proposal from his father and the Core.
"How utterly humiliating, father. You and the rest of the Core believe yourself to be superior, all knowing, and all powerful, and yet you're afraid," Andrais mocked.
{ WE FEAR NOTHING! }
"So, you say, and yet here we are. You begging for help from a failure of a king, from the son that caused you such disgrace. Well, no more."
Andrias reached up and took off his crown with his right hand. And that's when the huge blue newt started to clench his fist around crown, making the glowing eye in the center of it start to look all around in a frantic manner.
{ YOU DAMN FOOL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? }
"Something I should've done a long time ago…STANDING UP TO YOU!"
Andrias crushed the coral crown in his hand, shattering it into pieces. Marcy, Olivia, and Yunan smiled a little when they overheard what Andrias said, and even more so when they saw him thrust that same right hand towards the sky.
"ANNE BOONCHUY! FINISH THIS!"
Anne could feel it, she could hear it, the voices and hopes of every living creature on Amphibia. Her friends, her family, the animals of the land and sea, every being on Amphibia was gathering their hope unto her, and she could feel it all.
{Hope levels increasing exponentially! It is time, Sister Anne!}
Anne could hear a voice speaking to her. It was different from the ring's, this voice sounded male. The voice was gentle, calming, but inspiring as well. And as Anne listened to this voice, it seemed to be reciting something, an oath, and it sounded as if this voice wanted her to speak along with it.
"In raging day…in fearful night!
With a strong heart my soul ignites!
When all seems lost in the dark of night!
LOOK TO THE STARS, FOR HOPE BURNS BRIGHT!"
Anne's hair eyes shined bright azure blue as the construct Anne Avatar ignited with sparkling blue energy raging around her. The shield released a powerful burst of energy that wrapped around the beam from the Core Moon and then surged down it and to the eye, shattering it to pieces and cancelling the beam. The Anne Avatar construct dismissed its extra arms as it cocked back its right fist, gathering the hope lights to that fist and setting it ablaze.
The Anne Avatar cocked back its right fist and took off straight for the moon. The moon began firing hundreds of laser cannons from the surface at the construct, but it was no use. The Anne Avatar was coming in too fast. Anne and the Anne Avatar released a bellowing war cry as she smashed her fist right into the moon. The impact etched a lotus pattern onto the surface before Anne blasted through several layers of the moon and into lunar satellite itself. The Anne Avatar flew straight through, aiming for the center of the Core Moon. Dozens of robotic monsters tried to get in her way, but her energized fist easily blasted them apart.
Finally, Anne made it to the central power core of the moon. The Anne Avatar balled up its fist as it concentrated all the power from the hopes of Amphibia and struck the power core of the moon. A burst of blue light exploded through the entire interior, creating blue fissures along the walls and surface of the power core before a series of explosions went off one after the other. Anne shot out of her construct, piercing through several layers of metal and rock as she sensed where the Calamity Box was. Right now, Darcy was in a state of disbelief and fury.
"YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! HOW?! I HAVE THE POWER OF THE MUSIC BOX! THIS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Darcy screamed. "FINE, I'LL USE WHATEVER POWER'S LEFT TO MAKE SURE THIS ENTIRE MOON'S PIECES SHOWER THE PLANET! DO YOU HEAR ME ANNE?! YOU'LL STILL LOSE EVERYTHING! AHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAAAHAAAAAAA!"
A blue explosion erupted underneath Darcy and the music box, causing both to break down into charred particles. However, a bright flash of blue light zipped past the music box and pierced through the ceiling, ascending higher and higher until it broke through back into space. Anne saw that the entire moon's pieces were still on a crash course for the planet, but she wasn't done yet. The Blue Lantern flew back to her original position and using the collected power of hope from the people of Amphibia, gathered it into her right fist once again. Anne took a calming breath as the first continent sized chunk of the moon neared her.
Once in range, Anne threw her punch, and released all the stored hope energy all at once. The result was a huge bursting energy wave that created an enormous lotus pattern. The energy continued to rage forward, breaking down every single chunk of the moon until every piece of it was completely annihilated down to its atoms. Along with the lotus pattern was another, that of the Blue Lantern symbol, shining at the center of the lotus, showing all who looked upon it that all was indeed well.
Anne flew back to the planet, just in time for the light of dawn to crest over the horizon, bathing the land of Amphibia in its warm glow, and giving them the promise of a new era. The Blue Lantern floated towards her friends and family, who wasted no time in tackle hugging Anne to the ground, where all of them splashed down into the water.
"Anne, that was amazing!" Sprig exclaimed.
"You destroyed the froggin' moon! Total respect!" Polly remarked.
"But more importantly, we're just happy you're alive," said Marcy as she hugged Anne tighter.
"Okay, okay, guys, I get it. But if you keep piling on me, I'm gonna need to heal up, I'm kind of sore all over from that fight," Anne said.
Everyone quickly got off her.
"So, what happened to the music box?" Sasha inquired.
"Oh…that…" Anne opened her left hand and showed the remaining two Calamity Gems to everyone. "I wasn't able to save the box, but I saved the gems…unfortunately, that means we're kinda stuck here. Again."
"Not necessarily, my dear." Everyone turned to Valeriana as she approached Anne. "When I crafted the box centuries ago, I inadvertently helped bring about the tragic events that came to pass. But now, I shall make a new box, one that will get you both home."
Anne furrowed her brow a little as she thought about something.
"Hey, do you think you could make it so that I can keep my half of the Calamity power, but still be able to operate the box?" Anne questioned.
"I believe it is possible, but for what reason?"
"Wha'cha thinkin', Anne?" Hop Pop inquired.
"Creating another music box is good and all. But the temptation will always be there. For Earth and Amphibia. I thought, maybe I could be the guardian of the music box. With this ring's power, plus my Calamity power, I'll make sure that no takes advantage of the music box, and I'll be able to help both our worlds."
Valeriana smiled as she said, "A wise decision, my child. I believe the new music box will be in good hands with you. Come, we can at least make a rudimentary communicator so that your family knows what is happening. The process for the creation of this new music box shouldn't take more than, ooh…six months? Give or take a week or two."
"Huh, guess we got an extended Amphibia vacay," said Sasha.
"Hardly, there's a lot of cleanup to do after all this," Anne remarked.
Marcy hooked her arms over both girls and as she proclaimed, "Yeah, but at least we'll be together a little longer. And we can help everyone get back on their feet."
Anne, Sasha, and Marcy looked at their Amphibian surrogate families and friends as they all smiled and cheered loudly that their heroes would be staying just a little longer.
"Heh, yeah. So long as we continue to hold onto hope, there's nothing we can't do together. And with that in mind, Sasha, Marcy, could you stand in front of me right quick?" Anne requested.
Sasha and Marcy didn't know why, but they didn't question Anne as they now stood before her. Anne pointed her ring at her two friends and concentrated. She could feel the power of hope still flowing through her, and she could feel that it could do more than destroy. That's when Sasha and Marcy's bodies were outlined in blue light, making both girls jump a little from suddenly glowing. But that's when something strange began to occur, something they could feel. The tingling sensation in Sasha's legs disappeared, along with the pain in her back. Not only that but her facial scar was completely erased. Marcy felt as if her body was rejuvenated from the inside out, and not only that, but Marcy's scar at the bottom of her cheek was also erased like Sasha's.
Anne didn't stop there, now pointing her ring at Grime. The toad yelped when he saw this, but it was too late. The blue glow enveloped his body, and an intense blue light concentrated itself on where his left arm used to be. Within a few seconds an arm made of pure blue light formed, but then the light flaked off that arm, revealing a flesh and blood arm, the one that Grime had lost. Anne finally lowered her arm, and released a sigh as the remainder of her hope empowerment was used up.
"By Barrel's belly!" Grime exclaimed in awe. "M-My arm?!"
"A-Anne, did you just…heal us?!" Marcy asked.
"I still had a lot of hope power left over when you all focused your hope onto me. So, I thought I'd use it to heal you guys," said Anne as she rubbed the back of her head. "The ring said that the Blue Light of Hope has the power to bring about miracles. Valeriana, if you want, I could try healing your missing arm too."
Valeriana shook her head.
"No, my child. I have lived like this for many years and have adapted to it quite well. Strange as it may sound, I feel as if this is more natural to me now," Valeriana remarked. "But I thank you for thinking of me."
"No problem, dude."
Sasha took a step forward and held her arms out to the side as if she was signaling for everyone and everything to stop.
"Okay, hold up! Before anything else happens, I have something to say to you Anne!…I have a massive crush on you! And not just because you healed me and Grime! It started when you came back to Amphibia, and we led the Resistance!" Sasha confessed.
"WHAT?!"
"What?!" Sprig exclaimed.
"Called it," Polly remarked.
"Ah, so Anne's inta girls. That explains the reaction to the boyfriend question," said Hop Pop as he thought aloud.
"Yeet."
"Yeet? AAAAAAAH!"
A construct hand grabbed Hop Pop and threw him towards the water where he landed with a huge splash.
"DON'T WORRY, AH'M OOOOKAAAAAY!" he assured.
Marcy blushed and then blurted out, "No fair, Sashy! I wanted to confess to her too! Although, I will say mine started from farther back, like…elementary school. And at this point I'm completely crushing harder on you, Anne."
"…" Anne's face was blushing bright red as she stood there in complete silence.
"Huh, wow. Didn't see that coming. But I guess it makes sense. What was the expression from Earth? Oh right, you're a real chick magnet," Sprig teased. "Anne. Anne?"
Anne had gone quiet, but then fell backwards into the water, her mind trying to process the fact that her two best friends had just confessed to her, with one of them having more recently developed a crush, and the other having had one since they were little.
Polly walked up to Anne, poked her cheek a few times, and then turned her attention up to the two worried teen girls looking down at their crush.
"Well, congratulations girls, you managed to do the one thing the bad guys couldn't do. Knock Anne the frog out."