Chapter 17

The Beginning of The End

Anne, Sasha, and Matt rallied the whole resistance together for a meeting.

"Listen up!" Sasha announced. "Our spies tell us that Andrias plans to invade Earth in just a few days, so it's time to mobilize!"

The crowd cheered.

"Which means, it's time for us to join up with our newt and toad allies!" Anne added. "Whoo!"

The crowd stopped cheering.

"Did you say newts AND toads?" asked one of the frogs.

"Yeah, what's the problem?" asked Sasha.

"Historically, frogs, newts, and toads haven't really gotten along," Hop-Pop explained.

"So in other words, things will be tense," Grime butted in.

"Really?" said Anne. "But Duckweed's a newt, Toadstool's a toad, and they've been happily living in Wartwood for years. And that's not even mentioning Aaron and Dareth. From what Matt told me, they make an awesome duo."

"Yeah, but it took a while," Dareth corrected.

"I don't believe this," Matt smacked his forehead. "We spent all this time building this giant army, and there's a chance you won't work together?"

Matt was about to yell, but Anne grabbed his shoulder.

"Cheer up, Matt," she assured. "I happen to be excellent at brokering peace between feuding factions?"

Matt had no idea what Anne was talking about.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, you mean that time you brought the swim team and the band geeks together that one time to put on that school dance by pointing out they both value proper lung control," Sasha realized. She turned to Matt. "It was back in Grade School. You weren't there for it."

"Getting these guys together will be a cinch," said Anne. "You'll see. We just need to find those connection points."

"You better be right," said Matt. "We don't have much time and a lot is riding on this."

"Generals!" came a small teal frog. "They're here."

Anne, Sasha, Matt, Aaron, the Plantars, Grime, and Dareth waited outside as the toad and newt armies arrived.

"Beatrix, Javi, welcome," Sasha greeted.

"Enough pleasantries," said Beatrix. "I agreed to fight alongside you frogs, but I draw the line at newts. They'll steal your sword and stab you in the back with it."

"Only because you toads are too slow," Javi retorted. "And smelly I might add."

"I'm gonna turn your tail into a toothpick!"

"Come on, you two," Hop-Pop got in between them. "Let's at least try to get along."

"Not before I knock your head sideways first!" Javi yelled at Beatrix as if Hop-Pop wasn't there.

"Oh, ignoring frogs now, eh?" said Hop-Pop, frustrated. "Typical! A snobby newt and a bully of a toad! Why am I not surprised?"

"That does it!" Beatrix shouted. "This alliance is over!"

"Toodles," said Javi.

Beatrix and Javi got back on their vehicles.

"Guys, we need to work together if we're to stop Andrias," Sasha pleaded. "Let's head to the war room and discuss strategies."

"It'll be a waste of time, Sasha," said Beatrix. "Who can fix 900 years of conflict in a day?"

Anne cleared her throat. "Who has two thumbs and is a neutral arbitrator who fell out of the sky? This girl."

"It's true she fell out of the sky," Hop-Pop remarked.

"She does have merit," Javi added.

"Fine," Beatrix relented. "If Anne thinks she can moderate, we'll stay."

"Us too," said Javi.

"Us three," said Hop-Pop. "Oh right. We live here."

"Alright, let's start the healing," Anne said in a sing-song voice.

The toads and newts entered the base. They dropped off their weapons at a little stand run by Polly.

Beatrix and Javi were with Anne, Sasha, Matt, Hop-Pop, and Grime in the briefing room.

"All of Andrias' power comes from this music box," Sasha said as she placed a figure of Andrias and the music box on the table. "So we need to get it away from him."

"Alright, any suggestions?" Anne asked as she wrote the word "Spitballin'" on the blackboard. "Remember, this is a safe space with chill vibes and good intentions."
After a few seconds, Beatrix raised her hand. Javi couldn't help but chuckle.

"What?" Beatrix reacted. "I have an idea!"

"Let me guess," Javi replied. "You want to bash in the front door, beat up who you see, and take the music box?"

Beatrix blushed. "Maybe."

"It won't work."

"Javi, let's be positive," Anne scolded. "All ideas are welcome here."

"Even bad ones?" asked Javi.

"Especially bad ones."

"May I propose a more intelligent approach? We take a small strike force, dress them up as orphans, sneak past the guards, and steal the box."

Anne considered that idea. She wrote, "Orphans?" on the chalkboard.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Sasha replied. "Andrias' security is top-notch, and I don't think orphans are gonna trick a bunch of soulless robots."

"With the right costume, you can trick anyone," Javi retorted. "It's proven."

"Ha, now who has bad ideas, you cocky newt?" Beatrix laughed.

"Beatrix, not helping," Anne scolded.

Beatrix blushed. "Right."

Hop-Pop cleared his throat. "Would anyone like to hear my idea?"

Beatrix slammed her fists against the table.

"Ha ha ha, a frog with a battle strategy?" she laughed. "Maybe paint a barn? Have a hoedown?"

Javi could barely keep in a small chuckle.

"That's it!" Hop-Pop yelled.

He leaped off of his chair and tackled Beatrix. Beatrix threw Hop-Pop aside. Javi held Beatrix to the floor.

Grime laughed seeing his sister getting beaten up. Sasha and Matt were frustrated.

"Anne, this isn't working," said Matt. "We need to do something."

"You're right," said Anne. "It's time for… team-building exercises."

Anne rounded up all of the frogs, toads, and newts together.

"Alright, if we're to defeat Andrias and his robot hoard, we need to work together," said Anne. "First up is the mirror exercise. I learned this at Summer Camp. Everyone, get in a circle and mirror my movements exactly."

Anne spread her legs as far as she could, then wrapped her arms behind her. Sasha and Matt followed. The amphibians did their best to mirror the position.

"What's the point of this?" asked Beatrix. "Is it to make us look stupid, cause it's working?"

"It's about harmony, people," Anne replied. She then changed her position. She stood on one foot and spread her arms as wide as she could. "Can you feel the harmony?"

Everyone tried to copy the position. After a while, a toad lost his balance and fell. He knocked everyone else down in a domino effect.

"Next up is the human knot," said Anne after that kerfuffle. "Or in this case, the human, frog, toad, newt knot thing. Try to untangle yourselves while holding hands."

Some quartets figured it out easily. For others, it was more difficult. One quartet untangled wrong and they ended up knocking everyone down.

"Next up, the three-legged race. Runners, on your mark, get set…" Anne blew the whistle.

The different pairs tried to run. It was hard because their feet were tied together, and not all of them were in sync.

One toad did make it to the finish line, but that was only because he was paired with a tiny frog.

"Next, we have the trust fall. This is the final step to knowing you have each other's backs out there." Anne got a large toad into position. "Now, when I say 'go'..."

The toad went, alright. Since he was large, the other amphibians were crushed.

"Way to leave your armor on, you dumb toad," said one newt.

"You weaklings were supposed to catch me," the toad retorted.

"Guys, this is about supporting each other," said Anne.

"Support?" the toad said. "I have your support right here."

He gave the newt a wedgie. Another newt tackled the toad to save his friend. The toad retaliated by throwing the newt onto one of the frogs.

The three amphibian races started to fight in a large civil war.

"Anne, this is a total disaster," said Sasha.

"It's fine," Anne assured. "They're just blowing off steam. At least they don't have their weapons."

She shouldn't have said that.

The amphibians ran to the stand to get their weapons. Polly loved bloodshed more than anything, so she willingly gave everyone their weapons.

"Guys, we can talk about this!" Anne yelled. No one heard her.

"Newts, to me!" Javi called out. The newts joined him.

"Toads, battle formation!" Beatrix shouted. The toads got in formation.

"Come on, frogs!" Hop-Pop yelled. The frogs gathered together. "Do the best you can!"

"No!" Anne screamed.

The three armies charged towards each other. Anne tried to find a way to stop this, but she knew there was no other choice. She activated her powers.

"Enough!" she snapped. She leaped into the air and got in between the armies. "I said, ENOUGH!"

Anne launched a wave of energy that knocked everyone down.

"Probably should've led with the having powers thing," Grime remarked. Sasha elbowed him.

"All this time I thought I could solve your problems and heal this rift, but I was wrong!" Anne yelled. "There is no quick fix. I can't solve this problem for you." Anne landed and deactivated her powers. Sasha and Matt held her to make sure she didn't pass out. "Only you can. So when you're ready to work together and save the world, let me know."

Anne walked away. Sasha and Matt followed. They left the amphibians to wallow in their guilt.

"Damn, Anne!" said Sasha. "You were a total boss out there!"

Anne turned around. There were tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, guys," she cried. "I thought I could help, b-b-but…"

Sasha and Matt hugged their friend.

"Don't beat yourself up, Boonchuy," said Matt. "We can still figure this out."

The trio sat down to come up with a plan. That's when Hop-Pop, Beatrix, and Javi came in.

"We came up with a plan!" said Beatrix.

"Hopediah came to us and got us thinking," said Javi. "If Beatrix does her original plan and attacks the front door…"

"We can draw the attention of the forces," Beatrix continued. "Leaving a window for a small group to sneak in the back door and steal the music box while they're distracted."

"What do you think?" asked Hop-Pop.

"I think that's perfect," Matt replied. The girls nodded. "It's just like the plan from those movies Marcy's obsessed with."

"Lord of the Rings, that's right," Anne realized. "Marcy made us watch them during that sleepover at your place."

"And you came up with this together?" asked Sasha. "I thought you hated each other."

"Well, Anne was right," said Hop-Pop. "We can't count on anyone else to solve our problems. In the meantime, you helped us see we really do want the same thing: to take our world back from that terrible tyrant. We may not be able to forget the past, but if we work together, we might have a future."

"Alright," said Sasha. "Let's draw this game plan then…"

Before she could finish, the place started to shake.

Everyone left the briefing room to see what was going on.

Mother Olm had arrived, creating a massive hole in the wall.

"Hello, young friends," she greeted.

"Mother Olm?" Anne asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I have important news," Mother Olm replied. "It's Andrias. We olms can feel the tremors of his army moving. That information you gained about him moving out in a few days was a lie. He plans to invade tonight."

"Looks like it's go time," said Anne.

"You heard the lady!" Sasha shouted. "Let's move out!"

The frogs, toads, and newts prepared for the coming battle. They helped each other put on their armor and get their weapons.

While that was happening, Sprig approached Anne.

"Is now a good time to mention that we've also allied with Kill-a-Moths and storks?" he asked.

"Let's give them a minute," Anne replied.

Surprisingly, it only took a minute for the toads and newts to accept that they have monster allies too.

"Alright, is everyone clear on the plan?" said Anne. "Croaker, Loggle, Wally, Beatrix, Percy, Braddock, Javi, Kettle, and Femur will lead a direct assault on the castle."

"With the king's attention drawn, Anne, Matt, and I will infiltrate the castle," Sasha continued. "We'll rescue Marcy and steal the source of Andrias' power, the music box."

"Suit up and move out, people," said Matt. "Today, we give evil a big, fat kick in the ass!"

The crowd cheered.

"I wrote that line!" Polly chuckled.

"Couldn't tell," Sprig sarcastically remarked.

Anne, Matt, Aaron, Dareth, the Waybrights, and the Plantars were preparing to fly to the castle.

"Anyone need to use the bathroom before this make or break mission?" asked Anne. "I'm serious, guys. This is your last chance."

Matt raised his hand.

"Dude, you already went," said Sasha.

"Better safe than sorry," Matt argued.

Matt went to use the bathroom one last time. Sasha approached Grime, Bruce, and Heater.

"I need a moment with Anne and Matt," she said. "Do you mind riding with Aaron, Dareth, and the Plantars?"

"That's fine," Grime assured. "Hey, can I have your phone?"

"Sure, why?"

"Oh, I just put a playlist together of rad tunes to get me amped for the battle."

Tears formed in Sasha's eyes. "I'm so proud of you."

With that, the army left for Newtopia. The armies walked on foot.

The main group were flying in the air. Anne and Sasha were on Domino 2. Matt was on Angela. Everyone else was on Joe Sparrow.

"We need to talk about Marcy," Sasha told Anne and Matt. "And whether or not we can fix things."

"Didn't you say you forgave both of us?" asked Matt.

"I can forgive you and her for trapping us here on purpose," said Sasha. "But Marcy was considering trapping us in other worlds for endless adventures. I get that she was scared about moving, and that she went back on her plan, but it was still super messed up."

"We all made mistakes, Sasha," said Anne. "Besides, we're all to blame here. Remember how she made us watch the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy during that sleepover at Matt's place, and how all three of us fell asleep?"

"Those movies were three hours each!" Sasha retorted.

"It wasn't just those movies, though," Matt argued. "It was her interests in general. I liked some of them, but not all of them. And in ignoring those interests, we might've ignored her needs too. Maybe that's why she went behind all our backs with this crazy plan, even mine."

"All I'm saying is, if we save Marcy, can we save this friendship?" said Sasha.

"I don't know," Anne replied. "But we have to try."

The armies reached the castle. The robot army was waiting for them.

"People of Amphibia, are we gonna sit here and let the past steal our future?" said Mrs. Croaker.

"No!" the armies yelled.

"Then charge!"

The army charged towards the robots. They destroyed every robot in sight.

Andrias watched from the window.

"That's a big army," he remarked. "Guess I better get down there."

With the army distracted, Anne, Sasha, and Matt landed on a small balcony. Joe Sparrow arrived shortly after. He set Bruce and Heather down before landing.

The others were jamming to the music Grime was playing on Sasha's phone.

"Shh, stealth mission!" Sasha reminded them.

"Right, sorry," Grime apologized as he stopped the music.

Anne quickly got Hop-Pop out of the Hop-Pocket.

"Alright, we get in, get the box, save Marcy," Anne reminded everyone.

As the group walked down the hallway, Anne, Sasha, and Matt continued their conversation from earlier.

"Okay, maybe you're right," said Sasha. "Maybe we have been taking Marcy for granted, but that doesn't excuse what she did."

"Her actions don't justify ours either, Sasha," Matt retorted.

"And besides, it's not about what she did," Anne added. "It's about why she did it."

"So I'm supposed to forgive her, like it's easy?" Sasha asked.

"It's not easy," Matt replied. "Forgiveness is hard. It takes time. It surely took time for me to forgive you, remember? But in the end, it was worth it. I mean, look at what the three of us have now."

Sasha couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"You're right," she said. "Now let's save that lovable little nerd so we can make things right with her."

"That's what I'm talking about!" said Anne. "Now come on. The throne room is just up ahead."

The group were about to enter the throne room. However, three newts got in the way. Olivia, Yunnan, and Catherine. They were wearing mind-control collars.

"Going somewhere?" they asked.

"Catherine, it's us," Aaron said, trying to get through to her.

"You're wasting your breath, Aaron," said Dareth. "She's wearing a collar."

The three newts charged. Aaron jumped out of the way. Dareth grabbed his sword and blocked Yunnan's claw. Catherine and Olivia tackled Dareth from behind.

Matt kicked the three newts. They quickly got up.

Outside, the battle was still going on. The resistance put up their best fight against the robots.

After a while, Andrias came down. He summoned his fiery sword.

"Well, don't stop on my account," he said.

"This is it! Charge!" Croaker shouted.

With that, the resistance charged into battle.

Back inside, the group were continuing their fight against the newts. However, every attack was blocked in some way, shape, or form.

"They're too in sync," said Matt. "We can't lend a hit."

"They're not the only ones in sync," said Anne. "Sasha, Matt, remember that Dance Dance Revolution routine we used to do?"

"You mean the one time we went to the arcade during my birthday?" Matt replied.

"How could we forget?" Sasha added. "Hit it Grime."

It only took a second for Grime to find the song.

Anne, Sasha, and Matt stood up. They danced to the beat. They dodged every attack from the newts. After a while, they activated their powers, launched into the air, and kicked the newts' collars off.

Matt, Aaron, and Dareth hugged Catherine. They were all finally together again.

"What happened?" asked Olivia.

"Where are we?" Yunnan added.

"No time to explain," Anne replied. "We're here for Marcy and the music box."

"Wait," Catherine warned. "She's changed."

"We all changed," Matt retorted.

"No, you don't understand."

But no one was listening.

They went into the throne room.

It was dark inside, but that was no problem for the humans. They turned on their phone lights and found the music box.

"I can't believe it," said Anne. "It's over. We've won."

Anne grabbed the box. Her hands phased through. The box disappeared.

Red eyes appeared all around the room. Tentacles grabbed Anne, Sasha, and Matt and held them in the air. The other amphibians were grabbed shortly after.

.One large eye opened at the end of the room. A figure was standing there holding the real box. They were wearing black armor, a red cape, and a helmet with multiple glowing eyes.

"Hello girls, and boy," they greeted in Marcy's voice. "Nice of you to fall for our trap."

"Marcy?" asked Anne.

"What are you wearing?" Sasha added.

"What is this?" Matt wondered.

"We're not Marcy," the figure replied. "We are a collection of Amphibia's greatest minds, uploaded into a unified consciousness. You can call us, Darcy." Everyone made puzzled faces. "You know, like Dark-Marcy? It's a reference to one of Marcy's favorite video games. We searched her memories and found the name appealing."

"What have you done with Marcy?" Matt snapped.

"She's up here, with us," Darcy replied. "It's how we recognized your little ruse. Lord of the Rings? Very cute."

"Give us our friend or I'll rip that helmet off and take her back!" Sasha threatened.

"Your friend?" Darcy retorted. "Don't be silly. You're not friends, not anymore. And judging by Marcy's memories, it's doubtful you ever were."

Sasha's spirit was falling.

"Sasha, don't listen to this thing," said Anne.

"Ah, the famous Anne," Darcy remarked. "Dumber than a bag of rocks, yet somehow this rebellion's last hope. Oh, that reminds me." Darcy walked to the balcony, carrying everyone with them. They stared down at the resistance. "Frogs, toads, and newts of the resistance, your leaders have been captured. Your rebellion is over."

Seeing no choice, the army retreated.

"Later losers," Andrias said as he put down his sword. "I'd say you put up a good fight, but I'm a terrible actor."

Andrias jumped and landed on the balcony. Andrias and Darcy walked back inside the throne room.

"Everything is ready, my lord," said Andrias. "The rebellion is in shambles, and Earth is ripe for the taking."

"Then all that's left is for us to do what you could not," Darcy replied. "Kill the kids."

Everyone gasped.

"You won't take our daughter if we can help it!" Bruce yelled.

He and Heather tried to break free from their restraints. Darcy just tightened their grip and gagged Sasha's parents.

"It's been risky enough using the box up until now," Darcy told Andrias. "We don't know what will happen as long as Anne and Matt hold pieces of its power. That's not even mentioning the possibility YOU using the box resulted in Sasha getting some of her power back too."

"I don't believe it," Matt muttered. "They're just as clueless about the stones as we are."

Anne, Sasha, and Matt were thrown to the floor. The tentacles grabbed their arms and legs to keep them from moving.

"Let's make this quick," said Darcy. They summoned a fiery dagger. They pulled Matt closer. "Let's start with this one."

Darcy was ready to slit Matt's throat. Matt got desperate.

"Wait!" he said.

Darcy paused. "Amusing. You wish to beg?"

"Yeah. Quick question. What if instead of returning the stones' power to the box, killing us somehow extinguishes their power altogether? Irrecoverable."

"Don't be naive," said Andrias. "You think the Core hasn't considered…"

"Shut up, Andrias!" Darcy interrupted. They stopped to think. After a while, they opened their eyes. They seemed genuinely shocked. "Unprecedented. We can't come to a consensus. Therefore, we must confirm the energy can be safely extracted before killing them.

"Did you seriously outsmart them?" Anne asked Matt.

"You only delayed the inevitable long enough to see your world burn," said Darcy. "We look forward to dissecting you three, alive. Guards, have the rest of them fit for collars immediately. Andrias, portal. It's go time."

Andrias grabbed the box and pressed a few buttons. He directed the stones' energy to the cannon. The cannon fired and opened a large portal for the castle to fit through.

The castle and all the robot forces flew through the portal.

Back on Earth, everyone in LA was minding their own business. That's when a large portal opened up, and a castle emerged from it.

This was it. The beginning of the end.

A.N.

I was definitely on the edge of my seat writing this. We only have one chapter left, then the epilogue, then this four-part fic that I spent the last year of my life writing will finally be brought to a close. I can't help but feel excited and nervous at the same time. Like I said before, the Amphibia OC Insert was the first BIG fanfiction I posted on this site. It'll be bittersweet to finally end it.

So, I merged the Three Armies and Beginning of the End chapters into one. There was no need to make them separate chapters.

Matt has now reunited with Catherine. Now the quartet is finally whole. Too bad it won't last long.

In this universe, there's no spotlight shining over where the fake box was. The inclusion of that made the trap all the more obvious. The kids totally would've known it was a trap, or at least Matt would have.

Thankfully, I posted two chapters yesterday. Now, I should be able to post the final chapter on May 14. I'll write the All In half of the final chapter tomorrow, then the Hardest Things half the day after.

With that, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading. Please favorite, follow, and review.